In this Book

summary

Scholars have long argued that the developmental state of the human infant at birth is unique. This volume expands that argument, pointing out that many distinctively human characteristics can be traced to the fact that we give birth to infants who are highly dependent on others and who learn how to be human while their brains are experiencing growth unlike that seen in other primates. The contributors to this volume propose that the “helpless infant” has played a role in human evolution equal in importance to those of “man the hunter” and “woman the gatherer.” The authors take a broad look at how human infants are similar to and different from the infants of other species, at how our babies have constrained our evolution over the past six million years, and at how they continue to shape the ways we live today.

Scholars have long argued that the developmental state of the human infant at birth is unique. This volume expands that argument, pointing out that many distinctively human characteristics can be traced to the fact that we give birth to infants who are highly dependent on others and who learn how to be human while their brains are experiencing growth unlike that seen in other primates. The contributors to this volume propose that the “helpless infant” has played a role in human evolution equal in importance to those of “man the hunter” and “woman the gatherer.” The authors take a broad look at how human infants are similar to and different from the infants of other species, at how our babies have constrained our evolution over the past six million years, and at how they continue to shape the ways we live today.

Table of Contents

restricted access Download Full Book
  1. Front Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Half Title, Series Page, Title Page, Copyright
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contents
  2. pp. v-vi
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. List of Illustrations
  2. pp. vii-viii
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 1: Human Evolution and the Helpless Infant
  2. Wenda R. Trevathan, Karen R. Rosenberg
  3. pp. 1-28
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 2: The Obstetrical Dilemma Unraveled
  2. Holly M. Dunsworth
  3. pp. 29-50
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 3: Primate Birth at the Extremes: Exploring Obstetric and Metabolic Constraints
  2. Marcia Ponce de León, Christoph P. E. Zollikofer
  3. pp. 51-66
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 4: Brains, Birth, Bipedalism, and the Mosaic Evolution of the Helpless Human Infant
  2. Jeremy M. DeSilva
  3. pp. 67-86
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 5: Infancy by Design: Maternal Metabolism, Hormonal Signals, and the Active Management of Infant Growth by Human Milk
  2. E. A. Quinn
  3. pp. 87-108
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 6: Baby the Trendsetter: Three Evo-Devo Trends and Their Expression in Asperger Syndrome
  2. Dean Falk
  3. pp. 109-132
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 7: Plastic and Heterogeneous: Postnatal Developmental Changes in the Human Brain
  2. Katerina Semendeferi, Kari L. Hanson
  3. pp. 133-148
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 8: Testosterone, Fatherhood, and Social Networks
  2. Lee T. Gettler
  3. pp. 149-176
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 9: Of Marmosets, Men, and the Transformative Power of Babies
  2. Sarah B. Hrdy
  3. pp. 177-204
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. 10: Forget Ye Not the Mother-Infant Dyad!: In a World of Allomothers and Maternal Agency, Do Mothers Still Stand Out?
  2. James J. McKenna
  3. pp. 205-232
  4. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Bibliography
  2. pp. 233-310
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Contributors
  2. pp. 311-312
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Index
  2. pp. 313-324
  3. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
  1. Back Cover
  2. restricted access
    • Download PDF Download
Back To Top

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Without cookies your experience may not be seamless.