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Passing on useful knowledge, for example, concerning rare but catastrophic events could be an evolutionary reason for people to live far past child bearing age.
by ksdale 7y ago
Passing on useful knowledge, for example, concerning rare but catastrophic events could be an evolutionary reason for people to live far past child bearing age.
- scarface74 7y agoWould you need to pass that knowledge on for two generations instead of one?
- ksdale 7y agoI read recently about an Aboriginal tribe in Australia that managed to weather a once in 50 years level drought because there was one man in the tribe who was old enough to remember where they got water the last time there was a drought that bad. Naturally, knowledge transfer won’t be complete or perfect, so it seems plausible that there’s an evolutionary benefit to much younger generations to having some really, really old people around. I mean, I’m not trying to argue for exactly what happens, mostly just contesting the idea that there’s no evolutionary reason for people to live way past child-rearing.