Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: a review of findings and future directions

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.21382/full
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Links to Media http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/evan.21382/full
Publication Type journal article
Creator Hawkes, Kristen
Other Author Coxworth, James E.
Title Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: a review of findings and future directions
Date 2013-01-01
Description Women and female great apes both continue giving birth into their forties, but not beyond. However humans live much longer than other apes do.[1] Even in hunting and gathering societies, where the mortality rate is high, adult life spans average twice those of chimpanzees, which become decrepit during their fertile years and rarely survive them.[2, 3] Since women usually remain healthy through and beyond childbearing age, human communities include substantial proportions of economically productive postmenopausal women.[4-7] A grandmother hypothesis8-12 may explain why greater longevity evolved in our lineage while female fertility still ends at ancestral ages. This hypothesis has implications for the evolution of a wide array of human features. Here we review some history of the hypothesis, recent findings, and questions for ongoing research.
Type InteractiveResource
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell
Journal Title Evolutionary Anthropology
Volume 22
Issue 6
First Page 294
Last Page 302
DOI doi: 10.1002/evan.21382
Subject Life history evolution; Senescence; Cooperative child rearing; Infant psychology; Male-male competition
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Hawkes, K, & Coxworth, J. E. (2013). Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: a review of findings and future directions. Evolutionary Anthropology, 22(6), 294-302.
Rights Management (c) Wiley-Blackwell The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com ; This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Hawkes, K, & Coxworth, J. E. (2013). Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity: a review of findings and future directions. Evolutionary Anthropology, 22, 294-302, which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1002/evan.21382.
Format Medium application/html
Identifier uspace, 19320
ARK ark:/87278/s61g3wcg
Setname ir_uspace
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Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s61g3wcg