ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part addresses the contrasting ideas about the role of learning in the evolution of a longer juvenile period by examining details of the behavior of children, especially their subsistence behavior. It explores childhood and juvenile interchangeably, for anyone who is no longer an infant and not yet an adult. The part looks at foraging by Mikea children and points out that we often underestimate the efficiency of child foragers because they have other things on their minds—playing, staying out of the sun, watching passersby, and so on. It shows how parents trade off the value of children's productive work against the imputed future value of their play. The part suggests a way in which theory might be used to predict how much time children allocate to different activities.
