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Ross CT, Hooper PL, Smith JE, Jaeggi AV, Smith EA, Gavrilets S, Zohora FT, Ziker J, Xygalatas D, Wroblewski EE, Wood B, Winterhalder B, Willführ KP, Willard AK, Walker K, von Rueden C, Voland E, Valeggia C, Vaitla B, Urlacher S, Towner M, Sum CY, Sugiyama LS, Strier KB, Starkweather K, Major-Smith D, Shenk M, Sear R, Seabright E, Schacht R, Scelza B, Scaggs S, Salerno J, Revilla-Minaya C, Redhead D, Pusey A, Purzycki BG, Power EA, Pisor A, Pettay J, Perry S, Page AE, Pacheco-Cobos L, Oths K, Oh SY, Nolin D, Nettle D, Moya C, Migliano AB, Mertens KJ, McNamara RA, McElreath R, Mattison S, Massengill E, Marlowe F, Madimenos F, Macfarlan S, Lummaa V, Lizarralde R, Liu R, Liebert MA, Lew-Levy S, Leslie P, Lanning J, Kramer K, Koster J, Kaplan HS, Jamsranjav B, Hurtado AM, Hill K, Hewlett B, Helle S, Headland T, Headland J, Gurven M, Grimalda G, Greaves R, Golden CD, Godoy I, Gibson M, Mouden CE, Dyble M, Draper P, Downey S, DeMarco AL, Davis HE, Crabtree S, Cortez C, Colleran H, Cohen E, Clark G, Clark J, Caudell MA, Carminito CE, Bunce J, Boyette A, Bowles S, Blumenfield T, Beheim B, Beckerman S, Atkinson Q, Apicella C, Alam N, Mulder MB. Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2220124120. [PMID: 37216525 PMCID: PMC10235947 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220124120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited degree of polygyny in the human societies that practice it, and to the importance of unequally held rival resources to women's fitness. The muted reproductive inequality observed in humans appears to be linked to several unusual characteristics of our species-including high levels of cooperation among males, high dependence on unequally held rival resources, complementarities between maternal and paternal investment, as well as social and legal institutions that enforce monogamous norms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody T. Ross
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Paul L. Hooper
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | | | - Adrian V. Jaeggi
- Institut für Anthropologie und Anthropologisches Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich8006, Switzerland
| | - Eric Alden Smith
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA98195
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996
| | - Fatema tuz Zohora
- International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka1000, Bangladesh
| | - John Ziker
- Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID83725
| | | | | | - Brian Wood
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | | | - Kai P. Willführ
- Institute for Social Science, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg26129, Germany
| | - Aiyana K. Willard
- Centre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University, LondonUB8 3PH, United Kingdom
| | - Kara Walker
- College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC27695
| | | | - Eckart Voland
- Institute for Philosophy, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen35390, Germany
| | | | - Bapu Vaitla
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA02115
| | - Samuel Urlacher
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX76706
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, CAM5G 1M1
| | - Mary Towner
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078
| | - Chun-Yi Sum
- College of General Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA02215
| | | | - Karen B. Strier
- Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI53706
| | | | - Daniel Major-Smith
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - Mary Shenk
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802
| | - Rebecca Sear
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, LondonWC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
| | - Edmond Seabright
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Ryan Schacht
- Department of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC27858
| | - Brooke Scelza
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Shane Scaggs
- Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | - Jonathan Salerno
- Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO80523
| | - Caissa Revilla-Minaya
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Daniel Redhead
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Anne Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC27708
| | - Benjamin Grant Purzycki
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of the Study of Religion, Aarhus University, Aarhus8000, Denmark
| | - Eleanor A. Power
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
- Department of Methodology, London School of Economics and Political Science, LondonWC2A 2AE, United Kingdom
| | - Anne Pisor
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Jenni Pettay
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku20014, Finland
| | - Susan Perry
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Abigail E. Page
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, LondonWC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
| | - Luis Pacheco-Cobos
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz94294, Mexico
| | - Kathryn Oths
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL35487
| | - Seung-Yun Oh
- Korea Insurance Research Institute, Seoul150-606, Korea
| | - David Nolin
- Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA01003
| | - Daniel Nettle
- Département d’Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université PSL, Paris75230, France
| | - Cristina Moya
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | - Andrea Bamberg Migliano
- Institut für Anthropologie und Anthropologisches Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich8006, Switzerland
| | - Karl J. Mertens
- Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID83725
| | - Rita A. McNamara
- School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington6012, New Zealand
| | - Richard McElreath
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Siobhan Mattison
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Eric Massengill
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Frank Marlowe
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1TN, United Kingdom
| | - Felicia Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), New York, NY11367
| | - Shane Macfarlan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT84112
| | - Virpi Lummaa
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku20014, Finland
| | - Roberto Lizarralde
- Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas1010A, Venezuela
| | - Ruizhe Liu
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
| | - Melissa A. Liebert
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ86011
| | - Sheina Lew-Levy
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Durham University, DurhamDH1 3LE, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Leslie
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC27599
| | | | - Karen Kramer
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT84112
| | - Jeremy Koster
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH45221
| | | | | | - A. Magdalena Hurtado
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85287
| | - Kim Hill
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85287
| | - Barry Hewlett
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Samuli Helle
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku20014, Finland
| | | | | | - Michael Gurven
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA93106
| | | | - Russell Greaves
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT84112
| | - Christopher D. Golden
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA02115
| | - Irene Godoy
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld33615, Germany
| | - Mhairi Gibson
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1QU, United Kingdom
| | - Claire El Mouden
- School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 2JD, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Dyble
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Patricia Draper
- School of Global Integrative Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE68588
| | - Sean Downey
- Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | | | | | - Stefani Crabtree
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
- Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Logan, UT84322
| | - Carmen Cortez
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | - Heidi Colleran
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Emma Cohen
- School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 2JD, United Kingdom
| | - Gregory Clark
- Department of Economics, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | | | - Mark A. Caudell
- Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164
| | - Chelsea E. Carminito
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH45221
| | - John Bunce
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Adam Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | | | - Tami Blumenfield
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131
- School of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University, Yunnan650106, China
| | - Bret Beheim
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Stephen Beckerman
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802
| | - Quentin Atkinson
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland1010, New Zealand
| | - Coren Apicella
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA19104
| | - Nurul Alam
- International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka1000, Bangladesh
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM87501
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig04103, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
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