Hunter-gatherer childhoods may offer clues to improving education and well-being in developed countries

Published today in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, a new study by Dr. Nikhil Chaudhary, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, and Dr. Annie Swanepoel, a child psychiatrist, calls for new research into child mental health in hunter-gatherer societies. They explore the possibility that some common aspects of hunter-gatherer childhoods could help families in economically developed countries. Eventually, hunter-gatherer behaviors could inform “experimental intervention trials” in homes, schools and nurseries.