We investigate whether age profiles of ethnobiological knowledge development are consistent with predictions derived from life history theory about the timing of productivity and reproduction. Life history models predict complementary knowledge profiles developing across the lifespan for women and men as they experience changes in embodied capital and the needs of dependent offspring. We evaluate these predictions using an ethnobiological knowledge assessment tool developed for an off-grid pastoralist population known as Choyeros, from Baja California Sur, Mexico. Our results indicate that while individuals acquire knowledge of most dangerous items and edible resources by early adulthood, knowledge of plants and animals relevant to the age and sex divided labor domains and ecologies (e.g., women’s house gardens, men’s herding activities in the wilderness) continues to develop into middle adulthood but to different degrees and at different rates for men and women. As the demands of offspring on parents accumulate with age, reproductive-aged adults continue to develop their knowledge to meet their children’s needs. After controlling for vision, our analysis indicates that many post-reproductive adults show the greatest ethnobiological knowledge. These findings extend our understanding of the evolved human life history by illustrating how changes in embodied capital and the needs of dependent offspring predict the development of men’s and women’s ethnobiological knowledge across the lifespan.

我们调查民族生物学知识发展的年龄特征是否与从生活史理论中得出的关于生产力和繁殖时间的预测一致。生活史模型预测女性和男性在经历具身资本的变化和依赖后代的需求时，他们在整个生命周期中发展起来的互补知识概况。我们使用为来自墨西哥南下加利福尼亚州的称为 Choyeros 的离网牧民群体开发的民族生物学知识评估工具来评估这些预测。我们的结果表明，虽然个体在成年早期就获得了最危险物品和可食用资源的知识，但与年龄和性别相关的植物和动物知识却将劳动领域和生态（例如，妇女的家庭花园、男性在荒野中的放牧活动）继续发展到成年中期，但男性和女性的程度和速度不同。随着后代对父母的需求随着年龄的增长而积累，育龄成年人继续发展他们的知识以满足孩子的需求。在控制视力后，我们的分析表明，许多生育后的成年人表现出最大的民族生物学知识。这些发现通过说明具身资本的变化和依赖后代的需求如何预测男性和女性在整个生命周期中的民族生物学知识的发展，扩展了我们对人类进化史的理解。随着后代对父母的需求随着年龄的增长而积累，育龄成年人继续发展他们的知识以满足孩子的需求。在控制视力后，我们的分析表明，许多生育后的成年人表现出最大的民族生物学知识。这些发现通过说明具身资本的变化和依赖后代的需求如何预测男性和女性在整个生命周期中的民族生物学知识的发展，扩展了我们对人类进化史的理解。随着后代对父母的需求随着年龄的增长而积累，育龄成年人继续发展他们的知识以满足孩子的需求。在控制视力后，我们的分析表明，许多生育后的成年人表现出最大的民族生物学知识。这些发现通过说明具身资本的变化和依赖后代的需求如何预测男性和女性在整个生命周期中的民族生物学知识的发展，扩展了我们对人类进化史的理解。