ANTH 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Weaning, Altricial, Hominidae
26 Mar 2020
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Document Summary
Lecture 5/1/2017: evolution of the human life cycle. Compared to other mammals of similar size primates develop slowly and invest heavily in offspring. Primates have: long gestation periods, large neonates, low reproductive rates, long developmental periods, late ages at maturity, long lifespans, large brains. Prenatal period: conception to birth, susceptibility to teratogens. Infancy: begins at birth, dependent on mother for nutrition and protection, ends with weaning and eruption of first permanent tooth. Juvenile: travel and forage independently, learn important social skills, ends with sexual maturation. Adulthood: reproductively mature, begins at eruption of last permanent tooth. Distinctive features of the human life cycle. Occurs after weaning, when children are still dependent on others for food. Period of learning technical and social skills, language. Ends with the attainment of adult brain size. Begins with the onset of sexual maturity. Allows for an extended period of social learning, and continued brain maturation. Life history: derived features of human life story.
