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Fatherhood: Evolution and Human Paternal Behavior. Peter B. Gray and Kermyt G. Anderson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2010. ix+304pp.
Author(s) -
Kuzawa Christopher
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
ethos
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.783
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1548-1352
pISSN - 0091-2131
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-1352.2010.01165.x
Subject(s) - gray (unit) , citation , sociology , classics , art history , history , library science , medicine , computer science , radiology
Evolutionary biologists have long realized that organisms face a trade-off between the number of offspring that a species produces and the amount of resources and time that they invest in raising them. At one extreme lie mice, giving birth to large litters of offspring that receive minimal parental investment and as a result have high mortality. Contrast this with a typical human, who devotes nearly two slow decades simply to growing, developing, and learning while relying heavily upon parents and other caretakers, and who often does not bother to get on with the work of reproducing until early in the third decade of life.