Wisdom of the uncivilized crowds
Picture this: A remote indian village in the Ganges delta a few hundred years ago. The farmer starts his day by letting his flock of ducks into his irrigated fields. The water from the river brings with it, besides nutrients and alluvium, some unwanted (for the crops) pests too. But that is not a problem - the ducks will keep the pests in control.
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In no way was fe;ale infanticide ever a technique of population control. It was mere gender control and that's why it's found only in parts of India which had the most patriarchal family system. these are basically the places where prenatal sex selection is rife today.
Population control before the XXth century was first abject poverty and extreme mortality conditions (life expectancy below 25-30 years etc.) and then somewhat restrained fertility (women marrying early had far less children than they could biologically have had). No real cause for nostalgia here.
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My views on female infanticide are influenced by Mr.Darwin's observations and accounts on female infanticide. Besides, infanticide (whether female or not) has been a wide spread, common technique to control populations - not only in humans, but also in other species.
Detailed references can be found in the following excellent books:
1. Descent of Man by Darwin
2. Tainter's Collapse of Complex societies mentions infanticide and other such homeostatic phenomenon by which societies manage low net-energy.
somewhat restrained fertility (women marrying early had far less children than they could biologically have had).
Why do you think women ovulate at a very early age and become sexually productive if its not beneficial? Afterall, the principle of populations should dictate that the 'fine tuned' age for sex must be in a goldilocks zone of 20+ or whatever which is optimal for producing as many offsprings as possible, isn't it?
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