Childhood: Origins, Evolution, and Implications

by Courtney L. Meehan, Alyssa N. Crittenden

Overview

This collection is the first to specifically address our current understanding of the evolution of human childhood, which in turn significantly affects our interpretations of the evolution of family formation, social organization, cultural transmission, cognition, ontogeny, and the physical and socioemotional needs of children. Moreover, the importance of studying the evolution of childhood has begun to extend beyond academic modeling and into real-world applications for maternal and child health and well-being in contemporary populations around the world. Combined, the chapters show that what we call childhood is culturally variable yet biologically based and has been critical to the evolutionary success of our species; the significance of integrating childhood into models of human life history and evolution cannot be overstated. This volume further demonstrates the benefits of interdisciplinary investigation and is sure to spur further interest in the field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826357007
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Series:	School for Advanced Research Advanced Seminar Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Courtney L. Meehan is an associate professor of anthropology at Washington State University. She is a contributor to Attachment Reconsidered: Cultural Perspectives on a Western Theory and Different Faces of Attachment: Cultural Variations of a Universal Human Need.


Alyssa N. Crittenden is a Lincy Foundation assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a contributor to Attachment Reconsidered: Cultural Perspectives on a Western Theory and the forthcoming The Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Chapter 1 Multiple Perspectives on the Evolution of Childhood Alyssa N. Crittenden Courtney L. Meehan 1

Social and Cognitive Correlates of Childhood and Human Life History

Chapter 2 Development Plus Social Selection in the Emergence of "Emotionally Modern" Humans Sarah B. Hrdy 11

Chapter 3 Childhood, Biocultural Reproduction, and Human Lifetime Reproductive Effort Barry Bogin Jared Bragg Christopher Kuzawa 45

Growth and Development: Defining Childhood

Chapter 4 Childhood and Patterns of Growth in the Genus Homo Jennifer L. Thompson Andrew J. Nelson 75

Chapter 5 Hormones and the Evolution of Childhood in Humans and Nonhuman Primates Robin M. Bernstein 103

Ethnographic Approaches to Studying Childhood and Social Learning

Chapter 6 Hunter-Gatherer Infancy and Childhood in the Context of Human Evolution Melvin Konner 123

Chapter 7 Children's Foraging and Play among the Hadza: The Evolutionary Significance of "Work Play" Alyssa N. Crittenden 155

Chapter 8 Ethnographic Perspectives on Culture Acquisition David F. Lancy 173

Childhood in Context: Contemporary Implications of Evolutionary Approaches

Chapter 9 Implications of Lengthy Development and Maternal Life History: Allomaternal Investment, Peer Relationships, and Social Networks Courtney L. Meehan Courtney Helfrecht Courtney D. Malcom 199

Chapter 10 Integrating Evolutionary Perspectives into Global Health and Implementation Science Daniel Sellen 221

Chapter 11 Conclusion: Emerging Issues in Studies of the Evolution of Childhood Alyssa N. Crittenden Courtney L. Meehan 245

References 251

Contributors 343

Index 345