Papers by Barry S. Hewlett
Culture, Childrearing and Social Wellbeing, 2014
The Role of the Father in …, 2010
THIS CHAPTER SUMMARIZES and evaluates recent research on the roles of fathers in child developmen... more THIS CHAPTER SUMMARIZES and evaluates recent research on the roles of fathers in child development in hunting-gathering (also known as foragers), simple farming, and pastoral (ie, heavy reliance on cattle, camels, goats, etc.) communities around the world. ...
Developmental …, Jan 1, 1998
… , ed. L. Cronk, N. Chagnon & …, Jan 1, 2000
Studies in Western cultures have observed that both children and adults tend to overimitate, copy... more Studies in Western cultures have observed that both children and adults tend to overimitate, copying causally irrelevant actions in the presence of clear causal information. Investigation of this feature in non-Western groups has found little difference cross-culturally in the frequency or manner with which individuals overimitate. However, each of the non-Western populations studied thus far has a history of close interaction with Western cultures, such that they are now far removed from life in a hunter-gatherer or other small-scale culture. To investigate overimitation in a context of limited Western cultural influences, we conducted a study with the Aka hunter-gatherers and neighboring Ngandu horticulturalists of the Congo Basin rainforest in the southern Central African Republic. Aka children, Ngandu children, and Aka adults were presented with a reward retrieval task similar to those performed in previous studies, involving a demonstrated sequence of causally relevant and irrelevant actions. Aka children were found not to overimitate as expected, instead displaying one of the lowest rates of overimitation seen under similar conditions. Aka children copied fewer irrelevant actions than Aka adults, used a lower proportion of irrelevant actions than Ngandu children and Aka adults, and had less copying fidelity than Aka adults. Measures from Ngandu children were intermediate between the two Aka groups. Of the participants that succeeded in retrieving the reward, 60% of Aka children used emulation rather than imitation, compared to 15% of Ngandu children, 11% of Aka adults, and 0% of Western children of similar age. From these results, we conclude that cross-cultural variation exists in the use of overimitation during childhood. Further study is needed under a more diverse representation of cultural and socioeconomic groups in order to investigate the cognitive underpinnings of overimitation and its possible influences on social learning and the biological and cultural evolution of our species.
Lancet, Jan 24, 2015
ABSTRACT and collaborating on research initiatives. This kind of initiative avoids the wasteful d... more ABSTRACT and collaborating on research initiatives. This kind of initiative avoids the wasteful duplication of eff ort, and should be reproduced for other medical humanitarian emergencies. The Ebola response shows the need for new global mechanisms to be established that can rapidly mobilise all experts who can bring relevant local contextual, medical, epidemiological, and political information on global health emergencies. Now is the time to consider how to bring social science into the centre of future pandemic surveillance, response, community preparedness, and health system strengthening. 4 This will take will, vision, and systematic engagement of our full capabilities and expertise. We declare no competing interests.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 7, 2014
A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (mascu... more A large literature proposes that preferences for exaggerated sex typicality in human faces (masculinity/femininity) reflect a long evolutionary history of sexual and social selection. This proposal implies that dimorphism was important to judgments of attractiveness and personality in ancestral environments. It is difficult to evaluate, however, because most available data come from large-scale, industrialized, urban populations. Here, we report the results for 12 populations with very diverse levels of economic development. Surprisingly, preferences for exaggerated sex-specific traits are only found in the novel, highly developed environments. Similarly, perceptions that masculine males look aggressive increase strongly with development and, specifically, urbanization. These data challenge the hypothesis that facial dimorphism was an important ancestral signal of heritable mate value. One possibility is that highly developed environments provide novel opportunities to discern relat...
Current Anthropology, 1999
New England Journal …, 1987
... American Journal of Human Biology 18:3, 295-311. 7. P. Brown, T. Sutikna, MJ Morwood, RP Soej... more ... American Journal of Human Biology 18:3, 295-311. 7. P. Brown, T. Sutikna, MJ Morwood, RP Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wayhu Saptomo, Rokus Awe Due. ... 28. Rechler, Matthew M., Nissley, S. Peter, Roth, Jesse, . (1987) Hormonal Regulation of Human Growth. ...
Page 1. The baby gazed up at me as ever with wide-open eyes but whether he was hungry or thirsty ... more Page 1. The baby gazed up at me as ever with wide-open eyes but whether he was hungry or thirsty or felt some other discomfort I couldn't tell. He lay with eyes open and expressionless, like a marine plant in the water of the dusk, simply and placidly existing. ...
