Environmental Effects on Motor Development: the Case of ‘African Infant Precocity’

In order to clarify the extent and cause of African infants' precocity in motor development, as reported by Geber and others, 64 babies and their families were intensively studied in a rural Kenyan community. It was found that the motor skills of sitting and walking, which the Kenyan babies acquired early (by American standards), are (a) specifically taught by the caretakers and (b) can be practised in the course of their usual daily routines....