Koortsachtig koppen tellen in de binnenlanden van Zuidoost-Borneo (1700-1900). (Abstracts).Knapen, Han. 1997, Koortsachtig koppen tellen in de binnenlanden van Zuidoost-Borneo (1700-1900), Spiegel historiael. 32(10-11): 444-449.Borneo is one of, if not the, most thinly populated areas in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. . There has been a tendency to attribute this to the bloodthirsty blood·thirst·y adj. 1. Eager to shed blood. 2. Characterized by great carnage. blood urge of the Dayaks to go headhunting headhunting Practice of removing, displaying, and in some cases preserving human heads. Headhunting arises in some cultures from a belief in the existence of a more or less material soul that resides in the head. , for which they were constantly prepared to make war. After having given an interesting run-down of what were probably the true mechanics of headhunting in Kalimantan, the author attributes the low density of population to the presence of diseases both endemic and epidemic. The endemic disease Endemic disease An infectious disease that occurs frequently in a specific geographical locale. The disease often occurs in cycles. Influenza is an example of an endemic disease. was malaria which claimed the lives of many of the babies who had not had time to build up a resistance. The epidemic disease Noun 1. epidemic disease - any infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people pest, pestilence, plague - any epidemic disease with a high death rate infectious disease - a disease transmitted only by a specific kind of contact was smallpox which recurred about every six years. The threat of these diseases was also an important factor in delaying the economic exploitation of the hinterland of the island. The bibliography, separated from the main text, appears on page 481 (Rosemary Robson-McKillop). |
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