The article is based on a thorough reading of one of the latest anthropological contributions to the study of demographic behavior and a demographic change. Reviewing the essays contained in the book is a springboard for exploration of the nature of a presumed "epistemological crisis" within demography and the possible refreshment of the discipline that might have come from anthropological theories and methodologies. By doing so, the examples of anthropological reformulations of the fundamental demographic concepts, presumptions and methods are presented, and the benefits and pitfalls of the liaison between anthropology and demography are discussed.

The article presents the author’s perspective on the achievements of Polish historiography in the field of economic, social and historical demography of the pre-industrial period. It also suggests new directions of research that would relate to trends, methods and theories prevalent in world historiography.