Presence of Grandmothers in the Neighbourhood of their Grandchildren and their Possible Impact on the Survival of these Children Case Study of Škvorec Estate in the 18th and 19th Century
Abstract
The evolutionary anthropologists formulated the hypothesis (30 years ago) which is called "Grandmother hypothesis". This theory attempts to explain the menopause which is limited the reproductive life of a womenˈs life.
Anthropologists show that menopause allows women to support (to look after) of their own grandchildren (Hawkes, 2003). Studies which tested this theory by using the current subpopulations' data had similiar results: the presence of grandmother corresponds to the lower age of her daughters (or daughters-in-law) at the birth of their first child and their shorter birth-birth intervals and to lower infant (or child) mortality of grandchildren (e.g.
Beise and Voland, 2002). What is the situation at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in the Czech lands? How often did maternal or paternal grandmother live close to the birthplace of her grandchild? And what was the effect on the survival of this child? Did exist some differences between families according to socioeconomic status in this issue? The aim of this paper is discovered the possible effect of maternal and paternal grandmothers on infant (child) survival at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in Škvorec manor as an example rural locality in the Czech lands.