Image: Illustration by Viktor Deak
In Brief
- People today typically live long enough to become grandparents, but this was not always the case.
- Recent analyses of fossil teeth indicate that grandparents were rare in ancient populations, such as those of the australopithecines and the Neandertals. They first became common around 30,000 years ago, as evidenced by remains of early modern Europeans.
- This surge in the number of seniors may have been a driving force for the explosion of new tool types and art forms that occurred in Europe at around the same time. It also may explain how modern humans outcompeted archaic groups such as the Neandertals.
More In This Article
During the summer of 1963, when I was six years old, my family traveled from our home in Philadelphia to Los Angeles to visit my maternal relatives. I already knew my grandmother well: she helped my mother care for my twin brothers, who were only 18 months my junior, and me. When she was not with us, my grandmother lived with her mother, whom I met that summer for the first time. I come from a long-lived family. My grandmother was born in 1895, and her mother in the 1860s; both lived almost 100 years. We stayed with the two matriarchs for several weeks. Through their stories, I learned about my roots and where I belonged in a social network spanning four generations. Their reminiscences personally connected me to life at the end of the Civil War and the Reconstruction era and to the challenges my ancestors faced and the ways they persevered.
My story is not unique. Elders play critical roles in human societies around the globe, conveying wisdom and providing social and economic support for the families of their children and larger kin groups. In our modern era, people routinely live long enough to become grandparents. But this was not always the case. When did grandparents become prevalent, and how did their ubiquity affect human evolution?
This article was originally published with the title The Evolution of Grandparents.
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14 Comments
Add Comment"When i was six..." "I already knew..." "I come from ..."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs this story about Grendparents or the Author?
Could you possibly use "I" any more?
I don't have access to the full article, that said.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this40,000yrs ago we had the same life span as Neanderthals.
"Dr Trinkaus studied fossil records of humans from across Eurasia and of Neanderthals from the western half of Eurasia to estimate adult mortality in the two groups. He found that there was approximately the same number of adults in the 20-to-40 age range and over-40 age range in both groups. About 25 percent of adult humans and Neanderthals survived past 40."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/science/11obneanderthal.html
A generation back then was around 15 years, not todays 25-30 years. 40 year old virgins, I'm not buying it.
-they help/helped but were not the primary driving force of human evolution... consciousness was the primary thing, but it was/is multi-faceted, so 'the' isn't really the word.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisElders are nuisance to young generation.As world changing so fast knowledge of older generation is useless for young people.Older people are helpless and no one care about them.extreme old age is curse to old man. He is victim of many disease,some time old people unable to move,want help of another for everything. No one prefer this kind of hopeless life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this.
Raghuvanshi1, So you have stupid grandparents? My grandkids have computers because I bought them the top of the line with printers and fax combos. A set of them had their first high speed connection because I paid for it... as for who bought them books and discs for learning, gee whiz, your situation if it is true is not what is true for all young people. But then you may be just a pain in the ---, my oldest forgets who bought him his first computer so that he could use it for college when he finally decided to listen to his mother and obtain a degree. You have a twisted view of life, is it really the way it is or are you a schizoid - autistic ya hoo?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI spent some time among the Ifugao and other mountain tribes in the Cordillera Mountains, northern Luzon, Philippines. But they are typical, in respect to my observations below, of the lowlanders who work the land throughout the islands.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne thing in particular that is relevant to this writing about grandparents is missing from it. Grandparents free up the men, women and children of working age to work in the rice terraces, the vegetable patches, or hunt, fish and collect forest materials. It is necessary to have an adult back at home, who can watch and take care of young children, do the weaving, cooking and other tasks, and even bring water and food to the workers in the fields during the day. Sometimes, where the grandparent, also, is out in the fields, pulling weeds, or other work, an older child takes care of the younger siblings back at home. But they are not productive, like the grandmothers are. And, yes, it is usually the grandmothers.
What I wrote is a general observation.Your grandson may be learning from you or enjoy what you given to them.I ask you simple question why are more old people are suffering from Demented, paralysis,and other incurable diseases in Europe and America compare to India and China? We Indians take care more of our old parent then you. I wrote generation gap and that is anyone can see all over the world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisActually there's more to it. I related grandparents, life expectancy and altruism in my last book http://amzn.to/a9Jedr to show how we developed more long lasting mating bonds, more success in parenting and improved survival.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt wasn't that long ago that this very magazine had an article stating that in the 1700s in Sweden, the presence of a Grandmother extended life expectency and the presence of a Grandfather shortened it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe difference you are seeing is due to Americans and Europeans living longer on average than Indians and Chinese. Last time I checked, gravity still works and sanitation is still required. How to get from here to there is still mostly the same. These changes you whine about are superficial for the most part. Thus the wisdom of our elders is still of great benefit.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat is what my teenaged son tells me at any rate.
Not grandparents. The spread of burials. Valued elders no longer just disappeared into the void. They were still there, kept to be consulted again in meditative reflection on what would have been their solution or approach to the problems facing those still alive. This is source, where reverence for elders first sprang.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot grandparents. The spread of burials. Valued elders no longer just disappeared into the void. They were still there, kept to be consulted again in meditative reflection on what would have been their solution or approach to the problems facing those still alive. This is source, where reverence for elders first sprang.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have to agree with bucket. Raghu, I believe your "general observation" argument fails in the precense of hard data... http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot trying to be to harsh towards you, but I suspect you have briefly visited the USA or Europe, or have a few friends you base your observations on, but you've not had a chance to really understand the culture differences. What you percieve as true is not. Yes, I have been to both China and India and seen no evidence that elders are better looked after. If anything the reverse is true as seen by the life expectency data.
It is interesting because one of the smartest invertebrates is the octopus that never meets its mother or any other family member sans siblings. They are able to solve very complicated problems but they lack any form of culture. I never had a grand father but had two grand mothers and I think I learned more from my dad's mom than any other person on earth including Einstein.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisShortly before I was born and my mom and dad were married my dad lost his father and almost lost his mother due to massive brain damage and multiple injuries including two crushed legs that were put back together with steel pins. It is said that the time I spent with her helped to heal her and I remember a lot of time with her including being able to read by three years old. By then she had traveled the world, wrote several books and taught the love of God. When my first grand daughter was born my ex wife had very serious cancer and we were very afraid we would lose her. (we are like brother and sister and love each other very much so it is a weird but beautiful relationship). Anyway Rose spent a lot of time with Eileen and I swear it was like myself and my dad's mom. Today Rose is healthier than I am and I will always swear it was the love of that grand child that brought her back from almost dying.