Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Originally published in 1988, this collection of essays was the first attempt by population scientists to incorporate some of the methods and materials of anthropologists into their work. The essays bridge the gap in the conceptualisation and organisation of field research by 2 sets of social scientists – demographers and social anthropologists – who share an interest in the explanation of particular patterns of population composition and change.