ANCESTRAL LANDSCAPES IN HUMAN EVOLUTION

In most parts of the world the social structure has come along way from that of our earliest hunter-gatherer ancestors. From living in small groups of up to 150 people many now live in larger groups, from villages up to mega cities with over 10 million people. Undoubtedly this development has meant, materialistically at least, a more comfortable life for most people, in particular as regards nutrition and health issues. The life span of hunter-gatherers was a lot shorter and infant mortality a lot worse. But according to the authors of this book, the hunter-gathering life also had advantages, in particular for children. Advantages that we now seem to have lost.

The main advantage of Stone Age life, it could be argued, is living in small tribal groups: human beings have spent far longer, historically, living in this way than any modern form of living. From an evolutionary point this means that human beings have had more time to adjust to tribal life than to the social changes that created modern society.

This applies in particular to childrearing. As most of us probably would agree modern life is not very child-friendly. Even for parents totally dedicated to giving their children the best possible start in life, this is not always easily done. Children need safe environments, a group of people they can learn to trust and relate to, fair chances to play by themselves in groups where they can learn from other children as well as adults. All of this is necessary for their socialisation process and their social wellbeing as adults.

Although things are changing in many countries, child-care is still not a top priority. Instead of listening to a growing number of experts who point to the fact that giving children a good start in life is a very good investment, childrearing is often left to 'make-do' solutions and a real struggle for parents to cope with. Regardless of wealth in the country, it is obvious that many countries are not allocating sufficient funds to provide a good environment for families with young children.

This is why studies of Stone Age life can play a role. That way we can go back to our roots and see which important factors we have lost on our way to a modern society. In a collection of essays, by a number of experts in this field, this book presents the findings of such studies. A number of hunter-gatherer societies around the world have been studied from a range of different approaches with the common goal to identify the optimal environment for mammalian development. They range from observations of living conditions; how children never sleep alone, are breastfed for several years, allowed to play and learn from each other in egalitarian groups to observations of the situation for modern children.

Some important conclusions are that play is essential both to develop creativity and self-confidence. The fact that many hunter-gatherer groups have a much more collective approach to childrearing also has a positive effect. It is an old view that it takes a village to bring up a child. This notion is often ignored in today's childrearing. Adults who are not directly related or paid to look after a particular child will be reprimanded or worse if they try to participate in the child's upbringing.

The book also challenges reports, often paid for by companies who produce breast milk formulas, that mothers should stop breastfeeding after a few months. Instead the book reports positively on a lifestyle where young children are breastfed for several years, not just by their mother but sometimes even by other mothers. In comparison, in countries such as USA breastfeeding is not an easy job for working mothers. Maternity leave is often only a couple of weeks (whereas in many European countries it can be up to a couple of years paid leave). There's also constant advertising advising mothers to switch to formulas that have more 'controlled' nutritional values. Interestingly, other research by American scientists also point to links between lack of breastfeeding and an obsession with the female breast in adult life. This applies both to men who tend to prefer women with large breasts and to women who are prepared to spend a lot of money on breast enlargement.

There's also a revealing chapter on the consequences of too much TV and Internet for children. TV and internet adverts, aimed directly at children, may be seen by the child as a version of a 'bad mother': they generate the same message as a bad parent making demands on the child, sometimes in ways that the child does not know how to meet. This can trigger a stress reaction in the child. Also, if the child spends too much time watching TV it may not develop a proper experience of two-way communication. This is something that can have a negative effect in the school environment and other situations later in life, according to other reports. For example, some British children starting school need to be taught to speak. Too much TV may also lead to the child bonding with the TV rather than their family. Many children show real withdrawal symptoms if their TV is removed.

Modern adult vanity can also have a negative effect on child development. Botox injections block movement of the facial muscles; a growing child needs to learn communication from observing the facials expressions of people around them. Having a mother with a semi-paralyzed face, may be a problem and a source of confusion for the child.

Obviously the book does not argue in favour of a return to Stone Age life. The disadvantages are far too many. Besides, the planet's current population is far too large to sustain a Stone Age life-style for everyone. But by returning to our roots to see what we have lost and where we may have gone wrong, may help us to detect good ways forward and to understand which changes need to be made.