Re: An alternative to ST and AAT
John Waters (jdwaters@dircon.co.uk)
28 Nov 1996 00:36:13 GMT
Gerrit Hanenburg <G.Hanenburg@inter.nl.net> wrote in
article <57fm9g$o5n@news.NL.net>...
> "John Waters" <jdwaters@dircon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> >JW: Is it possible to do the same sort of analysis on H.
> >habilis and H. erectus? My interest here is concerned
with
> >the LBI broods. If these species exhibited increased
> >alfricial development, I would expect a proportional
> >increase in the adult stages of development. This would
> >imply a later age at first breeding.
>
> Female body weight H.erectus (African) is 52.3 kg.
Estimated age at
> first breeding is 14.2 years.
JW: This is very interesting. I know that Paul has poured
scorn on the utility of your calculations, so I wonder if I
could ask whether the above figure is based on a single H.
erectus fossil, or is a composite average of some kind?
The figure implies a gestation period of ten months.
Assuming that the actual gestation was nearly that of AMH,
this also implies a post natal altricial period of four to
six weeks. Perhaps more significant are the implications
for the end of the period of hominid infantile development.
The figure implies 4.5 to 5 years. This is LBI multi-age
brood territory. What date are we talking about here?
According to the HBT (for what it's worth), the LBI brood
would lead to an immediate change in the Response Seeker
Characteristic. This would lead to the development of the
typical HG multi-monogamic mating system, which in turn
would lead to a reduction in sexual dimorphism. I wonder
whether there is any evidence for this in later fossils?
John.
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