
Are we domesticating human beings? - david
http://gmgauthi.livejournal.com/51491.html
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pg
Though the _average_ life expectancy in medieval Europe (which is what he
seems to mean by "in history") was about 40, people didn't only expect to live
to be 40. Everyone considered the natural human lifespan to be the canonical 3
score years and 10. I.e. 70. They knew there was a good chance some accident
or disease would nab them before that, but they didn't feel as if they were in
a rush because they only had half as much time.

It's also an urban legend that "centuries ago" women matured earlier and had
children in their teens. In the Amazon rainforest perhaps. In Europe the
average age of marriage for women has been in the mid twenties for many, many
centuries. Possibly back to pre-Roman times. The worse things were
economically, the later the age tended to be.

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david
That pretty much makes sense. Know any good sources on either of these topics?

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pg
Laslett's _The World We Have Lost_

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david
Thanks.

