Giant families + limited resources = disposable youth; people were tougher[1]; gigantic degree of labor specialization for this cultural role. The first one is

Giant families + limited resources = disposable youth; people were tougher[1]; gigantic degree of labor specialization for this cultural role. The first one is so big we see the ripples in our own culture. Most of the political arguments we've had in our life come down to disagreement about this one issue: should there or should there not be more people like us, and fewer people not like us? To that last point, IIUC, the role of navigator was HUGE. Like a combination Pope, Stephen Hawking, and Grand Vizier . . and they ruthlessly kept their knowledge in a tiny esoteric circle, to control the means by which new lands could be found. Also so they could be the first to leave when things went bad, as they do when colonizing tiny islands in the middle of nothing. [1] Literally tougher, skulls were thicker, but also "tougher" as in "eh, yeah, had this spear point lodged in my spine most of my life, no biggie"