Anthropology

Capturing the ideas among many evolutional anthropologists reflects on the Grandmother hypothesis wherein it tries to explore the validity and occurrence of midlife menopausal stage particularly among human females. Seeing this, the study of Alvarez seeks to concretize such dimensions by seeking to expand the research and try to include in the study other primates who also undergo such phases. The ability of the article to tap into life history among these primates corresponds towards creating a better understanding towards the value of evolution particularly among human females.

Analyzing the study, Alvarez uses the life history theory as a basis in studying the occurrence of the grandmother hypothesis. In here, she tests 16 primate species and determines their corresponding similarities and differences in areas such as having slow somatic senescence and post menopausal longevity (Alvarez, 2000). Given this approach, the study was able to decipher relevant conclusions that seek to justify how the use of life history theory can help solve the question of adaptive evolution among human females. It is through such patterns that the study was able to create a relationship between the fertile span among human females and other pongids.

What I found most interesting about the article is the capacity of the author to merge another theory to help address the grandmother hypothesis. It can be seen that Alvarez tries to connect the capacity of human females to undergo midlife menopausal stage and the way life history has dictated a shift in the patterns of how females adapt to the environment they are in. Given this, it has not only brought about patterns of evolution as it limited the capacity of female fertile span.

Seeing this, I do feel that this perspective is a good way of addressing and understanding the nature of anthropology particularly evolution. Having this approach considers a scientific response on a particular unexplained reality happening among many midlife human females. By analyzing and integrating these the theory and hypothesis together, Alvarez was not only able to make a comparable perspective of what might have happened along the way but also created a new dimension of understanding evolution and its relative impact in the ability of man to address the changes happening in reality.