| Evolution of monogamous marriage by maximization of inclusive fitness. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20069721 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The majority of human societies allow polygynous marriage, and the prevalence of this practice is readily understood in evolutionary terms. Why some societies prescribe monogamous marriage is however not clear: current evolutionary explanations--that social monogamy increases within-group co-operation, giving societies an advantage in competition with other groups--conflict with the historical and ethnographic evidence. We show that, within the framework of inclusive fitness theory, monogamous marriage can be viewed as the outcome of the strategic behaviour of males and females in the allocation of resources to the next generation. Where resources are transferred across generations, social monogamy can be advantageous if partitioning of resources among the offspring of multiple wives causes a depletion of their fitness value, and/or if females grant husbands higher fidelity in exchange for exclusive investment of resources in their offspring. This may explain why monogamous marriage prevailed among the historical societies of Eurasia: here, intensive agriculture led to scarcity of land, with depletion in the value of estates through partitioning among multiple heirs. Norms promoting high paternity were common among ancient societies in the region, and may have further facilitated the establishment of social monogamy. In line with the historical and ethnographic evidence, this suggests that monogamous marriage emerged in Eurasia following the adoption of intensive agriculture, as ownership of land became critical to productive and reproductive success. |
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Authors:
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L Fortunato; M Archetti |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of evolutionary biology Volume: 23 ISSN: 1420-9101 ISO Abbreviation: J. Evol. Biol. Publication Date: 2010 Jan |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-01-12 Completed Date: 2010-03-31 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 8809954 Medline TA: J Evol Biol Country: Switzerland |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 149-56 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK. l.fortunato@ucl.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Evolution* Female History, Ancient Humans Male Marriage / history* Models, Theoretical Sexual Behavior / history* Socioeconomic Factors |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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