High Counter Vs Low Counter Summary

Before it became the “New World,” as it was titled by Europeans, the Americas were vastly more populous than has been previously thought- possibly upwards of 18 million. “High Counters” and “Low Counters”, whose names are associated with their predicted population counts, argue whether or not this is in fact the case. The argument has strong implications on the history of the Americas before the Europeans. In Charles C. Mann’s 2002 article for the Atlantic magazine titled 1491, he proposes that, based on the suggestions of the high counters, that the Amazon rain forest’s fascinating landscape is an artificial creation of a massive society prior to Columbus’ arrival.
Mann’s overall thesis can be summed up as so: the massive populations of the Americas allowed the societies to develop their environment to aid their own circumstances; one of the major effects of their strategies allowed lush areas of the forest to grow in areas they had previously occupied and

used burning to remove plants. Mann also provides some more examples of the Native American’s actions. Some other similar examples of the Native American effects on their environment include the terraforming of the terraces in the Andes and Bison plains in the Midwest created using fire. Mann supports his thesis with a few points. One point is that the natives in the Amazon are still burning to create more hospitable environments. Another point with major implications is the high count argument for Native American populations. With such a large population, it would make much more sense that the Natives affected their environments.
The high counters argue that there were populations in the Americas of 18 million people. Their numbers are found from estimated death rates compared with Native American populations are their lowest. The estimated death rates of the combination of diseases carried by Europeans and their pigs was about 95%, which is extremely high and supposedly led to the dead of more people than any other plague. The numbers became so high due to the Native Americans, rather than quarantining the ill, stayed near them to try to help them recover, allowing the diseases to spread faster. The Natives had very little immune system protection against these diseases as well, never having been exposed to them.
The low counters make some arguments against the high counters.

One argument was that the numbers were fabricated in order to increase anti-American sentiment. Another argument against the numbers is that minute changes- such as a 1% increase or decrease in the death rates of the diseases- would massively impact results, and as such it is difficult to ascertain the high numbers. A third point is that the Native Americans used disposable materials to build, and as such there is no trace to follow to find how many were there.
The arguments between low and high counters show a lot about the field of history. The argument has gained some traction due to it being fascinating, but more so because of the political and ecological implications of either side; for example, if the high counters are correct, what should be kept; the natural rain forest created from remains of what Native Americans left, or the plains that Native Americans created to begin with? Concerns such as these make the answer prioritized in the

field.
The arguments of the low and high counters make a minute difference on the study of American history from the European’s perspective; yes, many did die and a culture was destroyed, but from the European perspective it doesn’t make a difference what happened before. However, the question is really a matter of semantics; there is a major difference between the history of the United States of America and the history of the Americas. In terms of the United States, the Europeans are correct because the count before settlers makes only a difference to Native American populations still alive. The history of the Americas, however, is mostly of Native Americans and the argument makes an extremely major difference there. The difference is one of what the entire Americas were like prior to 1492. If the high counters are correct, there would have been much more development of societies in most areas rather than only small separated groups dotting the land as they would have in the Amazon rain forest.