Estimating the native population of North America Douglas H. Ubelaker Smithsonian Institution South Atlantic states Henry F. Dobyns Gulf of Mexico Florida Massachusetts Mississippi Valley Florida peninsula state North America states
Estimating the native population of North America following the arrival of European immigrants is difficult. Douglas H. Ubelaker of the Smithsonian Institution estimated a population of 93000 in the South Atlantic states and a population of 473000 in the Gulf states, but most academics regard this figure as too low. Anthropologist Henry F. Dobyns believed the populations were much higher, suggesting that approximately 1.1 million resided on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, 2.2 million people living between Florida and Massachusetts, 5.2 million in the Mississippi Valley and tributaries, and around 700000 in the Florida peninsula.
