THEORY

UNCONVENTIONAL FAMILY STRUCTURES

“Human altriciality requires communal labor in childrearing. Models of extramaternal care or alloparenting in humans have given considerable attention to foraging and small-scale communities in which individuals live in close proximity to one another and exchange resources and labor between presumably bounded or semicircumscribed household units. These data have highlighted the flexibility with which humans adjust to the needs of dependent offspring. While data support the theory that maternal kin and specifically grandmothers are providing considerable childcare, humans’ success as a species has likely been due to the ability to create and maintain affective ties with kin and nonkin who can help with childrearing.” (Nelson 2020, pg 366)