The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California

Sherburne Friend CookProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5

Word count: 138K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California by CookAuthor: Cook, Sherburne Friend, 1896-1974,Language: English, Class: E011: History: America: America, Release Date: Sep 27, 2010

Editor's review

This is a historical demographic study of the Aboriginal population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California; its author, Cook, was a mid-20th-century scholar engaged in quantitative research in population history and anthropology. The book's value lies not in narrative but in integrating scattered missionary records, survey reports, and local archives into discussable population estimates, providing a foundational reference for understanding the size and distribution of Aboriginal populations in the San Francisco Bay Area before and after contact. Readers should note that its methodology bears the imprint of its era: the estimation models rely on incomplete historical sources, and some assumptions are debatable today, so it is better suited as a starting point for research than as a definitive conclusion. For readers interested in California local history, Native American history, or historical demography, this short work offers specific geographic scope and data clues, and also suggests how later researchers might question the sources and estimation errors. As a public-domain e-book, the text is presented in the original English and is suitable for reading alongside maps and academic historiography.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students and scholars studying California Bay Area local history and Native American history
Interdisciplinary readers interested in historical demographic estimation methods
Researchers who need original English historical sources for citation in their papers
Readers concerned with post-contact demographic change among Native Americans

Not a good fit for

General readers who only want Native American oral stories and cultural narratives
People with limited English reading ability who want accessible Chinese-language history
Readers expecting a complete ethnography or a contemporary Native American perspective

Reading tips

Read the introduction and conclusion first to grasp the author's population estimation framework, then return to verify the data sources in each chapter.
Prepare modern maps of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and mark the locations and settlements mentioned in the book as you read.
Record the book's estimates alongside later scholars' revised studies to form your own notes on source criticism.
For the English text, skim chapter summaries first, then read closely the passages involving statistical tables and methodological explanations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is a public-domain English e-book released by Project Gutenberg, with the main text in English; there is no official Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should read with the aid of tools.

Can the population figures in the book be cited directly?

They can be cited as research clues, but should not be treated as definitive. The historical sources the author relied on are incomplete, and the estimation methods have era-specific limitations; when citing, explain the nature of the sources and estimates and compare them with later research.

Can I understand it without a background in anthropology?

You can grasp the main conclusions, but the book involves population estimation and source analysis, and readers without background may mistake estimates for precise statistics. It is advisable to first understand the basic outline of California Native American history.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Sherburne Friend Cook Author · American · 1896–1974

Sherburne Friend Cook (1896–1974) was an American physiologist and historical demographer. Born in Massachusetts, he served as professor and chair of physiology at the University of California, Berkeley. A pioneer in the study of Native American populations in North America and Mesoamerica, he worked for decades to estimate pre-Columbian populations in California and other regions and their decline, and he promoted quantitative methods in archaeology. The library holds four of his works, all concerning Native American populations of California: The Aboriginal Population of the San Joaquin Valley, California; Colonial Expeditions to the Interior of California Central Valley, 1800-1820; The Aboriginal Population of the North Coast of California; and The Aboriginal Population of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California. These works combine documentary research with quantitative analysis of historical population estimates and colonial expeditions, offering a foundational reference for the field.