By Fiona Hurley
 
Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (April 15, 2011)
 
Picture the scene: Africa, some 100,000 years ago. A small group of people walk across the savanna in search of better territory, carrying spears for hunting and long sticks for digging out root plants. Among them, a woman balances a young child on her hips. The child’s mother, you might suppose.
 
But according to Sarah Hrdy (rhymes with “birdie”), author of Mothers and Others, the woman is just as likely to be a grandmother, or an older sister…or an Auntie.
 
Hrdy’s theory is that humans evolved as “cooperative breeders,” where other members of the family or tribe play an important role in raising their young. Human children need a lot of care for a long time, so it’s difficult for parents to raise them alone. In prehistoric times, life was even more difficult, and children only survived thanks to the help of the extended tribe. And indeed, this cooperative breeding may have shaped human evolution.
 
Meerkats, Marmosets, and Us
 
“Cooperative breeding” refers to any species where non-parents take part in the care and feeding of the young. Hrdy calls these helpers “alloparents.” Usually, alloparents are related to the offspring in some way: siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-aunts. Cooperative breeding occurs in many types of animals. Elephant females work together to protect the babies from predators. Meerkat alloparents teach the children how to hunt. Marmoset monkeys carry and share food with all younger members of their families.
 
Cooperative breeding is rare among apes. Chimpanzee and gorilla mothers keep their babies close by them at all times, letting no one else near. However, in this as in other aspects, humans may be very unusual apes.
 
Meet the Tribe
 
We can’t travel back in time to see how our distant ancestors raised their children. We can, however, look at societies that continue to survive by hunting and gathering.
 
In such tribal peoples, it is very common for others to help the mother with childcare. Newborn babies are passed around to be held by other members of the village. Family members kiss, bounce, smile at, entertain, and provide food for the youngsters. Aunts help their sisters and sisters-in-law, giving them relief from long hours of carrying infants. Uncles provide meat and teach skills, often taking the place of a father when he is dead or absent. Adolescent girls learn mothering by caring for younger siblings, cousins, or nieces and nephews.
 
Older women may be particularly important to the wellbeing of children. Grandmothers and great-aunts bring experience and support to young mothers. Because they no longer need to care for their own children, they can dedicate themselves to the next generation. In places where childhood mortality is high, a child’s chances of survival are greatly increased if he or she has a grandmother or great-aunt nearby.
 
Evolution and the Auntie
 
It seems that cooperative breeding did more than help our ancestors survive. It may also have shaped humanity.
 
Because children had multiple caregivers, a longer childhood was possible. Because grandmothers and great-aunts were so valuable, the human lifespan increased. Because we needed to know who’s who in the tribe, we developed larger brains and greater social skills. Because we needed more complex methods of communication, we developed language. Because children required a lot of care from many people, they learned how to cooperate and to feel empathy. So Aunties, Grannies, and other mothers’ helpers have made us what we are today.
 
Further Reading/Viewing
 
Book review in Time Higher Education
 
Sarah Hrdy’s lecture on YouTube

Photo: David Castillo Dominici
Published: February 12, 2013