What makes humans human? One of the hallmarks of our species is our pattern of growth and development (i.e., ontogeny) and life history. In this seminar we will examine various aspects of the human ontogenetic and life history pattern, highly unusual among mammals, from a comparative evolutionary perspective. First, we will survey the fundamentals of life history theory, with an emphasis on primate life histories and socioecological pressures that influence them. Secondly, we will focus on unique aspects of human life history, including secondary altriciality of human infants, the inclusion of childhood and pubertal life stages in our pattern of growth and development, and the presence of a post-reproductive life span. Finally, we will examine fossil evidence from the hominin lineage used in reconstructing the evolution of the modern human ontogenetic pattern.
- Instructor of record: Maja Šešelj