In the course of writing an earlier book, Mother Nature, I recognized how critical alloparental input must have been for child survival in the Pleistocene, but only later did I begin to consider how cooperative breeding evolved in the hominin line and what the implications were for human nature. Invitations to deliver the 2001 Tanner Lectures at the University of Utah and to participate in Barry Hewlett and Michael Lamb’s conference on Hunter Gatherer Childhoods and Eckart Voland and colleagues’ conference on Grandmotherhood provided opportunities to work out my ideas. Then and subsequently, I turned for advice to Sue Carter, who urged me to participate in the 2003 Dahlem Workshop on Attachment and Bonding that she and Lieselotte Ahnert were organizing. This book grew out of the position paper I wrote for the Dahlem volume. Through Sue, I met Karlen Lyons-Ruth, whose thinking about intersubjectivity became a central focus of this book.
Topics covered here often took me far afield from my own areas of expertise. Fortunately, generous guides took me by the hand. They read and reread particular sections of my draft and, in the case of Marc Hauser, Kristen Hawkes, Polly Wiessner, and Bill Zimmerman provided detailed criticisms of the entire manuscript. Many colleagues answered questions or provided preprints of work in progress. These included Jeanne Altmann, Karen Bales, Kim Bard, Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, Judith Burkart, Jim Chisholm, Janice Chism, Jose Diaz Rossello, Pat Draper, Melissa Emory-Thompson, Linda Fedigan, John Fleagle, Alison Fleming, Jeff French, Pascal Gagneux, Patricia Adair Gowaty, Ray Hames, Sandy Harcourt, Peter Hobson, Dan Hrdy, William Irons, Lynne Isbell, Paula Henry Ivey, David Joffe, Susan Jones, Cheryl Knott, Michael Lamb, Tetsuro Matsuzawa, Courtney Meehan, Jim Moore, James O’Connell, Ryne Palombit, Amy Parish, Noel Rowe, Joan Silk, Meredith Small, Chuck Snowdon, Kelly Stewart, Anne Storey, Frank Sulloway, Bernard Thierry, Ross Thompson, Michael Tomasello, Sarah Turner, Carel van Schaik, Ajit Varki, Bernard von Bothmer, Mary Wister Rawlins, and Katherine Wynne-Edwards.
I also thank members of the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny at the University of California, San Diego; participants of the Parental Brain Conference organized by Robert Bridges, Daniel Smail, and other participants at the workshop on Deep History at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study; and especially Jim Chisholm, Ian Rowley, Eleanor Russell, and Ant and Mary Lou Simpson, my hosts and guides who made it possible for me to watch splendid fairy wrens and some of the other cooperative breeders from Down Under, including those “thuggish” noisy miners.
From the time this book was no more than a glimmer in my eye, I benefited from the advice of the talented and ever-sympathetic Elizabeth Knoll at Harvard University Press. I also thank Dan Frank and my agent, Peter Ginsberg, for wise counsel and for understanding the special needs of this project. Another old friend, Susan Wallace Boehmer, shepherded the manuscript through its final maturation. The ever-resourceful June-el Piper arranged for photographic permissions, formatted the manuscript, and with the greatest good humor imposed discipline on an awkward and unwieldy process. I cannot thank these supremely gifted literary allomothers enough. I am also grateful to Nancy and Claire DeVore at AnthroPhoto and the wonderful staff at the Peabody Museum’s Photographic Archives.
On the home front, Gene Miner, office manager of Citrona Farms, offered steadfast technical assistance. Throughout, and as always, my husband, Dan, provided intellectual, emotional, and practical support, remaining the best choice this female ever made. Meanwhile, my co-mother, Guadalupe de la Concha, helped keep our family’s work and lives in balance. With this book I also had a new recruit, my scholar-daughter Sasha, whose pointed critiques of early drafts were among the most valuable I received. And finally, Katrinka and Niko deserve special thanks for keeping me abreast of the way we live now, and for constantly reminding their mother that the “Pleistocene is not the only scene.”
