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Hrdy claims that the crucible in which our most distinctive human traits were forged had nothing to do with violence (Wrangham), competition and survival of the fittest (Darwin), improvisational intelligence and causal modelling (Pinker), or complex cultural and technological adaptations (Henrich). Humans evolved to become the distinctively pro-social, tolerant and cooperative species that we are today because of the emergence of allo-parenting about 1.8 million years ago: that is, a new way of parenting in which kids were cared for not only by Mom, but by Dad, auntie, grandma, sister, uncle and other kin. Novel rearing conditions among a line of early hominins in Africa meant that kids grew up depending on a wider range of caregivers than just their mothers - and this dependence produced selection pressures that favoured kids who were better at figuring out the mental states of others. No other great ape species engages in allo-parenting. Describe, explain, and evaluate Hrdy's allo-parenting hypothesis. Is it plausible? Are there any problems with it?
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