| The conspicuous absence of placenta consumption in human postpartum females: the fire hypothesis. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 22632060 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The absence of human placentophagy, the maternal consumption of the afterbirth, is puzzling given its ubiquity and probable adaptive value in other mammals. We propose that human fire use may have led to placentophagy avoidance in our species. In our environment of evolutionary adaptedness, gravid women would likely have been regularly exposed to smoke and ash, which is known to contain harmful substances. Because the placenta filters some toxicants which then accumulate there across pregnancy, maternal placentophagy may have had deleterious consequences for the overall fitness of mother, offspring, or both, leading to its elimination from our species' behavioral repertoire. |
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Authors:
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Sharon M Young; Daniel C Benyshek; Pierre Lienard |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Ecology of food and nutrition Volume: 51 ISSN: 1543-5237 ISO Abbreviation: Ecol Food Nutr Publication Date: 2012 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2012-05-28 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0315073 Medline TA: Ecol Food Nutr Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 198-217 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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a Department of Anthropology , University of Nevada , Las Vegas , Nevada , USA. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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