ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part provides much higher levels of direct care for foragers children than adults in cultures characterized by other modes of production. It examines data on the extent to which forager fathers or grandmothers are more important to children's survival. The part shows that the nonmaternal care and high father involvement are common, but variable, in hunter-gatherer infancy and early childhood. It explores humans by their cooperative patterns of childcare. The part discusses very different sets of data to understand who cares for Hadza children. It focuses on child care among the Efe is the first systematic study of children caring for infants in a foraging culture. The part looks at forager men actually share most of their meat with other adults in camp, while members of the hunter's family actually receive a relatively small portion of the meat.
