Post birth-practices and rituals are roughly the same across the mammalian realm, but certain characteristics like midwifery and breastfeeding, for example, prove that ancient humans were much more similar to humans than previously thought.
Midwifery
While we understand midwifery to be a mechanism used by humans to aid in the birthing process, the concept is not unique to our species. In fact, given that we see bonobos and golden-snub monkeys practice midwifery today, this has led paleoanthropologists to theorize that ancient humans, such Australopithecus afarensis, aided each other in birth as well.
As seen in the “Birth” page, because the birth canal of an Australopithecus afarensis mother would have been quite narrow thereby rendering it difficult to deliver, it would have been evolutionarily advantageous for females to assist each other in birth
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And while it’s true that the practice of midwifery is shared between humans and our ancestors, the methods by which females assisted are far more different than they are alike. As scientists have observed in modern-day apes and monkeys, these primates assist the mother by attempting to pull out the infant. This slightly more primitive method is seen golden-snub monkeys seen on the right.
Further evidence for midwifery draws on the findings that Australopithecus Afarensis had complex social relationships. For example, the “First Family,” composed of thirteen individuals buried together in Hadar, Ethiopia, is evidence that these ancient humans relied on a highly developed social system to function. Therefore, the practice of midwifery would be not only evolutionarily advantageous, but normal with respect to their social tendencies.
Nursing
While nursing is a post-birth practice that we know to be universal within the mammalian kingdom, there is a crossover between the specific length of time that humans and ancient humans. The vast majority of mothers today breastfeed their children for approximately one year, similar to Australopithecus africanus.
The evidence supporting this approximation comes from dental records of a 2.6 million year old Australopithecus africanus that indicate the amount of trace elements on the teeth. Because breast milk contains barium, paleoanthropologists were able to examine the ape’s fossilized teeth and determine that this ape found near Sterkfontein Cave outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, did indeed breastfeed for approximately one year.
These findings also indicate how advantageous breastfeeding was during food shortages. Because Australopithecus africanus supplemented breastfeeding with other nutrients, during a famine/shortage, it would become necessary to rely solely on mothers for food.
Moreover, the duration of breastfeeding in ancient humans presents an interesting case that humans are far more alike to africanus than to modern day apes. As Christine Austin, a professor of environmental science, puts it:
“These are important findings from an evolutionary perspective, because humans have long childhoods and short breastfeeding periods, while apes have longer breastfeeding periods than humans do”
-Christine Austin, professor at Icahn School of Medicine
The explanation for how and why breastfeeding periods differ across apes is yet to be uncovered, although some paleoanthropologists believe that humans have dramatically affected the process of breastfeeding via our readily available access to products such as formula. Because formula is a much easier method by which to feed infants, it is expected that the evolution of breastfeeding may indeed include much shorter breastfeeding periods.