Testing adaptive hypotheses of alloparenting in Agta foragers

Human children are frequently cared for by non-parental caregivers (alloparents), yet few studies have conducted systematic alternative hypothesis tests of why alloparents help. Here we explore whether predictions from kin selection, reciprocity, learning-to-mother and costly signalling hypotheses e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature human behaviour 2019-11, Vol.3 (11), p.1154-1163
Main Authors: Page, Abigail E., Thomas, Matthew G., Smith, Daniel, Dyble, Mark, Viguier, Sylvain, Chaudhary, Nikhil, Salali, Gul Deniz, Thompson, James, Mace, Ruth, Migliano, Andrea B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Anthropology, Cultural
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Caregivers
Child
Child Care
Child, Preschool
Cooperative Behavior
Experimental Psychology
Family
Female
Genes
Humans
Hunter-gatherers
Hypotheses
Infant
Kinship
Life Sciences
Male
Microeconomics
Middle Aged
Mothers
Neurosciences
Parenting
Parents
Parents & parenting
Personality and Social Psychology
Philippines
Primates
Proximity
Reciprocity
Relatedness
Social Behavior
Young Adult
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Summary:Human children are frequently cared for by non-parental caregivers (alloparents), yet few studies have conducted systematic alternative hypothesis tests of why alloparents help. Here we explore whether predictions from kin selection, reciprocity, learning-to-mother and costly signalling hypotheses explain non-parental childcare among Agta hunter-gatherers from the Philippines. To test these hypotheses, we used high-resolution proximity data from 1,701 child–alloparent dyads. Our results indicated that reciprocity and relatedness were positively associated with the number of interactions with a child (our proxy for childcare). Need appeared more influential in close kin, suggesting indirect benefits, while reciprocity proved to be a stronger influence in non-kin, pointing to direct benefits. However, despite shared genes, close and distant kin interactions were also contingent on reciprocity. Compared with other apes, humans are unique in rapidly producing energetically demanding offspring. Our results suggest that the support that mothers require is met through support based on kinship and reciprocity. Cross-culturally, humans have extensive childcare systems that help parents raise their children. Page et al. examine 1,701 alloparent–child dyads in Agta people, finding that both kin selection and reciprocity are important predictors of alloparenting.
ISSN:2397-3374
2397-3374
DOI:10.1038/s41562-019-0679-2