Humans are probably unique among among the great apes in providing care for older individuals with challenging physical injuries and disabilities

Aging, Life History, and Human Evolution. Richard G. Bribiescas. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 49:101-121, October 2020. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-010220-074148

Rolf Degen's take: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1321678475959422976

Abstract: Aging occurs in all sexually reproducing organisms. That is, physical degradation over time occurs from conception until death. While the life span of a species is often viewed as a benchmark of aging, the pace and intensity of physical degradation over time varies owing to environmental influences, genetics, allocation of energetic investment, and phylogenetic history. Significant variation in aging within mammals, primates, and great apes, including humans, is therefore common across species. The evolution of aging in the hominin lineage is poorly known; however, clues can be derived from the fossil record. Ongoing advances continue to shed light on the interactions between life-history variables such as reproductive effort and aging. This review presents our current understanding of the evolution of aging in humans, drawing on population variation, comparative research, trade-offs, and sex differences, as well as tissue-specific patterns of physical degradation. Implications for contemporary health challenges and the future of human evolutionary anthropology research are also discussed.

Keywords: senescence, human variation, anthropology, mortality