Chorote Reproduction in Numbers
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The numerical expression of reproductive decisions reflects the evolutionary strategies of a human group. This study seeks to understand biodemographic mechanisms, centered on reproduction and fertility, within the Chorote biocultural context.
The reproductive histories of 71 women with at least one child were studied. Births, mothers’ ages, and the sex of children were recorded. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the variables and related through significance tests. Age-specific fertility rates and the average number of offspring that a woman would theoretically reach were computed.
The mean age at first birth is 20.22 years. The average length of interbirth intervals is 3.2 years, and it shortens as women advance through their fertile interval. A tendency toward shorter spacing is observed among women with a delayed onset of motherhood. The fertility rate fx is 5.55, with early onset and late completion.
The initiation of reproduction shows a tendency to prolong the growth stage and improve health and nutritional conditions in order to face successive pregnancies. The mean age at the different parities agrees with that of natural-fertility populations with a final progeny size that is moderate in relation to other hunter-gatherer groups.
The length of the interbirth interval is significant in relation to the sex of the child who opens the interval, favoring daughters. This is interpreted as a reproductive decision biased by matrilocality and grounded in evolutionary terms.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The author/s grant exclusive license without temporary limit for the manuscript to be published in Cuadernos-FHyCS edited by Humanides the Faculty of Social Science, National University of Jujuy.
References
Alcaraz López, G. M. (2000) A fecundidade entre os Guaraní: um legado de kunhankaraí. Tesis doctoral. Río de Janeiro, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública. Disponible en línea: http://bases.bireme.br/cgi-bin.
Allal, N. et al. (2004) An evolutionary model of stature, age at first birth and reproductive success in Gambian women. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Series B: Biological Sciences), 271, (1538), pp. 465-470.
Bernis, C. (1990) Canvis en els models de reproducció humana: fets i problemes teòrics. En: Poblacions, societats i entorns. Barcelona, Editorial Barcanova, pp. 260-281.
Blanchard, R. y Bogaert, A. F. (1997) The relation of closed birth intervals to the sex of the preceding child and the sexual orientation of the succeeding child. Journal of Biosocial Science, 29, (1), pp. 111-118.
Böhler, E. y Bergström, S. (1995) Subsequent pregnancy affects morbidity of previous child. Journal of Biosocial Science, 27, (4), pp. 431-442.
Bongaarts, J. y Potter, R. G. (1983) Fertility, Biology, and Behavior: An Analysis of the Proximate Determinants. Nueva York, Academic Press.
Bumpass, L., Rindfuss, R. R. y Janosik, R. (1978) Age and marital status at first birth and the pace of subsequent fertility. Demography, 15, (1), pp. 75-86.
Campbell, B. C. y Wood, J. W. (1988) Fertility in traditional societies. En: P. Diggory et al. (Eds.), Natural Human Fertility: Social and Biological Determinants. Londres, The Macmillan Press / The Eugenics Society, pp. 39-69.
Crognier, E. (2003) Reproductive success: which meaning? American Journal of Human Biology, 15, (3), pp. 352-360.
Crognier, E., Baali, A. y Hilali, M. K. (2001) Do «helpers at the nest» increase their parents' reproductive success? American Journal of Human Biology, 13, (3), pp. 365-373.
Crognier, E. et al. (1996) Los comportamientos reproductivos de la población mapuche de la provincia de Río Negro. Revista Argentina de Antropología Biológica, 1, (1), pp. 86-97.
Felt, J. C. et al. (1990) High fertility of Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico. Human Biology, 62, (5), pp. 689-700.
Ferrarini, S. O. y Méndez, M. G. (2009) Inversión reproductiva: número, sexo y supervivencia en chorote y ayoreo. En: M. G. Méndez (Ed.), Terra incognita: estudios antropológicos en el Chaco meridional. La Plata, Editorial Universitaria de La Plata, pp. 56-74.
Ferrarini, S. O. y Méndez, M. G. (2011) Niña o niño: intervalos entre nacimientos y el sexo de los hijos entre los wichí. Cuadernos de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, (39, Suplemento: X Jornadas Regionales de Investigación en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales), p. 128. San Salvador de Jujuy, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy.
Gaisie, S. K. (1984) The Proximate Determinants of Fertility in Ghana (WFS Scientific Reports, N.º 53). Voorburg / Londres, International Statistical Institute / World Fertility Survey.
Gray, S. J. (1994) Comparison of effect of breast-feeding practices on birth-spacing in three societies: Nomadic Turkana, Gainj and Quechua. Journal of Biosocial Science, 26, (1), pp. 69-90.
Greenberg, R. A. y White, C. (1967) The sexes of consecutive sibs in human sibships. Human Biology, 39, (4), pp. 374-404.
Greksa, L. P. (2002) Population growth and fertility patterns in an Old Order Amish settlement. Annals of Human Biology, 29, (2), pp. 192-201.
Hawkes, K. et al. (1998) Grandmothering, menopause, and the evolution of human life histories. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95, (3), pp. 1336-1339.
Henripin, J. (1954) La fécondité des ménages canadiens au début du XVIIIe siècle. Population, 9, (1), pp. 61-84. París, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
Henry, L. (1961) Some data on natural fertility. Eugenics Quarterly, 8, (2), pp. 81-91.
Hern, W. M. (1994) Cultural change, polygyny, and fertility among the Shipibo of Peruvian Amazon. South American Indian Studies, (4), pp. 77-86.
