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"Average life expectancy at birth was 43 years between 1950-89 and increased to about 50 during the period 1990-2002. Half the population is under 15 years of a

by defen 10y ago

"Average life expectancy at birth was 43 years between 1950-89 and increased to about 50 during the period 1990-2002. Half the population is under 15 years of age." http://www.philosophy.dept.shef.ac.uk/culture&mind/people/gurvenm/ http://www.philosophy.dept.shef.ac.uk/culture&mind/people/gu... (that is the site of one of the anthropologists quoted in the BBC article) They also have very high parasite load, which was kind of mentioned in the article; may influence fertility as well as heart health and overall longevity: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3529658/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3529658/

danielhooper 10y ago
It's difficult to get a good sense of 'longevity' with life expectancy stats, especially when in this case they only take an average. I can imagine that this group of people does not have modern tools and techniques for child delivery. Obviously that is concerning and worth keeping in the picture, but any higher than usual child mortality rates will really skew the life expectancy stat, making it appear as though people just drop dead in their 40s and 50s. Edit: I probably don't need to point that out to the typical HN reader, but its something I personally wouldn't have picked up on a few years ago
- defen 10y ago
  The second link I posted has survival curves. Child mortality is high but not the whole story - lots of people dying at all ages due to infectious diseases.
  - keithpeter 10y ago
    Yes, the intestine parasites don't exactly enthuse one to adopt the lifestyle. A simple clinic with antibiotics could sort a lot of the mortality though.
keithpeter 10y ago
Median age 15 does rather limit the conclusions being drawn from this study. Thanks for research. PS: The problem with an 'average' is that there are so many to choose from!
Fricken 10y ago
Child mortality rates are conventionally very high for traditional people, often around 50%. But if you make it to age 5 the odds of living into your 60s or 70s goes up considerably.

by defen 10y ago

danielhooper 10y ago

It's difficult to get a good sense of 'longevity' with life expectancy stats, especially when in this case they only take an average. I can imagine that this group of people does not have modern tools and techniques for child delivery. Obviously that is concerning and worth keeping in the picture, but any higher than usual child mortality rates will really skew the life expectancy stat, making it appear as though people just drop dead in their 40s and 50s. Edit: I probably don't need to point that out to the typical HN reader, but its something I personally wouldn't have picked up on a few years ago

defen 10y ago
The second link I posted has survival curves. Child mortality is high but not the whole story - lots of people dying at all ages due to infectious diseases.
- keithpeter 10y ago
  Yes, the intestine parasites don't exactly enthuse one to adopt the lifestyle. A simple clinic with antibiotics could sort a lot of the mortality though.

keithpeter 10y ago

Median age 15 does rather limit the conclusions being drawn from this study. Thanks for research. PS: The problem with an 'average' is that there are so many to choose from!

Fricken 10y ago

Child mortality rates are conventionally very high for traditional people, often around 50%. But if you make it to age 5 the odds of living into your 60s or 70s goes up considerably.