Grandmothers, Evolution and the Law. Judith K. Brown, Oakland University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Rochester, MI 48309 In spite of the ever-increasing life span of our older citizens, the sharing of a residence by the three-generation family has become virtually extinct in the twenty-first century United States. Often thousands of miles separate the generations of a single family. Should this be viewed as a loss or a benefit for children growing up today, for their parents or for their grand parents? Anthropology provides us with an enlarged perspective for examining the meaning and the consequences of life in the co-resident three generation family for all three generations, allowing us to view the lives of women at various stages of the life-course, as these are experienced by women outside our own "western"/industrial context. Some theorists suggest that the presence of grandmothers even has implications for inclusive fitness. Ironically, just as we discover and examine the positive influence of the presence of grandmothers in the traditional households of other societies, new laws are being passed in our own, contemporary society curtailing the legal rights of grandparents.
