Why Are Ancient Babies So Useless?

A baby wildebeest is running with the herd within minutes of birth. A human baby can't even hold up its own head. So why are human babies so "useless"? Here's the real story, and how ancient families kept helpless babies alive with no cribs, no strollers and no baby food. In this video: Why a baby wildebeest can run almost right away and a human baby can't Why human babies are born needing so much help (and why scientists still argue about it) How hunter-gatherer groups like the Hadza and Aka carry and care for their babies The helpers: dads, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and grandmothers Why a helpless start may actually be a gift Important: this video is for education and entertainment only. It is not parenting or medical advice. The Hadza and Aka are modern people, so they are clues about the past, not a perfect copy of it. Where scientists disagree, the video says so. Sources and further reading: Dunsworth and colleagues, "Metabolic hypothesis for human altriciality," PNAS, 2012 Washburn, "Tools and Human Evolution," Scientific American, 1960 (the "obstetrical dilemma" idea) Crittenden and Marlowe, "Allomaternal care among the Hadza of Tanzania," Human Nature, 2008 Kruger and Konner, "Who responds to crying? Maternal care and allocare among the !Kung," Human Nature, 2010 Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, "Mothers and Others," 2009 World Health Organization, motor development milestones (WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study) Subscribe to Oddly Explained for more ancient history and science, explained simply. #ancienthumans #history #explained