This paper explains that, since a cohort analysis of human
lifespan is impractical, a static analysis of human lifespan was performed using data collected from local graveyards and obituaries of persons who died from 1930 to 1939 and from 1990 to 2006. The author
concludes that, when
survivorship curves for each period were plotted against each other, the curve from 1990 to 2006 was greater for nearly every age group; therefore, it can be concluded that the demographic data show an increase in lifespan for both males and females from the 1930s to the present. The paper concludes that decreased mortality rates in the United States are due to advances in preventative medicine, more advanced and targeted treatments of disease, lower incidence of disease due to vaccination and better education. Graphs. Table of Contents Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion and Conclusion