title: Women's work, child care, and helpers-at-the-nest in a hunter-gatherer society.
abstract: Considerable research on helpers-at-the-nest demonstrates the positive effects of firstborn daughters on a mother's reproductive success and the survival of her children compared with women who have firstborn sons. This research is largely restricted to agricultural settings. In the present study we ask: "Does 'daughter first' improve mothers' reproductive success in a hunting and gathering context?" Through an analysis of 84 postreproductive women in this population we find that the sex of the first- or second-born child has no effect on a mother's fertility or the survival of her offspring. We conclude that specific environmental and economic factors underlay the helpers-at-the-nest phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology and Geography, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 68588, Lincoln, NE. rhames@unl.edu.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hames
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology and Geography, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 68588, Lincoln, NE.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Draper
keywords: Fertility; Helpers-at-the-nest; Hunter-gatherers; Ju/’hoansi