The Homo erectus Female Revisited

The Energetic Consequences of Being a Homo erectus Female was published in the American Journal of Human Biology over two decades ago. This paper drew attention to the high body-size-related reproductive costs of an H. erectus female if she retained the same reproductive schedule of smaller-bodied earlier hominins modeled on the schedule for modern Pan. The main conclusion was that the energetic cost per offspring would be significantly reduced by adopting a modern human reproductive schedule with a shorter lactation period and an overall shorter interbirth interval. To make this possible and support the energetic requirements of the larger body size, there would have had to be a fundamental shift in subsistence behavior involving a higher-quality diet and intergenerational cooperation in food acquisition. This paper re-evaluates these conclusions based on recent energetic research developments. Although the modeling parameters have changed, the conclusions are still valid. Their implications are discussed in light of modern research on the increase in body and brain size and the evolution of cooperative subsistence behavior.