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Pretelli I, Crittenden AN, Dounias E, Friant S, Koster J, Kramer KL, Mangola SM, Saez AM, Lew-Levy S. Child and adolescent foraging: New directions in evolutionary research. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22020. [PMID: 38214699 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Young children and adolescents in subsistence societies forage for a wide range of resources. They often target child-specific foods, they can be very successful foragers, and they share their produce widely within and outside of their nuclear family. At the same time, while foraging, they face risky situations and are exposed to diseases that can influence their immune development. However, children's foraging has largely been explained in light of their future (adult) behavior. Here, we reinterpret findings from human behavioral ecology, evolutionary medicine and cultural evolution to center foraging children's contributions to life history evolution, community resilience and immune development. We highlight the need to foreground immediate alongside delayed benefits and costs of foraging, including inclusive fitness benefits, when discussing children's food production from an evolutionary perspective. We conclude by recommending that researchers carefully consider children's social and ecological context, develop cross-cultural perspectives, and incorporate children's foraging into Indigenous sovereignty discourse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Pretelli
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse School of Economics, and University of Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Edmond Dounias
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Sagan Friant
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jeremy Koster
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karen L Kramer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Shani M Mangola
- The Law School of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Olanakwe Community Fund, Mang'ola, Tanzania
| | - Almudena Mari Saez
- TransVHIMI Unit, French National Institute for Sustainable Development, IRD, Montpellier, France
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