A few years old but a very neat piece from evolutionary #anthropologist Karen #Kramer. How do children learn best? Packed into same-age classrooms listening to an adult?
'...work among with the Pumé of Venezuela and the Maya living in the Yucatan Peninsula—resoundingly suggests that they learn from one another.'
...
'IN THE CHILD-populous world of hunter-gatherers, little separates the spheres of adults and children. The places they work, play, relax, and sleep are not segregated. Privacy, alone time, and adult-only spaces are concepts unknown to the Pumé, for example. They live in open-walled structures that children freely run in and out of without requesting entry. Pumé children also aren’t restricted from what might be considered adult spaces and activities, such as menstrual huts (special structures where women in many traditional societies go for the few days a month when they menstruate), watching births, being around the dying, or participating in all-night social dances, called tohé, where the band joins together to sing, conduct healings, and tell stories.'
Unique Roman lead coffin found to contain human child’s remains
Archaeologists excavating in the metropolitan district of Leeds, West Yorkshire, have uncovered a significant find dating back over 1,600 years. The discovery centers around a lead coffin from Roman times...
Ancient Egyptian skulls show oldest attempt at cancer surgery.
NBC News reports: "The ancient Egyptians were known for their medical know-how. Texts describe how they would treat a range of illness and injuries, in some cases by building prosthetic limbs and inserting false teeth."
More discussion on that preprint (yes just a preprint and getting Nature commentary!) about when exactly did the #Neanderthal gene flow into modern humans happen. Acc to Iasi et al, from 47 Ka for about 6000 years. Interesting here is the 'introgression deserts' with immediate selection against Nean genes for certain areas.
A decent summary of the discussion over shrinkage of brain size in Homo sapiens in the past 100,000 years.
One very strong point is made by Eva #Jablonka, linking reduction of brain size to stratification and class society:
'Jablonka argues that if even if brains did shrink when complex societies emerged, it doesn't necessarily follow that smaller brains were necessarily an adaptive response.
"If 3,000 years ago much larger more complex societies emerged, this could correlate with much greater differences in social classes. If, as a consequence the majority of people were poor, then we know that poverty and malnutrition and things like that would compromise the developing brain."'
We would agree, metabolic and energetic/nutrient constraint is likely important. Marta #Lahr also suggests a link to nutrient deficiency associating to onset of agriculture.
A significant implication is that the super large brains of our ancestors came about through #egalitarianism and strong ethics of #sharing vital nutrients to mothers and children.
Archaeologists unearth 1,000-year-old child mummies in Peru
Archaeologists in Lima’s oldest neighborhoods have unearthed four remarkably well-preserved mummified children, believed to be at least 1,000 years old. The children were discovered alongside an adult near a small hill, potentially leading to a hidden temple dating back around 3,500 years...