Index
Abandonment: of infants, 70–73, 99–100, 103, 120, 228; of elders, 270
Ache, 151–152, 154–155, 190, 270
Acorn woodpeckers, 196, 198
Adaptive behaviors. See Evolution, adaptive behaviors
Adoption, 146, 228–230, 235–236, 259–260
Adorableness, 221, 233
Africa, early hominins from, 16–19, 23, 28, 30, 66, 148–149, 177, 199, 230, 278, 282
African foragers. See specific groups
Aggression, 18–21, 26–28, 35, 151, 251, 289
Agta, 78
Ai (chimp), 54–55, 57, 236
AIDS, 118, 288, 292
Ainsworth, Mary, 118, 124
Aka, 76–79, 107, 109, 112, 128–130, 132, 134–135, 151, 162–165, 167–168, 171, 245, 268, 286
Alarm calls, 37–38
Alley, Thomas, 221
Alliances, 6, 45–46, 196, 240, 244, 247, 271, 287
Alloparents, 30–31, 42, 113, 151, 165, 171–172, 233, 238, 258; defined, 22, 177; provisioning by, 59, 79–82, 92, 95–97, 99, 102, 158, 178, 203, 273, 275, 277, 279, 290; breastfeeding by allomothers, 76, 78, 80, 92, 135, 180–181, 226; and cooperative breeding, 80; as critical caregivers, 103–109; supplemental role of, 114–116; infant contact with, 121–123; evolutionary role of, 146, 164, 180, 215, 220; significance of, 177–180; role in food sharing, 180–184; and eusociality, 184–186; and kin selection, 186–190; costliness of not sharing, 190–193; as good helpers, 193–195; benefits of group membership, 195–197; ecological considerations, 197–199; behavioral considerations, 199–203; and sterile castes, 203–207; coercion of, 204–205; competition between, 204, 219; natal attractiveness to, 219–220, 222–224, 226–227; sensitivity of, 220, 267; manufacturing of, 270–272. See also Cousins; Grandmothers; Postreproductive women; Siblings
Altmann, Jeanne, 158, 218
Altruism, 4, 7, 28, 36, 96–97, 177; Hamilton’s rule, 186–190; versus costs, 190–193, 197, 254; of aging females, 250–254, 259, 267
Alvarez, Helen, 244, 246, 249–250, 254
Amazonia, 85, 153–154, 257
Ambilocal kin, 244
Amboseli reserve, 158, 197, 218–219, 253
American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 221
Andaman Islands, 78, 151
Anderson, Kermyt, 158
Anomie, 286
Anthropology, 7, 12, 20, 74, 96, 101, 103, 106–107, 109, 113, 123, 128–129, 140–141, 147, 151, 154, 158, 162–163, 173, 224, 240, 244–245, 249, 255, 257–259, 268, 273, 292; evolutionary, 17, 19, 67; ethnography, 20, 32, 72, 75, 204, 240, 244–245, 249, 268, 282; psychological, 131; paleo-, 148; cultural, 225; physical, 240; demographic, 241–242; medical, 258
Ants, 185–186, 191–192, 276
Apostle birds, 179
Arawak, 27
Arawete, 154
Archaeology, 8, 16, 26, 106, 149, 205, 241
Art, 66, 281–282
Attachment theory, 82–85, 111, 113–116, 118–119, 124, 126, 128–132, 280, 285, 289–291
Auk (journal), 177
Aunts, 79, 108. See also Great aunts
Australian Aborigines, 133, 217, 245–246, 259, 267
Australopithecus genus, 8–9, 17, 144, 147, 239, 254, 278
Autism, 33, 37
Aye-ayes, 86
Ayumu (chimp), 54–56
Babbling, 113, 122–124
Baboons, 35, 37, 41–42, 45, 51, 69, 84, 86, 90, 158, 160–161, 172, 197, 210, 217–220, 250–251, 253–255, 257
Bahamas, 27
Bales, Karen, 172–173
Bamberger, Joan, 10
Bamboo lemurs, 87
Baptista, Luis: The Life of Birds, 201
Barbados, 150
Barbary macaques, 88–90, 237
Bard, Kim, 53–54, 57, 120
Bare-eared marmosets, 216
Bare-faced marmosets, 162
Bari, 154–155, 190
Barrett, Louise, 218
Batek, 133
Beagle (ship), 12
Bee-eaters, 176, 179
Bees, 38, 179, 185–187, 271, 276
Behavior: adaptive, 37, 39–40, 53,
82, 111, 126, 147, 225–226, 231, 240; and cooperative breeding, 199–203
Behavioral ecology, 9, 32, 105
Behavioral matching, 58
Beise, Jan, 262
Belief systems, 281
Bellow, Saul, 150
Beng, 225–227
Bengali, 263–264
Bergmuller, Ralph, 192–193
Betzig, Laura, 105
Bilocal kin, 244–245
Biology, 101, 187, 191, 207, 241–242, 293
Bipedality, 8–9, 11, 17, 28, 65–66, 70, 123, 147, 179, 254–255, 278, 294