Developmental …, 1998
Perhaps because sheer survival is a greater concern in small-scale non-Western societies than it ... more Perhaps because sheer survival is a greater concern in small-scale non-Western societies than it is in Western societies, parents in such societies are more likely to maintain physical contact with their infants. This contact also allows more proximal stimulation. Two samples of 3-month-old infants and their families (Ngandu farmers and Aka foragers in Central Africa (n = 20 in each group) were observed over several days to ensure coverage of the 12 hour period from dawn to dusk using a time-sampling method (20 second observe/ 10 seconds record intervals). The ecology of these two small scale societies differs greatly. The Aka are hunters and gatherers who spend most of their time in the forest where the two parents are jointly involved in these activities. By contrast, the Ngandu live in villages where farming and household chores are the responsibilities of women. They are less likely to have leisure time than Aka women are.
Human Nature, 2001
Western scholarly literature suggests that (1) weaning is initiated by mothers; (2) weaning takes... more Western scholarly literature suggests that (1) weaning is initiated by mothers; (2) weaning takes place within a few days once mothers decide to stop nursing; (3) mothers employ specific techniques to terminate nursing; (4) semi-solid foods (gruels and mashed foods) are essential when weaning; (5) weaning is traumatic for children (it leads to temper tantrums, aggression, etc.); (6) developmental stages in relationships with mothers and others can be demarcated by weaning; and weaning is a process that involves mothers and children exclusively, with weaned children moving from close relationships with their mothers to strengthened relationships with other children. In many respects, these presumptions are consistent with contemporary Euroamerican practices: nursing stops early (usually before six months) relative to other cultures and takes place over a few days or weeks with the help of bottles and baby foods. Because bottles are available, weaning seldom appears traumatic, but it is seen as an important step in the establishment of independence between mothers and infants. By contrast, weaning from the bottle is often perceived as traumatic. Despite considerable academic and popular interest, weaning has seldom been studied systematically, especially in small-scale cultures. Qualitative and quantitative data from a study of Boil foragers in Central Africa are used here to evaluate the cross-cultural applicability of the assumptions summarized above.
American Anthropologist, 2012
Anthropologists have long recognized that breastfeeding involves much more than feeding; it entai... more Anthropologists have long recognized that breastfeeding involves much more than feeding; it entails intimate social interactions between infants or children and their mothers. However, breastfeeding has predominantly been studied with respect to structural features (frequency, timing) as well as nutritional and health aspects of infant feeding. Thus, in this study we complement previous anthropological studies by examining social interactions that occur during breastfeeding among the Aka and Bofi foragers and Ngandu and Bofi farmers at various ages (three to four months, nine to ten months, toddlers). Further, we use an integrated biocultural perspective to explore how patterns of breastfeeding and social interactions can be shaped by economic constraints, cultural values, and children's development. Overall, our findings illustrate how biological and cultural factors interact and provide useful explanations of variations in breastfeeding structure and social interactions more so than either perspective alone.
Science, Mar 11, 2011
Contemporary humans exhibit spectacular biological success derived from cumulative culture and co... more Contemporary humans exhibit spectacular biological success derived from cumulative culture and cooperation. The origins of these traits may be related to our ancestral group structure. Because humans lived as foragers for 95% of our species' history, we analyzed co-residence patterns among 32 present-day foraging societies (total n= 5067 individuals, mean experienced band size= 28.2 adults). We found that hunter-gatherers display a unique social structure where (i) either sex may disperse or remain in their natal ...
… of the Royal …, Jan 1, 2011
This paper explores childhood social learning among Aka and Bofi hunter -gatherers in Central Afr... more This paper explores childhood social learning among Aka and Bofi hunter -gatherers in Central Africa. Existing literature suggests that hunter-gatherer social learning is primarily vertical (parent-to-child) and that teaching is rare. We use behavioural observations, open-ended and semi-structured interviews, and informal and anecdotal observations to examine the modes (e.g. vertical versus horizontal/oblique) and processes (e.g. teaching versus observation and imitation) of cultural transmission. Cultural and demographic contexts of social learning associated with the modes and processes of cultural transmission are described. Hunter -gatherer social learning occurred early, was relatively rapid, primarily vertical under age 5 and oblique and horizontal between the ages of 6 and 12. Pedagogy and other forms of teaching existed as early as 12 months of age, but were relatively infrequent by comparison to other processes of social learning such as observation and imitation.
Public Media by Barry S. Hewlett
The Ebola response shows the need for new global mechanisms to be established that can rapidly m... more The Ebola response shows the need for new global mechanisms to be established that can rapidly mobilise all experts who can bring relevant local contextual, medical, epidemiological, and political information on global health emergencies. Now is the time to consider how to bring social science into the centre of future pandemic surveillance, response, community preparedness, and health system strengthening.
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Papers by Barry S. Hewlett
Public Media by Barry S. Hewlett