INFANT TRANSPORT AMONG THE ALYAWARA TRIBE, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Abstract THE carrying of infants is one of the most obvious features of maternal behaviour among a great many mammalian species, including man, and being carried is vital to the survival of the young of all of those species. This article contains a brief introductory statement on the study of infant transport among human and non‐human populations, a detailed and comprehensive description of infant transport among the Alyawara tribe of Central Australia, and a comparison of the Alyawara data with that available for other human and non‐human primate populations. The article should be of interest to anthropologists and sociologists dealing with various aspects of socialization, to psychologists dealing with child development, and to zoologists dealing with maturation, social behaviour, and evolution. It should be of particular interest to those who focus on Australian Aboriginal peoples, human hunter‐gatherers, and primate social behaviour.