Anthropology 5

The Natural Human Weaning Age

by Katherine Dettwyler, PhD
Department of Anthropology,
Texas A and M University

 

A Natural Age of Weaning

My research has looked at the various “life-history” variables (such as length of gestation, birth weight, growth rate, age at sexual maturity, age at eruption of teeth, life span, etc.) in non-human primates and then looked at how these variables correlate with age at weaning in these animals. These are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, especially gorillas and chimpanzees, who … Keep Reading!!!

Women’s Ideal Beauty Types Throughout History

The evolution of beauty throughout history is something many of us probably don’t think about often. However, we want to consider how fleeting these cultural ideals truly are.… Keep Reading!!!

Evolutionary Breastfeeding: The Natural Human Weaning Age

The Brain Scoop does an amazing job discussing the biological and evolutionary imperatives of human breastfeeding over the last 80 million years.… Keep Reading!!!

The Anthropological: Breastfeeding & Weaning

Here is the last in my Katherine Dettwyler series. Part of a lecture from one of her Anthropology classes, which I’ve done my best to convert into a post.

(shared with permission)

The Anthropological: Breastfeeding & Weaning

Humans:

  • Kingdom- Animalia (animal)
  • class- Mammalia (mammal)
  • order- Primata (primate)

Humans are most closely related to Great Apes. (Organgutans, Gorillas, Chimpanzees)

Great Ape Nature: Social, reliance on learned behavior, and able to make and use tools.

Human Nature: Humans nature differs from great … Keep Reading!!!

Co-sleeping Myths

 Mayim Bialik came out with a new Attachment Parenting book, Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way.

This book has stirred up a lot of emotion among mothers practicing different parenting styles.

The hot topic has been co-sleeping.

We are a co-sleeping family. I co-slept with my parents as a child, and Brian and I co-sleep with our children.

I thought co-sleeping was almost a non-issue in the US, but I … Keep Reading!!!