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Antiquity of postreproductive life: Are there modern impacts on hunter‐gatherer postreproductive life spans?
Author(s) -
Blurton Jones Nicholas G.,
Hawkes Kristen,
O'Connell James F.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.10038
Subject(s) - life expectancy , hunter gatherer , longevity , life history , biology , human evolution , life history theory , reproduction , demography , biological evolution , evolutionary biology , history , ecology , population , archaeology , sociology , genetics
Female postreproductive life is a striking feature of human life history and there have been several recent attempts to account for its evolution. But archaeologists estimate that in the past, few individuals lived many postreproductive years. Is postreproductive life a phenotypic outcome of modern conditions, needing no evolutionary account? This article assesses effects of the modern world on hunter‐gatherer adult mortality, with special reference to the Hadza. Evidence suggests that such effects are not sufficient to deny the existence of substantial life expectancy at the end of the childbearing career. Data from contemporary hunter‐gatherers (Ache, !Kung, Hadza) match longevity extrapolated from regressions of lifespan on body and brain weight. Twenty or so vigorous years between the end of reproduction and the onset of significant senescence does require an explanation. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 14:184–205, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.