How did Amerindians survived the arrival of europeans?

[Timemachinecreator]

image004.jpg
So just as an introduction:

The consequences of non-immunized diseases epidemics have demonstrated to be devastating to humans in general. It's well known that Amerindians weren't immunized against european diseases in 1492.

For example, the bubonic plague consequences in europe:

"The Plague of Justinian in the 6th and 7th centuries is the first known attack on record, and marks the first firmly recorded pattern of bubonic plague. From historical descriptions, as much as 40% of the population of Constantinople died from the plague. Modern estimates suggest half of Europe's population died as a result of the plague before it disappeared in the 700s."

"In the Late Middle Ages (1340–1400) Europe experienced the most deadly disease outbreak in history when the Black Death, the infamous pandemic of bubonic plague, hit in 1347, killing a third of the human population. Some historians believe that society subsequently became more violent as the mass mortality rate cheapened life and thus increased warfare, crime, popular revolt, waves of flagellants, and persecution. The Black Death originated in Central Asia and spread from Italy and then throughout other European countries. Arab historians Ibn Al-Wardni and Almaqrizi believed the Black Death originated in Mongolia. Chinese records also showed a huge outbreak in Mongolia in the early 1330s. Research published in 2002 suggests that it began in early 1346 in the steppe region, where a plague reservoir stretches from the northwestern shore of the Caspian Sea into southern Russia. The Mongols had cut off the trade route, the Silk Road, between China and Europe which halted the spread of the Black Death from eastern Russia to Western Europe. The epidemic began with an attack that Mongols launched on the Italian merchants' last trading station in the region, Caffa in the Crimea. In late 1346, plague broke out among the besiegers and from them penetrated into the town. When spring arrived, the Italian merchants fled on their ships, unknowingly carrying the Black Death. Carried by the fleas on rats, the plague initially spread to humans near the Black Sea and then outwards to the rest of Europe as a result of people fleeing from one area to another."

It seems that the bubonic plague managed to kill 50% and 40% of the european population respectively.

In 1492, as europeans arrived there was an exchange of diseases when contact between the natives and the explorers happened. Yet the ammount of diseases each side exchanged was completely different.
This image resumes the ammount of diseases brought to America and vice versa:
disease exchange.png

"One of the most devastating diseases was smallpox, but other deadly diseases included typhus, measles, influenza, bubonic plague, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, mumps, yellow fever and pertussis, which were chronic in Eurasia."
There should be mentioned that the ammount of diseases brought until the XXI century are more than 20.

So, the question is, how did Amerindians survived after all those non-immunized diseases reached America?

Were they better prepared than europeans?

Why is there an image of Amerindians being bad at reacting against non-immunized diseases, when they received more than any other ethnic group in fewer years?

[RMuller]

So, the question is, how did Amerindians survived after all those non-immunized diseases reached America?

Many Amerindians bathed 3 times a day,most Europeans at the time never showered.

[KMack]

Many Amerindians bathed 3 times a day,most Europeans at the time never showered.

What about up North? For some seasons too cold. Also think the populations in C. and S. America were much larger than up North.

[CertifiedCracker]

Some did, but most died of disease and genocide. There was a lot of intermarriage in the early days and Im guessing, though this is just speculation, that white admixture contributed to later generations of Indians building up an immunity to European diseases. Some assimilated into the British population, but there wasnt a clearly defined "mestizo" caste and with the binary system in America, they were either labelled Indian or white.

[Annie999]

The ones with the best immune system did. Just like the black slaves that survived the months long intercontinental sea trips.

[Black Panther]

Amerindians did not survive. They are a dead race.

[Sacrificed Ram]

Many survived because they inhabit places where white people cannot survive, like deep forest, extreme polar north or the high altitudes of Andes, pure whites aren't capable to reproduce above 4000mts/13000fts altitude.

[Peterski]

Good book:

https://books.google.pl/books?id=yZI...page&q&f=false

[RMuller]

Many survived because they inhabit places where white people cannot survive, like deep forest, extreme polar north or the high altitudes of Andes, pure whites aren't capable to reproduce above 4000mts/13000fts altitude.

It's very hard for anybody to survive in the Amazon,jungles or places with very high altitudes.

[Peterski]

Before Columbus areas to the north of Rio Grande had only between 1/9 and 1/16 of the entire population of the Americas (depending on estimate). The remaining 8/9 up to 15/16 lived in what later became Latin America. Distribution of Native population in 1492:

Variant with 1/9 of Amerindians to the north of Rio Grande:

1) USA and Canada (to the north of Rio Grande) - 11-10%

2) Mexico and Mesoamerica / Central America - 39-45%
3) Andean (western) part of South America - 36-34%

4) All other regions of South America - 12-10%
5) The Caribbean region (West Indies) - 2-1%

Variant with 1/16 of Amerindians north of Rio Grande:

1) USA and Canada (to the north of Rio Grande) - 6-5%

2) Mexico and Mesoamerica / Central America - 41-47%
3) Western (Andean) part of South America - 38-36%

4) All other regions of South America - 13-11%
5) The Caribbean region (West Indies) - 2-1%

^^^ As you can see, between 3/4 and 4/5 of Amerindian population lived in two regions: in Mesoamerica (from Mexico to Panama) and in the western (Andean) part of South America (from Ecuador to Chile). Today Amerindian ancestry is most prevalent in the same areas, where population density and size of population were the largest back in 1492.