"...should be read by researchers who are interested in both historical and contemporary fertility trends." American Journal of Physical Anthropology

• List of contributors; 1. Introduction J. Landers and V. Reynolds; 2. Environmental and social determinants of fecundity in primates R. I. M. Dunbar; 3. Biological aspects of fertility among Third World populations L. Rosetta; 4. A preliminary report on fertility and socioeconomic changes in two Papua New Guinea communities T. Taufa, V. Mea and J. Lourie; 5. The cultural context of fertility transition in immigrant Mennonites J. C. Stevenson and P. M. Everson; 6. Inter-relationships between consanguinity, religion and fertility in Karnataka, South India A. H. Bittles, A. Radha Rama Devi and N. Appaji Rao; 7. Resources and the fertility transition in the countryside of England and Wales P. R. A. Hinde; 8. Fertility decline and birth spacing among London Quakers J. Landers; 9. Population growth, innovation and resource exploitation E. Boserup; 10. Fertility decline in developing countries: the roles of economic modernisation, culture and Government interventions J. Cleland; 11. Understanding recent fertility trends in the Third World A. G. Hill; 12. Monogamy, landed property and demographic regimes in pre-industrial Europe: regional contrasts and temporal stabilities R. M. Smith; Index.