arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Ron W Nielsen aka Jan Nurzynski.
Growth of human population shows no signs of stagnation. The only small disturbance is identified as being probably associated with the coinciding impacts of five demographic catastrophes. The concept of the Epoch of Malthusian Stagnation is convincingly contradicted by empirical evidence.
Analysis of demographic catastrophes shows that, with the exception of perhaps only two critical events, they were too weak to influence the growth of human population. These results reinforce the conclusion that the concept of the Epoch of Malthusian Stagnation, the alleged first stage of growth claimed by the Demographic Transition Theory, is not supported by empirical evidence. They show that even if we assume that Malthusian positive checks are capable of suppressing the growth of population their impact was too weak to create the Epoch of Malthusian Stagnation.
Empirical evidence questions fundamental concepts of the human population dynamics. One of the key conclusions of this study is that positive checks activate the efficient Malthusian regeneration mechanism, suggesting that the Epoch of Malthusian Stagnation, the first stage of growth claimed by the Demographic Transition Theory, did not exist.
Close analysis of the published interpretation of the number of rock-shelter sites in Australia provides further evidence that there was no intensification in the growth of human population between 1000 and 10,000 years BP. An alternative way of determining the time-dependent distribution of the size of human population between 1000 and 10,000 years BP is discussed.
Empirical growth rates of the ancient human population in Australia have been calculated using the data for the number of rock-shelter sites. They confirm the earlier conclusion that there was no intensification of growth between 10,000 and 1000 years BP.