#239 Abigail Page: Cooperative Breeding, Social Networks, And Health In The Agta
Dr. Abigail Page is MRC Research Fellow at the Department of Population Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research is focused on understanding the relationship between the environment (both social and natural) and behavior, and ultimately how this influences health and wellbeing. Her background is in evolutionary approaches to human behavior (in particular Human Behavioral Ecology), therefore her research seeks to test hypotheses developed from evolutionary theory and ultimately, to understand the function of any given behavior. Dr. Page’s interests are also influenced by Evolutionary Medicine and Applied Evolutionary Anthropology and Demography.
In this episode, we talk about several aspects of human sociality from a human behavioral ecology perspective. We first discuss alloparenting, and the role of fathers. We talk about what we can learn about human nature from traditional societies. We then get into studies Dr. Page did with the Agta, a population of Filipino hunter-gatherers, and particularly what happens when some of their groups adopt a more sedentary agriculture-based lifestyle, particularly in terms of health, fertility and demography. Finally, we talk about how we can use this knowledge to help isolated hunter-gatherer tribes to thrive.
Time Links:
Alloparenting in human societies
The role of fathers
What we can learn about human nature from studying traditional societies
The Agta, a population of Filipino hunter-gatherers
What changes when societies transition to a sedentary lifestyle
Fertility and demographic transitions
Sex ratios in the Agta, and male-biased reproduction
How we can use this knowledge to help hunter-gatherer societies
Follow Dr. Page’s work!
Follow Dr. Page’s work:
Faculty page: http://bit.ly/2GSuCzD
ResearchGate profile: http://bit.ly/2YQ8r3n
Relevant papers:
Alloparenting: http://bit.ly/2KlsvXy
Engagement in agricultural work is associated with reduced leisure time among Agta hunter-gatherers: http://bit.ly/2M621LE
Hunter-Gatherer Social Networks and Reproductive Success: http://bit.ly/2M5Ghj1
Reproductive trade-offs in extant hunter-gatherers suggest adaptive mechanism for the Neolithic expansion: http://bit.ly/2KvCRTx
Why so many Agta boys? Explaining ‘extreme’ sex ratios in Philippine foragers: http://bit.ly/2GSV2kX