Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Pre-contact population figures are highly contested due to lack of written records and archaeological ambiguity. Major estimates for North America (north of Mesoamerica):
| Scholar / Method | Estimate (millions) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Henry F. Dobyns (1983) – "High Count" | 18–20 | Based on depopulation ratios from documented epidemics. |
| William M. Denevan (1992) – Consensus | 5–10 | Synthesizes archaeology, carrying capacity, early accounts. |
| Douglas Ubelaker (1988) – Smithsonian | 1.8–2.0 | Conservative; based on ethnohistoric density extrapolations. |
| Russell Thornton (1987) | 5–15 | Emphasizes uncertainty; range reflects methodological spread. |
Most contemporary scholars converge on 5–10 million for present-day US + Canada, with 50–100 million for the hemisphere. The 1492 baseline remains a proxy for the catastrophic demographic collapse that followed.