ABSTRACT
Aging, as differentiated from disease, is progressive, irreversible, and uni versal (Kohn 1971). Senescence, a more restrictive term, refers to "a decrease i n the efficient functioning of an organism w i t h increasing age" (Spence 1989:8). Reproductive senescence is part of the aging process in the sense that i t is progressive-the ability to conceive and bear offspring declines w i t h age (Finch 1990; Wood 1994). Reproductive senescence is not, however, a species universal or necessarily irreversible; i t is better characterized as sex-and culture-specific.
