Hi Everybody:
    Interesting discussion about weaning.....here's my $.02 worth. Humans are
extremely adaptable. Just think about all the places on earth where we live,
with all the different climates and foods available. Probably babies needed to
be able to wean at variable times, depending on just what mom had to do to get
food. For example: If she had to be the one out in the fields, or if she could
stay home in the hut and wait for others to bring home the goodies...those
things affected whether or not she brought her baby with her and how much
access they had to each other during the infancy/toddler time.  I don't think
that there is an absolute weaning time; Kathy D. sounds right on when she
postulates a range of weaning times, which would vary around the world. Our
babies in the US adapt to what moms in the US offer, whether consciously or
unconsciously. Moms do give subtle and not-so-subtle cues about weaning and
nursing. (I can remember offering the breast to my toddler so that I could
talk on the phone in peace.)  As long as we remember that there is no right or
wrong about it, that nursing usually gets easier and easier the longer we do
it,  and help  people learn that humans are babies for a very long time, then
each mother and baby will do the best for them. Warmly, Nikki