Hill, K. y Hurtado, A. M. (1989) Hunter-gatherers of the New World. American Scientist, 77, (5), pp. 437-443.
Hill, K. y Hurtado, A. M. (1996) Aché Life History: The Ecology and Demography of a Foraging People. Nueva York, Aldine de Gruyter.
Hobcraft, J., McDonald, J. W. y Rutstein, S. O. (1985) Demographic determinants of infant and early child mortality: a comparative analysis. Population Studies, 39, (3), pp. 363-385.
Hrdy, S. B. (1987) Sex-biased investment in primates and mammals. En: R. J. Gelles y J. B. Lancaster (Eds.), Child Abuse and Neglect: Biosocial Dimensions. Hawthorne, Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 97-147.
Kaplan, H. S. y Lancaster, J. B. (2003) An evolutionary and ecological analysis of human fertility, mating patterns, and parental investment. En: K. W. Wachter y R. A. Bulatao (Eds.), Offspring: Human Fertility Behavior in Biodemographic Perspective. Washington, D. C., The National Academies Press, pp. 170-223.
Knodel, J. (1968) Infant mortality and fertility in three Bavarian villages: an analysis of family histories from the nineteenth century. Population Studies, 22, (3), pp. 297-318.
Konogolo, L. (1985) Variation in entry into motherhood and length of effective reproductive life among women in Kenya. En: Studies in African and Asian Demography (CDC Annual Seminar). El Cairo, Cairo Demographic Center. Manuscrito.
Livi-Bacci, M. (1993) Introducción a la demografía. (Trad. M. G. de Bofarull). Barcelona, Editorial Ariel.
McAlpine, P. J. y Simpson, N. E. (1976) Fertility and other demographic aspects of the Canadian Eskimo communities of Igloolik and Hall Beach. Human Biology, 48, (1), pp. 113-138.
Méndez, M. G. y Ferrarini, S. O. (2009) Rasgos fenotípicos y desempeño reproductivo en hombres y mujeres chorote. En: M. G. Méndez (Ed.), Terra incognita: estudios antropológicos en el Chaco meridional. La Plata, Editorial Universitaria de La Plata, pp. 35-55.
Méndez, M. G. y Ferrarini, S. O. (2011) Madres wichí: cuándo ser y cuántos niños tener. Cuadernos de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, (39, Suplemento: X Jornadas Regionales de Investigación en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales), pp. 228-229. San Salvador de Jujuy, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy.
Méndez, M. G. y Ferrarini, S. O. (2013) Los chorote en retrospectiva. En: M. G. Méndez (Comp.), Niños y madres: estudios antropológicos sobre reproducción y fertilidad. La Plata, pp. 39-84.
Miller, J. E. (1989) Is the relationship between birth intervals and perinatal mortality spurious? Evidence from Hungary and Sweden. Population Studies, 43, (3), pp. 479-495.
Nath, D. C., Leonetti, D. L. y Steele, M. S. (2000) Analysis of birth intervals in a noncontracepting Indian population: an evolutionary ecology approach. Journal of Biosocial Science, 32, (3), pp. 343-354.
Pascual, J. (2004) Caracterización de la historia reproductora y análisis de la fecundidad de las mujeres de Tierra del Fuego. Tesis doctoral. Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona.
Pebley, A. R., Hermalin, A. I. y Knodel, J. (1991) Birth spacing and infant mortality: evidence for eighteenth and nineteenth century German villages. Journal of Biosocial Science, 23, (3), pp. 445-459.
Rodríguez Otero, H. et al. (2000) Factores asociados a la fertilidad en la comarca leonesa de La Cabrera. En: L. Caro Dobón et al. (Eds.), Tendencias actuales de investigación en la antropología física española. León, Universidad de León, pp. 273-280.
Sánchez Ocasio, K. (2003) A Fork in Fertility: The Demographic Transition and Factors Mediating a Fertility Decline among the Indigenous Toba of Argentina. Tesis de licenciatura. Cambridge, Harvard University.
Scott, S. y Duncan, C. J. (2000) Interacting effects of nutrition and social class differentials on fertility and infant mortality in a pre-industrial population. Population Studies, 54, (1), pp. 71-87.
Sieff, D. F. (1990) Explaining biased sex ratios in human populations: a critique of recent studies. Current Anthropology, 31, (1), pp. 25-48.
Siffredi, A. (1977) La vida social de los chorote: informe preliminar. Cuadernos Franciscanos, (41), pp. 75-99. Salta.
Smith, T. E. (1960) The Cocos-Keeling Islands: a demographic laboratory. Population Studies, 14, (2), pp. 94-130.
St. George, D. et al. (2000) Birth interval and early childhood mortality in a migrating Mennonite community. American Journal of Human Biology, 12, (1), pp. 50-63.
Trivers, R. L. y Willard, D. E. (1973) Natural selection of parental ability to vary the sex ratio of offspring. Science, 179, (4068), pp. 90-92.
Valeggia, C. R. y Ellison, P. T. (2004) Lactational amenorrhea in well-nourished Toba women of Formosa, Argentina. Journal of Biosocial Science, 36, (5), pp. 573-595.
Westoff, C. F., Blanc, A. K. y Nyblade, L. (1994) Marriage and Entry into Parenthood (DHS Comparative Studies, N.º 10). Calverton, Macro International.
Westoff, C. F. et al. (1961) Family Growth in Metropolitan America. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Wyshak, G. (1969) Intervals between births in families containing one set of twins. Journal of Biosocial Science, 1, (4), pp. 337-351.