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Suppose that represents the observed net energy production by hunter-gatherers (HGs) and suppose is the actual data on mortality rates for HGs. It follows that the actual value of life, , say, can be constructed as the solution to
Suppose now that mortality is given parametrically as
for and , as a function of energy devoted to mortality reduction, s. If s were chosen optimally, then
It follows that predicted energy, , say, satisfies
so that predicted mortality satisfies
or
where .
A check of the theoretical specification can then be obtained by comparing with , the actual mortality rates, as in the following figure. Further, the robustness of the model can be checked by specifying alternative values of and (Note: Once and are given, is chosen so that (1) fits the data best).
Figure 1: Forager Simulated and Actual Mortality Rates
Monday September 24 17:12:43 EDT 2001