Talimon
11-06-2002, 11:38 PM
I may have missed this, so be gentle ;).
From a purely demographic standpoint, how is it that the Elves population did not explode over the years? If you study the family trees you clearly see that it was not uncommon for an Elvish family to be made up of 5-6 children. Now there is no doubt that Middle Earth and Valinor weren't short on real estate, but one would think, given the nature of thier immortality, that thier populations would easily exceed those of men. Yes, in the time of first Noldor in Middle-earth this was so, but there seems to be a gap here (most likely in my reading :)). I cannot see why the populations of Men grew so high yet those of the Elves seem, for the most part, static. I am talking here about the First and perhaps even the Second Age.
From a purely demographic standpoint, how is it that the Elves population did not explode over the years? If you study the family trees you clearly see that it was not uncommon for an Elvish family to be made up of 5-6 children. Now there is no doubt that Middle Earth and Valinor weren't short on real estate, but one would think, given the nature of thier immortality, that thier populations would easily exceed those of men. Yes, in the time of first Noldor in Middle-earth this was so, but there seems to be a gap here (most likely in my reading :)). I cannot see why the populations of Men grew so high yet those of the Elves seem, for the most part, static. I am talking here about the First and perhaps even the Second Age.