Kristen Hawkes Grandmother Hypothesis
In 1989, a team of anthropologists studying Hadza hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania noticed how hard one particular group was working: the grandmothers. “They were well into their 60s and their productivity was just as great as the women who are still in the childbearing years,” Kristen Hawkes, one of the anthropologists involved, tells Emily. Historically, women’s primary contribution to society was to give birth — implying post-menopausal women offered no value. We now have scientific evidence to prove that wrong. Note: This episode was recorded before the 2020 quarantine. 0:00:05 Emily’s intro for Guest KRISTEN HAWKES, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, and a behavioral ecologist focused on human evolution. 0:03:21 Life expectancy used to be less than 50, and has been less than 40. But that includes infant and juvenile mortality, and early deaths. So a third of women in hunting and gathering populations are actually older and post-menopausal. 0:6:50 Surely, life-worth for women can’t end after reproduction. 0:11:27 When do grandmothers come into the child raising equation? 0:17:37 Do hunter-gatherer grandmothers forage while moms raise babies? 0:21:32 Is the grandmother bringing back food for her family, or for the whole village? 0:25:44 Modern culture has roots in anthropological traditions. And women used to do more physical work, and had lower body fat. So maybe they don’t menstruate now as much as in tribes? 0:29:47 What are the average ages of people getting pregnant in, say, the Tanzania population Hawkes studies? 0:33:25 Having 12 kids would be a lot on your body. That’s why women get help raising babies. 0:37:28 Finish and Canadian studies showed the influence of grandmothers. 0:42:55 Females get all their eggs in the fetus, and even begin losing eggs before birth, while males basically always produce sperm. 0:49:55 It takes a village. 0:55:23 Emily’s wrap-up. Thanks for following: Instagram https://instagram.com/newsnotnoise?igshid=cgkm3j5m6zvm iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/empowered-health/id1452440833?mt=2 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/join/EmpoweredHealth Facebook https://www.facebook.com/emily.k.kaplan Online https://empoweredhealthshow.com Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3naJtOxWViIj7vgjI4iRyE Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/empowered-health Google https://play.google.com/music/m/Iydjypvbzojn3nir4xyvdzjqweq?t=Empowered_Health Twitter https://twitter.com/EmpoweredPod I want to know how you’re feeling — let me know in the comments.
In 1989, a team of anthropologists studying Hadza hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania noticed how hard one particular group was working: the grandmothers. “They were well into their 60s and their productivity was just as great as the women who are still in the childbearing years,” Kristen Hawkes, one of the anthropologists involved, tells Emily. Historically, women’s primary contribution to society was to give birth — implying post-menopausal women offered no value. We now have scientific evidence to prove that wrong. Note: This episode was recorded before the 2020 quarantine. 0:00:05 Emily’s intro for Guest KRISTEN HAWKES, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, and a behavioral ecologist focused on human evolution. 0:03:21 Life expectancy used to be less than 50, and has been less than 40. But that includes infant and juvenile mortality, and early deaths. So a third of women in hunting and gathering populations are actually older and post-menopausal. 0:6:50 Surely, life-worth for women can’t end after reproduction. 0:11:27 When do grandmothers come into the child raising equation? 0:17:37 Do hunter-gatherer grandmothers forage while moms raise babies? 0:21:32 Is the grandmother bringing back food for her family, or for the whole village? 0:25:44 Modern culture has roots in anthropological traditions. And women used to do more physical work, and had lower body fat. So maybe they don’t menstruate now as much as in tribes? 0:29:47 What are the average ages of people getting pregnant in, say, the Tanzania population Hawkes studies? 0:33:25 Having 12 kids would be a lot on your body. That’s why women get help raising babies. 0:37:28 Finish and Canadian studies showed the influence of grandmothers. 0:42:55 Females get all their eggs in the fetus, and even begin losing eggs before birth, while males basically always produce sperm. 0:49:55 It takes a village. 0:55:23 Emily’s wrap-up. Thanks for following: Instagram https://instagram.com/newsnotnoise?igshid=cgkm3j5m6zvm iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/empowered-health/id1452440833?mt=2 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/join/EmpoweredHealth Facebook https://www.facebook.com/emily.k.kaplan Online https://empoweredhealthshow.com Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3naJtOxWViIj7vgjI4iRyE Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/empowered-health Google https://play.google.com/music/m/Iydjypvbzojn3nir4xyvdzjqweq?t=Empowered_Health Twitter https://twitter.com/EmpoweredPod I want to know how you’re feeling — let me know in the comments.