The formation of natural persons and diversity of attachment relationships in hunter-gatherer child-rearing: Implications for an archaeology of childhood
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| Title: | The formation of natural persons and diversity of attachment relationships in hunter-gatherer child-rearing: Implications for an archaeology of childhood |
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| Authors: | Akira Takada |
| Source: | Hunter Gatherer Research. 11:125-144 |
| Publisher Information: | Liverpool University Press, 2025. |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Subject Terms: | 0602 languages and literature, 05 social sciences, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 06 humanities and the arts |
| Description: | With a variety of conceptual intersections such as those of natural persons (ie people in their natural state), individual development, and socialisation, scholars have utilised examples of child-rearing practices in hunter-gatherer societies as a proxy for better understanding human origins in the dual sense of society and the individual. Significant diversity in child-rearing practices have been documented in a wide variety of hunter-gatherer populations. In particular, a range of forms of early childhood attachment has provoked active debates about humans’ original parenting practices and what might be considered natural for human child-rearing practices. No society represents living fossils of our ancestors nor can be seen as a singular representative for all human child-rearing practices in the past and present. Nevertheless, much can be learned about possible child-rearing practices in human history through the careful consideration of ethnographic data from modern foraging societies. Taking up the author’s studies of gymnastic behaviours (a series of behaviours displayed by caregivers such as holding infants on their laps early and often, holding them in a standing position, or moving them up and down) among San groups, this paper reconsiders the attachment relationships as a more dynamic system involving many people, based on intimate responsiveness. Gymnastic behaviours are performed by various caregivers, not only the mother, among San groups. Gymnastic behaviours thereby situate infants within a network of relationships with those around them long before they begin to use cognitive tools such as language to understand and engage in social situations. Flexibility and plasticity, which characterise child-rearing in hunter-gatherer societies, may also underlie parenting in other past and present societies. While most child-rearing practices, including gymnastic behaviours, might have left no archaeological trace, better understanding regarding who engages, and how, in a wide range of child-rearing practices in the present provides valuable insights for interpreting the archaeological record. The analysis of gymnastic behaviours among groups of the San indicates that rather than a singular focus on mother–infant relationships, non-maternal or allo-maternal care of infants might better reflect the flexibility and plasticity of child-rearing practices in human societies. |
| Document Type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2056-3264 2056-3256 |
| DOI: | 10.3828/hgr.2024.37 |
| Accession Number: | edsair.doi...........1a7f17ccf2bbe1f784e97941b52d78cf |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | With a variety of conceptual intersections such as those of natural persons (ie people in their natural state), individual development, and socialisation, scholars have utilised examples of child-rearing practices in hunter-gatherer societies as a proxy for better understanding human origins in the dual sense of society and the individual. Significant diversity in child-rearing practices have been documented in a wide variety of hunter-gatherer populations. In particular, a range of forms of early childhood attachment has provoked active debates about humans’ original parenting practices and what might be considered natural for human child-rearing practices. No society represents living fossils of our ancestors nor can be seen as a singular representative for all human child-rearing practices in the past and present. Nevertheless, much can be learned about possible child-rearing practices in human history through the careful consideration of ethnographic data from modern foraging societies. Taking up the author’s studies of gymnastic behaviours (a series of behaviours displayed by caregivers such as holding infants on their laps early and often, holding them in a standing position, or moving them up and down) among San groups, this paper reconsiders the attachment relationships as a more dynamic system involving many people, based on intimate responsiveness. Gymnastic behaviours are performed by various caregivers, not only the mother, among San groups. Gymnastic behaviours thereby situate infants within a network of relationships with those around them long before they begin to use cognitive tools such as language to understand and engage in social situations. Flexibility and plasticity, which characterise child-rearing in hunter-gatherer societies, may also underlie parenting in other past and present societies. While most child-rearing practices, including gymnastic behaviours, might have left no archaeological trace, better understanding regarding who engages, and how, in a wide range of child-rearing practices in the present provides valuable insights for interpreting the archaeological record. The analysis of gymnastic behaviours among groups of the San indicates that rather than a singular focus on mother–infant relationships, non-maternal or allo-maternal care of infants might better reflect the flexibility and plasticity of child-rearing practices in human societies. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 20563264 20563256 |
| DOI: | 10.3828/hgr.2024.37 |