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Stages of Human Life History

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Stages of Human Life History

Human developmental process also refers to human growth which is a slow process taking all the

longer time from the moment of conception to maturity. Compared with other mammals it is

longer, sexual maturity is achieved at a less young age and life expectancy is shorter. Whereas

these dissimilarities indicated can, therefore, be accounted for by evolution factors as the brain,

social networks & reproductive modes.

Prenatal Stage (Gestation)

Duration: About nine months, from the time it is conceived to the time it is born.

Key Features: During this period the embryo forms into the fetus and begins to grow and develop

it’s organs much faster now (Dahlen et al., 2020). This stage of embryonic development is

further divided into three trimesters; the first one is characterized by to put structure which are

rudimentary, the second one is one of growth and the third is of maturation and readiness for

birth.

Infancy

Duration: Birth to around 2 years.

Key Features: Newborns are physically developing beings but most of them possess the skills of

feeding and responding to stimuli sounds and light and starting their process of motor

development (Arterberry & Bornstein, 2023). They are also cognition and sensory developments,

which are still at their infancy and babies depend on adults for basic needs.
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Childhood

Duration: 2 to 7 years.

Key Features: During childhood, growth occurs in different aspects of the body as a child

reaches a certain age they stop growing like infants. This is the period whereby children grow to

be social beings, count, speak as well as think. Childhood stage also a involves development of

multiple connections and close interaction with the environment (Osher et al., 2021).

Adolescence

Duration: 7 to around 18-20 years.

Key Features: Adulthood can be described, as the development of physical body, and this is

probable at adolescence, when people reach puberty. It encompasses changes in the physical

aspect of being, such as a growth spurt, the development of secondary sex characteristics;

thinking patterns, problem-solving skills; and affective development, including identity crises. It

is generally defined by the age when young people begin to take charge of their independence,

and experiment with potential roles.

Adulthood

Duration: 18/20 years to old age.

Key Features: Adulthood is a time when people are physically strong and capable of reproducing

children. It includes accomplishment in every aspect of a person’s life (work, family, friendship,

parenting and other roles). The development stage in each life stage is more extended from the
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phase in early adulthood, which ranges from the 20s up to the 40s, to that in middle adulthood

that ranges between 40s and 60s and; finally, the later stage in adulthood ranging between 60s

and other subsequent ages in adulthood is characterized by aging and possible deterioration of

physical processes.

Old Age

Duration: Sixty years onward.

Key Features: Growing older entails a loss of vigor and potentially memory and mental faculty

but the rate differs from person to person. Career status disappears, family roles change for

example clients become grandparents, health wise some may face new health challenges,

different from when they were young. But, many people describe more increased life satisfaction

during this period of their lives as they get to engage in personal interests, community work or

family responsibilities.

Human Life History vs. Other Mammals

Human life history is distinct from other mammals in several important ways, with differences in

the timing and duration of developmental stages, reproduction, and lifespan:

Long Childhood and Extended Dependency

Humans: Humans have a long dependency period, relatively to other mammals: they take two to

seven years before they grow up. Period of dependence is long, but it is accompanied with the

prolonged brain development for the ability to learn social and cultural experience.
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Other Mammals: Other mammals, and especially less developed ones, have frequent much

shorter period of childhood. It is weaned and becomes completely independent much earlier

than, for instance, in such species as ungulates or rodents, as they need to be able to fend for

themselves in the wild.

Delayed Reproduction

Humans: Humans have a long period of development before reaching sexual maturity (typically

around 12-16 years), and the onset of reproduction tends to be much later in life compared to

most mammals. This delayed reproduction allows humans to invest in longer periods of learning

and social development.

Other Mammals: Many mammals, such as rodents, reach sexual maturity much earlier in life

(often within the first year). This allows them to reproduce sooner but limits the time available

for learning or brain development before reproduction.

Long Lifespan

Humans: The human life span coincides with most mammals but with slightly higher life

expectancy that can reach 70 plus ages and there are few folks who have lived up to 100. It also

shows that we humans have an extended post-reproductive lifespan combined with contemporary

women living for about two decades past menopause.

Other Mammals: Mammal’s longevity also differs significantly from each other and, on average,

significantly shorter than those of birds. For instance, while there are many varieties of mice and

other small rodents, they only live for about three years, relatively short lives at that; some larger
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animals, such as elephants, will live 60-70 years at best. It means that mankind’s postweaning

period and advertising period, as well as the lifespan of people, significantly differ from those of

other mammals.

Possible Evolutionary Explanations for These Differences

Brain Development and Cognitive Complexity

First, the human forms have relatively large brains compared with body size, and especially so in

the neocortex, associated with complex cognitive abilities, language and problem solving. The

child is as result extended with more years to further develop the brain and enhance social

learning. Such dependent period may afford human the required time for the growth of

sophisticated neurological and social structures that are require for existence in assorted social

and complex worlds.

All other mammals especially those which have comparatively smaller sized brain take

considerably lesser time to become adults. Their survival activities might not be as much a result

of learning but as a result of socialization.

Social Structure and Culture

Humans are highly social animals and embedded within social societies, and depended much on

the process of social learning of culture, technology, and knowledge. This is possible due to the

fact that child hood has been stretched to enable the possession of these basically skills. Besides,

people live longer, and the several generations’ presence in society is a perfect chance to improve

the exchange of knowledge and traditions.

On the other hand, most of the mammals have very simple social systems and reduced

dependency on biological oppressive drivers for survival. There might be a possibility that early

maturing species do not spend much of their part of their lives socializing or even learning from

other mature species.

Reproductive Strategies

Everybody wants to have less kids but wants to invest a lot in those kids than the earlier society

up in. Women, in particular, have large gaps between births (e.g., several years between

childbirths) and dedicate much energy in child care. This strategy is particularly effective under

species that are require close care as well as learning.

Most small mammals for instance have adopted a reproductive option known as r-selection

whereby they procreate regularly but do not give much attention or resources to each seed. This

has its advantages especially in environment where survival rates are low, and the aim is to

reproduce as early as possible we want our species to survive.

Late-life Reproductive Health (Menopause)

In the case of human women, a process called menopause rolls in at forties or fifties; this is when

they cannot reproduce anymore. This is rather unusual with other mammals. According to some

evolutionary theories about women, menopause may have been useful to insure that certain post-

child rearing nutrients are directed to offspring bearing females’ grandchildren in order to what is

called the “grandmother hypothesis” so as to help in increasing nutrient and care investment by

post-reproductive females in their offspring’s offspring to increase the chances of later genetic

transmission of nutritionally and appropriately endowment genes.

The great majority of mammals does not experience menopause and they remain sexually active

throughout their lifetime, while the fecundity rate is lower in mature age.

Hence, human life history is characterized by long childhood, long and late reproduction and life

span; which are associated with the high cognitive ability, social organization and protracted

learning. All these differences probably arose to fit the usage of our very social and flexible

species. Other mammals on the other hand, have a faster life history, which best suits their

ecosystem; where density is high, it is better to reproduce and develop quickly.

References

Dahlen, C. R., Borowicz, P. P., Ward, A. K., Caton, J. S., Czernik, M., Palazzese, L., ... &

Reynolds, L. P. (2021). Programming of embryonic development. International Journal

of Molecular Sciences, 22(21), 11668.

Arterberry, M. E., & Bornstein, M. H. (2023). Development in infancy. Routledge.

Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2021). Drivers of human development:

How relationships and context shape learning and development 1. In The science of

learning and development (pp. 55-104). Routledge.