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5. HUMANS ARE NOT COOPERATIVE BREEDERS BUT PRACTICE BIOCULTURAL REPRODUCTION

HUMANS ARE NOT COOPERATIVE BREEDERS BUT PRACTICE BIOCULTURAL REPRODUCTION

Bogin Barry (1), Bragg Jared (2), Kuzawa Christopher (2)

1) School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK; 2) Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA

Bogin Barry, e-mail: B.A.Bogin@lboro.ac.uk.

Abstract

Alloparental care and feeding of young is often called ‘cooperative breeding’ and humans are increasingly described as being a cooperative breeding species. We critically evaluate whether the human offspring care system is best grouped with that of other cooperative breeders. We find that human reproduction and offspring care are distinct from other species because alloparental behaviour is defined culturally rather than by genetic kinship alone. This system allows local flexibility in provisioning strategies and ensures that care and resources often flow between unrelated individuals. This study proposes the term “biocultural reproduction” to describe this unique human reproductive system. Human biocultural reproduction lowers the lifetime reproductive effort of individual women by 14–29% compared to expectations based upon other mammals. This efficiency could help explain lifespan extension beyond menopause. There are risks and trade-offs from the evolution of biocultural reproduction, including childhood neglect, social brain malfunction, and diseases of aging.

Keywords

alloparenting, human life history, childhood, lifetime reproductive effort, longevity

Цит.: Bogin Barry, Bragg Jared, Kuzawa Christopher HUMANS ARE NOT COOPERATIVE BREEDERS BUT PRACTICE BIOCULTURAL REPRODUCTION // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 15-15