William Denevan
Encyclopedia
William M. Denevan is professor emeritus of Geography
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a prominent member of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography
. He also worked in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the same university. His interests are in historical ecology
and indigenous demography
of the Western Hemisphere
.
He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation (1963) was "The Aboriginal Settlement of the Llanos de Mojos: A Seasonally Inundated Savanna in Northeastern Bolivia," which he edited into a book in 1966. In 1963 he became Assistant Professor at Wisconsin, where he remained throughout his career, serving as chair of the department from 1980–1983, and becoming the Carl O. Sauer
Professor of Geography in 1987. In 1977, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
. In 2001, he became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
In his book The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), he provided an influential estimate of the Pre-Columbian population of the Americas, which he placed at 57.3 million, plus or minus 25 percent. The second edition (1992), after reviewing more recent literature, he revised his estimate to 54 million.
His research often deals with how native peoples of the Americas changed their landscape. This is in contrast to what he calls "the pristine myth," the idea that these people had minimal impact on the environment.
Notable articles
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a prominent member of the Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography
Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography
The Berkeley School of Latin Americanist Geography was founded by the American geographer Carl O. Sauer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography...
. He also worked in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the same university. His interests are in historical ecology
Historical ecology
Historical ecology is a research program that focuses on the interaction between humans and the environments in which they live. Rather than concentrating on one specific event, historical ecology aims to study and understand this interaction across both time and space in order to gain a full...
and indigenous demography
Demography
Demography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
of the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
.
He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Geography at the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation (1963) was "The Aboriginal Settlement of the Llanos de Mojos: A Seasonally Inundated Savanna in Northeastern Bolivia," which he edited into a book in 1966. In 1963 he became Assistant Professor at Wisconsin, where he remained throughout his career, serving as chair of the department from 1980–1983, and becoming the Carl O. Sauer
Carl O. Sauer
Carl Ortwin Sauer was an American geographer. Sauer was a professor of geography at the University of California at Berkeley from 1923 until becoming professor emeritus in 1957 and was instrumental in the early development of the geography graduate school at Berkeley. One of his best known works...
Professor of Geography in 1987. In 1977, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
. In 2001, he became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
In his book The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976), he provided an influential estimate of the Pre-Columbian population of the Americas, which he placed at 57.3 million, plus or minus 25 percent. The second edition (1992), after reviewing more recent literature, he revised his estimate to 54 million.
His research often deals with how native peoples of the Americas changed their landscape. This is in contrast to what he calls "the pristine myth," the idea that these people had minimal impact on the environment.
Works
Books- The Upland Pine Forests of Nicaragua: A Study in Cultural Plant Geography (1961)
- The Aboriginal Cultural Geography of the Llanos de Mojos of Bolivia (1966)
- The Native Population of the Americas in 1492 (1976, 2nd ed. 1992)
- Hispanic Lands and Peoples: Selected Writings of James J. Parsons (ed., 1989)
- Cultivated Landscapes of Native Amazonia and the Andes (2001)
- Carl Sauer on Culture and Landscape: Readings and Commentaries (2009, with Kent Mathewson)
Notable articles
- "The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492". Annals of the Association of American Geographers (Washington, D.C.: Association of American Geographers) 82/3 (1992): 369–385.
External links
- William M. Denevan at WorldcatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...