Human Survivorship Amy Schroer Environmental Biology July 9, 2007 INTRODUCTION The research discussed in this paper will determine the differences between human survivorship of the Joplin area for our current, more developed lifestyle, the survivorship of the area prior to 1910 when the Unites States was less developed, and an estimation of human survivorship for the year 2090. It is hypothesized that the mortality rates in infants and the elderly will continue to decrease with population growth and technological advancements. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, the first set of data, indicating the age at death and sex of people in the Joplin, Missouri area who died prior to 1910, was collected by the Environmental Biology Class at Missouri Southern State University in the summer of 2006. The lifespan of the group reported was divided into age groups ranging 5 years, i.e. 30 to 34.99, 35 to 39.99, etc. and the number of deaths in each age group was determined for males and females. The data was collected from 209 headstones of people who died prior to 1910. A second set of data was obtained from The Joplin Globe’s obituary section for the month of April, 2007. Again, the age at death and sex of people were recorded each day in that month, and age group totals were determined. The data collected was then compared to factual, reliable information from the sources stated to determine the differences in survivorship between the two sets of data. This comparison included all factors of the information collected, including the number of people who died in each age group, their age at death, and sex. The resources helped to understand the changes in lifespan over a 100 year period. The following information was induced. RESULTS {draw:frame} Table 1 The pre 1910 data, collected in the summer of 2006, is represented by Table 1. The human survivorship curves for males and females follow similar trends for each age group. Of the 209 headstones recorded 109...