Birds. See individual genera and species
Birth defects, 57, 70–71
Birth intervals, 31, 43, 71, 101–102, 247, 250, 262–263, 288
Black-and-white colobus monkeys, 91, 222–223
Bliege Bird, Rebecca, 245
Blindness, 57, 60, 70
Bloom, Paul, 116
Blurton Jones, Nick, 76, 106, 255, 268
Body hair, 69, 72, 123
Body size, 255, 278
Bolivia, 154, 257
Bonobos, 3, 8–11, 17, 21–23, 25, 33–34, 53, 62, 65, 72, 86, 92, 160, 235–236, 240, 249, 272, 275
Borneo, 222
Botany, 256–257
Botswana, 150, 250, 253
Bowerbirds, 25
Bowlby, John, 82–84, 111, 113–114, 116, 118–120, 124–126, 133, 285; Attachment, 84–85
Boyette, Adam, 205
Brains, 12, 118–119, 197, 220, 273, 276, 280, 282, 286; scans of, 4, 213, 220; neocortex, 6, 40–41, 46, 78, 116; bigger, 9, 18, 28, 30, 45, 65, 67, 116, 137–138, 147, 175–176, 179, 255, 277–278, 281, 284, 292; mirror neurons in, 47–48, 50, 52, 59; and innate responsiveness, 212–215
Brazil, 10, 87, 94, 104, 122, 150, 154, 172, 227
Breastfeeding. See Lactation
Brockway, Raewyn, 42–43
Brown, Gillian, 96
Brown hyenas, 181, 188
Budongo forest, 235
Burial rites, 65–66
Burkart, Judith, 96–97
Burt, Brent, 199
Bush, George W., 146
Bushbabies, 86–87, 275
Bushmen. See Ju/’hoansi
Byrne, Richard, 45
Cacioppo, John: Loneliness, 286
California, 146, 196, 245
California mice, 162
Call, Josep, 8
Callitrichid Research Center, 173
Caloric requirements, 14, 31, 43, 75, 101, 147, 149, 152, 256
Calvinism, 262
Cambridge University, 193, 213
Canada, 169–170, 259, 263
Canela, 154–155
Cant, Michael, 207
Capuchin monkeys, 86, 92
Caregivers. See Alloparents; Fathers; Mothers; Postreproductive women
Caring, 2, 6–7, 22, 29, 36, 42, 164, 180; essential to survival, 11–16, 18–21; shared, 25, 75, 85, 91–102, 105, 113, 122, 124, 131, 176, 184, 199, 202, 204, 207, 228, 230–231, 233, 238–240, 275, 277, 279–280, 294; among primates, 87–92; critical importance of alloparents, 103–105
Catarrhine monkeys, 84
Catfish, 200–201
Cave paintings, 66, 281
Cebus monkeys, 92, 228
Centre of the Study of Emotion, 53
Chacon, Richard, 166
Chagnon, Napoleon, 154
Characin fish, 293
Chastity, female, 265, 287
Chauvet cave, 281
Childbirth, delayed, 103, 288
Children, 34, 36, 103, 140, 286; food gathering by, 10; mortality of, 16, 67, 105, 259; post-weaning, 31, 183, 275; sex roles of, 42; sense of self, 59; prereproductive, 75, 124, 217–219, 269, 274; caring by, 105, 107–108; intuitive/language skills of, 135–136, 283; and loss of parent(s), 150–151, 166; and trust, 291–292. See also Infants
Child psychology, 111, 285
Chimeric paternity, 155–157
Chimpanzees, 3, 9, 22, 38, 65, 84, 136, 148, 204, 254, 294; homicide by, 4, 19, 21, 46; use of tools by, 8; and cooperation, 10, 35–36, 46, 231, 279; lineage of, 17, 23, 29–31, 66, 72, 86, 100, 123, 278, 280; and giving/sharing, 21, 25, 35, 96–97, 137; and food, 25, 34–36, 45, 256, 275; response to strangers, 27, 122, 235; behavior of, 33–37; empathy in, 34–35, 53, 56, 61; mothers, 43–44, 53–56, 68–70, 91, 101, 112–114, 120, 138, 216, 234–235; and status, 45; infanticide by, 46, 233–235; and eye contact, 51–52, 56–57; infants, 53–59, 61–62, 68–70, 80, 101, 112, 114, 120–123, 138, 225, 234–235; imitation by, 58–59; fathers, 160; female migration, 197, 239, 271; adoption among, 236; breeding system of, 243, 249, 267, 271; self-medicating by, 257
China, 18, 153, 205
Choughs, 179, 191, 195
Christianity, 15, 146, 157, 262
Chuckchee, 12
Cichlid fish, 176, 192–193
Climate fluctuations, 5, 19, 230
Clinical psychology, 48
Clutton-Brock, Tim, 193–194
Cockburn, Andrew, 189
Code of Hammurabi, 206
Coercion of allomothers, 204–205
Cognitive abilities, 2, 8–9, 28–29, 39, 47, 50, 54–56, 58, 103–105, 116, 131, 136, 172, 231, 279–280, 292
Cognitive psychology, 2, 32, 138
Colobus monkeys, 3, 46, 86, 90–91, 102, 222–223
