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  1. #9
    Clan Silent Assassins Member Faust|'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Infanticide and Cannibalism

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur
    The new award-winning theory is weird and creepy, and who knows, possibly correct:

    Harris' paper describes Stone Age societies in which the mother of a newborn had to decide whether she had the resources to nurture her baby. The newborn's appearance probably influenced whether the mother kept or abandoned it. An attractive baby was more likely to be kept and reared.

    Harris' theory is that this kind of parental selection may have been an important force in evolution. If Stone Age people believed that hairless babies were more attractive than hairy ones, this could explain why humans are the only apes lacking a coat of fur. Harris suggests that Neanderthals must have been furry in order to survive the Ice Age. Our species would have seen them as "animals" and potential prey. Harris' hypothesis continues that Neanderthals went extinct because human ancestors ate them.
    This means that the mother spent 9 months being pregnant and risked her life giving birth, and THEN decides whether she will keep the baby or not?

    "Harris' paper describes Stone Age societies in which the mother of a newborn had to decide whether she had the resources to nurture her baby."

    But she has already expended great resources being pregnant, and has probably been a less productive member for the last few months, costing yet more resources that would have otherwise been available.

    I fail to see how there could be such a dearth of resources to allow such a decision about the fate of the newborn to take place, while at the same time the population is so robust that they can afford to abandon a potential new member when much commitment has already been involved in its development.

    That cuteness of babies and our inclination to nurture them are linked is plausible, but I've heard that elsewhere.
    Last edited by Faust|; 03-14-2007 at 19:43.

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