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The Sidama Model of Human Development

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Abstract

Human ontogeny has been shaped through evolution, resulting in markers of physical, cognitive, and social development that are widely shared and often used to demarcate the lifespan. Yet, development is demonstrably biocultural and strongly influenced by context. As a result, emic age categories can vary in duration and composition, constituted by both common physical markers as well as culturally meaningful indicators, with implications for our understanding of the evolution of human life history. Semi-structured group interviews (n = 24) among Sidama adults and children, as well as individual interviews with children (n = 30), were used to identify age categories across the lifespan and to specifically investigate acquisition of sociocultural skills and cognitive development. Ten major age categories were identified, covering birth through death. These largely map onto patterning of human universals, but specific cultural beliefs and behaviors were indicated as important markers of development. Adults and children are oriented toward the dynamic relationships between physical development and acquisition of skills tied to social and cultural success. Culture, ecology, and ontogeny are co-determinants of human development, and the interactions among them should be considered in studies examining human life history and its evolution.

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Data Availability

Data are available upon request from the authors.

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Notes

  1. Here, minority world refers to populations residing in “developed” countries, alternatively termed WEIRD populations—those that are Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (Gurven & Lieberman, 2020). Majority world is an alternative term for populations living in regions or countries often labeled as “developing” (Alam, 2008).

  2. Hereafter, masculine nouns are reported first, followed by the feminine spelling.

  3. An age category wherein men have the wealth to distribute to their sons, the authority to aid in decision-making around policy and disputes, and the wisdom to guide others through their insights.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS# 1260428). We offer special thanks to all those who participated in this research, Filate Fissa, and Hawassa University.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-1260428).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Box 870210, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Courtney Helfrecht

  2. Department of Anthropology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

    Samuel Jilo Dira

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  1. Courtney Helfrecht
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CH conceived and designed the study, and collected the data. Data was analyzed by CH and SD. The manuscript was written by CH and SD. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Courtney Helfrecht.

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The protocol and procedures presented herein were approved by Washington State University’s Institutional Review Board (where the corresponding author was a PhD student at the time of data collection).

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Helfrecht, C., Dira, S.J. The Sidama Model of Human Development. Hum Nat 34, 202–228 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09449-z

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