The Endocrinology of the Human Adaptive Complex

The human adaptive complex is a coadapted complex of traits including (1) the life history of development, aging, and longevity; (2) diet and dietary physiology; (3) the energetics of reproduction; (4) social relationships among men and women; (5) intergenerational resource transfers; and (6) cooperation among related and unrelated individuals (Kaplan, 1997; Kaplan et al., 2000; Kaplan et al., 2001; Kaplan and Robson, 2002; Kaplan et al., 2003; Robson and Kaplan, 2003; Kaplan and Gurven, 2005; Gurven and Kaplan, 2006; Gurven and Walker, 2006; Kaplan, Gurven, and Lancaster, 2007). It describes a very specialized niche characterized by (1) the highest-quality, most nutrient-dense, largestpackage-size food resources from both plants and animals; (2) learningintensive, sometimes technology-intensive, and often cooperative food acquisition techniques; (3) a large brain to learn and store a great deal of context-dependent environmental information and to develop creative food acquisition techniques; (4) a long period of juvenile dependence to support brain development and learning; (5) low juvenile and even lower adult mortality rates, generating a long, productive life span and population age structure with a high ratio of adult producers to juvenile dependents; (6) a three-generational system of downward resource flows from grandparents to parents to children; (7) biparental investment, with men specializing in energetic support and women combining energetic support with direct care of children; (8) marriage and long-term reproductive unions; and (9) cooperative arrangements among kin and unrelated 514-37876_ch01_1P.qxd 09/18/08 5:07 PM Page 95