A Population Estimate of Ancient Ugarit
Administrative texts from Ugarit indicate that the average size of a Ugaritian family was approximately 5.25 persons, excluding dependents such as servants and workers. The family had a husband, a wife, one or two sons, and one to three daughters. The archaeological record reveals that Ugarit, in th...
| Published in: | Bulletin of ASOR |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The University of Chicago Press
1987
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| In: |
Bulletin of ASOR
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Administrative texts from Ugarit indicate that the average size of a Ugaritian family was approximately 5.25 persons, excluding dependents such as servants and workers. The family had a husband, a wife, one or two sons, and one to three daughters. The archaeological record reveals that Ugarit, in the late second millennium, was divided into residential (72.5% of the city) and public or monumental areas (27.5%). Of the residential area, only 47.9%-approximately 7.64 hectares-was enclosed living space. The various methods for estimating the city's population indicate three population figures: that based on a ratio of persons per hectare of total area is lowest (3,115); that based on a ratio of persons per room is highest (13,555); and Naroll's formula, based on a ratio of persons per total floor area, lies midway (7,635). In view of cross-cultural parallels to Naroll's formula, as well as ancient urban parallels to the resultant density figure, Naroll's formula for estimating population can be applied to Ugarit as well. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8062 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Schools of Oriental Research, Bulletin of ASOR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1356929 |