Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59776
Micro-CT methods show digital imaging of the different layers of fossilized teeth. "Older people are important for the transmission of cultural information across generations," she says. "Most importantly, the demographic changes associated with increased longevity – population growth and expansion – are tied to cultural development." Increased life expectancy leads to more offspring and care of grandchildren leads to increased survivorship of youngsters, Caspari says, noting that both these factors promote population growth, which leads to more intergroup contact and innovation. In her Scientific American article, Caspari concludes, "The relation between adult survivorship and the emergence of sophisticated new cultural traditions, starting with those of the Upper Paleolithic, was almost certainly a positive feedback process. Initially a by-product of some sort of cultural change, longevity became a prerequisite for the unique and complex behaviors that signal modernity. "These innovations in turn promoted the importance and survivorship of older adults, which led to the population expansions that had such profound cultural and genetic effects on our predecessors. Older and wiser, indeed." Having the academic and scientific work of faculty featured in scholarly journals and national publications is a testament to the high level of work conducted at CMU and a great point of pride for the university, says James Hageman, interim vice provost and director of the CMU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. "Scientific American editors only are going to publish articles describing really good science that also are of broad interest," he says. "It's sort of a sign that you've arrived if Scientific American asks you to put an article into its publication, and it's a real sign of Dr. Caspari's stature." Caspari is continuing with her research into the longevity of human life and its evolution. And she is quick to point out that evolution didn't end with the Upper Paleolithic period. "We are evolving very fast right now," she says. "It's a mistake to think that the evolutionary process has stopped, and I think people have this tendency to think that it has. Evolution is happening right now, and to understand its importance now, it's also important to understand its past." • evolution of longevity centralight spring '12 11