When We Change
How We're Wired
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The Impact of Puberty on the Brain
Adolescence first evolved about 850,000 years ago in an ancestor known as Homo Antisessa. It persists because it is vital to the survival of our species. Most species on Earth go through three life stages as they grow. Unusually, humans have five: infant, child, juvenile, adolescent adult. This allows us time before we become fully fledged adults and have to enter the big bad world. We need extra time to gain all the knowledge we need to survive and thrive as adults. Because adolescence is unique to us, anthropologists like me find it particularly fascinating to study.
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