Columbus, Christopher, 27
Comfort suckling, 178
Commitment: maternal, 104, 112–114, 118–120, 139, 283–286, 290; paternal, 150–153, 161–162, 166–167, 174
Co-mothers, 204, 238
Comparative infant development, 32, 53
Comparative psychology, 8, 52
Compassion, 4–5, 28, 37, 132, 293
Competition, 7, 11, 19, 26, 31, 34, 45, 52, 231, 270–271, 277, 279; between infants, 5, 160, 220, 222; between mating males, 5; between mothers, 5, 204–205, 214, 246, 267, 287; between groups, 19–21, 27, 30, 37, 288; social, 46, 62; between alloparents, 204, 219; sperm, 248–249
Congo, 25
Continuous care and contact, 68–70, 72, 74, 83–85, 91, 113–114, 118, 123–124
Cook, James, 27
Coontz, Stephanie, 103
Cooperation, 4–5, 7, 9, 22, 28, 34, 175, 187, 293; evolutionary basis of, 6, 11–12, 52, 65–67, 283; by chimpanzees, 10, 35–36, 46, 231, 279; within-group, 19–20, 30–31, 230–231; and mind reading, 29, 37, 279–280, 286; in feeding young, 95–96
Cooperative breeding, 30, 32, 105, 212, 224, 264, 272, 275; defined, 30; evolution of, 31, 107, 124, 156, 164, 167, 176, 197–199, 230–231, 245, 276–280; role of alloparents, 80; in marmosets/tamarins, 92–101, 122, 156, 173–174; and attachment theory, 113, 285; effect on males, 168–169, 172, 174; early studies of, 177–180; critical importance of sharing food, 180–184; and eusociality, 184–186; Hamilton’s rule, 186–190; costliness of not caring, 190–193; need for good help, 193–195; benefits of group membership, 195–197; and ecology, 197–199; and behavior, 199–203; and sterile castes, 203–207; possible candidates for, 227–231; flexible matings in, 249. See also Provisioning; Shared care
Cormorants, 25
Cortisol, 71, 170, 261
Costly young, 21, 100–102, 146–148, 151, 153, 162, 180, 250, 273
Cost/benefit components of altruism, 190–193, 197, 254
Cotton-top tamarins, 100
Cousins, 26, 79, 90, 112, 134, 245, 265, 269
Couvade symptoms, 98, 170
Co-wives, 246
Coyotes, 181
Cree, 133
Crittenden, Alyssa, 165, 204–205
Crocodiles, 39
Crows, 198
Crying, 42, 82–83, 170–171
Cuckoos, 200–201, 228
Cuiva, 152
Cultural anthropology, 225
Cultural evolution, 281–282
Culture, 66–67, 132, 147, 173, 227
Curiosity, 28, 115
Darwin, Charles, 11–12, 18, 24, 33, 53, 82, 84, 157, 167, 177, 179, 200, 209, 211, 231, 268; The Descent of Man, 147; On the Origi
n of Species, 32
Daycare, 102, 124–126, 130–132, 288
Deak, Viktor, 284
Deception, 45–46, 137
Decrepitude, 241, 270
Demographic anthropology, 241–242
Demographics, 101–102, 166, 206, 241–242, 246, 259, 261, 267–269, 289
Dennis, Wayne, 60
Detachment, 118
Developmental psychology, 48, 51, 82–83, 113–114, 281, 285, 289
DeVore, Irven, 44
De Waal, Frans, 34, 279
Dholes, 181
Dingos, 194
Dinosaurs, 39
Disease, 19, 31, 118, 226, 248, 286, 288, 292–293
Disorganized attachment, 289–290
Divorce, 150, 152, 165
Djungarian hamsters, 216
Dmanisi site, 18, 284
DNA, 9, 12–13, 33, 93, 157–158, 162, 189, 203, 243, 247–248, 280. See also Genetics
Dogs: domesticated, 39, 59, 248, 283; wild, 80, 93, 176, 179, 181–183, 194, 203
Dollo’s Law, 293
Dopamine, 213
Double, Michael, 189
Dozier, Mary, 290
Draper, Patricia, 166
Dunnocks, 188–189
Durkheim, Emile, 286
Dusky leaf monkeys, 91, 222
Dwarf hamsters, 162
Dwarf lemurs, 86–87
Dwarf mongooses, 93
Earl, Timothy, 151
Earwigs, 210–211
Ebony langurs, 222
Ecological constraints hypothesis, 190
Ecology, 9, 28, 32, 105, 148–149, 206, 241–242, 260, 278, 282; and cooperative breeding, 197–199
Economics, 5–7
Efe, 76–80, 107, 168, 205, 256, 265, 268, 286
Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenäus, 24, 26, 50, 81, 139, 141, 154
Eipo, 24, 72, 217
Elephants, 178, 181, 196
Eliot, George, 120
Elowson, Margaret, 122–123
Embarrassment, 117, 133, 282–283
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