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Paleopediatrics: Or when did human infants really become human?
Author(s) -
Conroy Glenn C.,
Kuykendall Kevin
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330980203
Subject(s) - extant taxon , human evolution , suspect , association (psychology) , psychology , evolutionary biology , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , biology , criminology , psychotherapist
Modern human children take about twice as long as their closest biological relative, the chimpanzee, to mature. One standard explanation for the evolution of “delayed maturation” at an early stage of human evolution is that it provided the time necessary for immature individuals to learn complex skills, most notably those relating to tool‐making abilities. However, after comparing dental maturational profiles of early hominids from South Africa (who apparently did make and use stone tools) (Susman [1994] Science 265: 1570–1573) to those of extant humans and chimpanzees, we find no evidence to document an association between “delayed maturation” and tool‐making abilities in the early stages of human evolution. This also suggests that the assumed association between prolonged childhood dependency and other behaviors often associated with the advent of tool‐making such as cooperative hunting, food sharing, home bases, sexual division of labor, etc., is also suspect. Instead, we must look for other, or additional, selective pressures for the evolution of “delayed maturation,” which may postdate the australopithecine radiation. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.