Abstract
Compared to those of other primates and mammals, human life histories exhibit at least four distinctive characteristics: (a) an exceptionally long lifespan, (b) an extended period of juvenile dependence, (c) support of reproduction by older, post-reproductive males and females, and (d) male support of reproduction through the provisioning of females and their off-spring. Another distinctive feature of our species is a large brain size and its associated psychological attributes: increased capacities for learning, cognition and insight. Humans and chimpanzees, compared to other primates, lie closely on a dietary continuum that emphasizes difficult-to-acquire foods. However, the extreme commitment of humans to such a diet has led to distinctive life history traits and age profiles of food production. What underlies these features is a qualitative difference in the role of males through their provisioning of meat to females and young. Meat is a preeminently provisionable resource of great value to growth and reproduction, but its acquisition comes at the cost of both skill and risk. The commitment of human males to specialize in this enterprise is the foundation of the four distinctive characteristics of human life histories. In this chapter, we propose a theory that unites and organizes these observations through comparisons of the behavior, biology, and life histories of chimpanzees and humans.
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Lancaster, J.B., Kaplan, H.S., Hill, K., Hurtado, A.M. (2000). The Evolution of Life History, Intelligence and Diet Among Chimpanzees and Human Foragers. In: Tonneau, F., Thompson, N.S. (eds) Perspectives in Ethology. Perspectives in Ethology, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1221-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1221-9_2
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