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Human longevity

The grandmother effect

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Why do women live long past the age of child-bearing? Contrary to common wisdom, this phenomenon is not new, and is not due to support for the elderly. Rather, grannies have a lot to offer their grandchildren.

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Figure 1: Population profiles for women — females over 15 years of age — for different variables.
Figure 2

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  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 270 S. 1400 E. Stewart 102, Salt Lake City, 84102, Utah, USA

    Kristen Hawkes

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  1. Kristen Hawkes
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Hawkes, K. The grandmother effect. Nature 428, 128–129 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/428128a

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