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Brandl E, Emmott EH, Mace R. Adoption, Fostering, and Parental Absence in Vanuatu. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2023; 34:422-455. [PMID: 37642860 PMCID: PMC10543845 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-023-09456-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Alloparenting, wherein people provide care to children who are not their biological offspring, is a key aspect of human child-rearing. In the Pacific, many children are adopted or fostered by custodial alloparents even when both biological parents are still alive. From a behavioral ecology perspective, such behaviors are puzzling: why parent someone else's child at your expense? Furthermore, little is known about how these arrangements are made in Pacific Islander societies today, who provides care, and what kinds of outcomes fostered children experience. A better understanding of these proximate factors may help reveal the ultimate drivers behind custodial alloparenting. Here, we report findings from a survey carried out with the caregivers of 282 children in rural areas of Vanuatu, an island nation in Melanesia. Most fostered and adopted children lived with relatives such as aunts, uncles, and grandparents (87.5%) rather than unrelated caregivers, with a strong preference for maternal kin. The most common reasons for these arrangements were that the parents had separated (16.7%), were engaging in labor migration (27.1%), or a combination of both (27.1%). Results for investment in children's education and their educational outcomes were mixed, although children removed from crisis situations did more poorly than children removed for aspirational reasons. Our findings suggest that custodial alloparenting helps families adapt to socioeconomic transitions and changing marriage practices. Outcomes may depend on a range of factors, such as the reason children were transferred out of the natal home to begin with.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Brandl
- Lise Meitner Research Group BirthRites, Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Emily H Emmott
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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2
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Reynolds AW, Grote MN, Myrick JW, Al-Hindi DR, Siford RL, Mastoras M, Möller M, Henn BM. Persistence of Matrilocal Postmarital Residence Across Multiple Generations in Southern Africa. HUMAN NATURE (HAWTHORNE, N.Y.) 2023; 34:295-323. [PMID: 37310564 PMCID: PMC10353969 DOI: 10.1007/s12110-023-09452-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Factors such as subsistence turnover, warfare, or interaction between different groups can be major sources of cultural change in human populations. Global demographic shifts such as the transition to agriculture during the Neolithic and more recently the urbanization and globalization of the twentieth century have been major catalysts for cultural change. Here, we test whether cultural traits such as patri/matrilocality and postmarital migration persist in the face of social upheaval and gene flow during the past 150 years in postcolonial South Africa. The recent history of South Africa has seen major demographic shifts that resulted in the displacement and forced sedentism of indigenous Khoekhoe and San populations. During the expansion of the colonial frontier, the Khoe-San admixed with European colonists and enslaved individuals from West/Central Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia, introducing novel cultural norms. We conducted demographic interviews among Nama and Cederberg communities representing nearly 3,000 individuals across three generations. Despite the history of colonial expansion, and the subsequent incorporation of Khoe-San and Khoe-San-descendant communities into a colonial society with strong patrilocal norms, patrilocality is the least common postmarital residence pattern in our study populations today. Our results suggest that more recent forces of integration into the market economy are likely the primary drivers of change in the cultural traits examined in our study. Birthplace had a strong effect on an individual's odds of migration, distance moved, and postmarital residence form. These effects are at least partially explained by the population size of the birthplace. Our results suggest that market factors local to birthplaces are important drivers of residence decisions, although the frequency of matrilocal residence and a geographic and temporal cline in migration and residence patterns also indicate the persistence of some historic Khoe-San cultural traits in contemporary groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin W Reynolds
- Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
- Department of Anthropology, University of California (UC), Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Mark N Grote
- Department of Anthropology, University of California (UC), Davis, CA, USA
| | - Justin W Myrick
- Department of Anthropology, University of California (UC), Davis, CA, USA
| | - Dana R Al-Hindi
- Department of Anthropology, University of California (UC), Davis, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca L Siford
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Mira Mastoras
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- UC Davis Genome Center, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Marlo Möller
- DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Brenna M Henn
- Department of Anthropology, University of California (UC), Davis, CA, USA
- UC Davis Genome Center, Davis, CA, USA
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3
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Ellis S, Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Alberts SC, Balcomb KC, Benton CH, Brent LJN, Crockford C, Davidian E, Delahay RJ, Ellifrit DK, Höner OP, Meniri M, McDonald RA, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Vigilant L, Wittig RM, Croft DP. Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1766-1776. [PMID: 36163259 PMCID: PMC10423498 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01872-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ultimate payoff of behaviours depends not only on their direct impact on an individual, but also on the impact on their relatives. Local relatedness-the average relatedness of an individual to their social environment-therefore has profound effects on social and life history evolution. Recent work has begun to show that local relatedness has the potential to change systematically over an individual's lifetime, a process called kinship dynamics. However, it is unclear how general these kinship dynamics are, whether they are predictable in real systems and their effects on behaviour and life history evolution. In this study, we combine modelling with data from real systems to explore the extent and impact of kinship dynamics. We use data from seven group-living mammals with diverse social and mating systems to demonstrate not only that kinship dynamics occur in animal systems, but also that the direction and magnitude of kinship dynamics can be accurately predicted using a simple model. We use a theoretical model to demonstrate that kinship dynamics can profoundly affect lifetime patterns of behaviour and can drive sex differences in helping and harming behaviour across the lifespan in social species. Taken together, this work demonstrates that kinship dynamics are likely to be a fundamental dimension of social evolution, especially when considering age-linked changes and sex differences in behaviour and life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | | | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Claire H Benton
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, Lyon, France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eve Davidian
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | | | - Oliver P Höner
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Magali Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Faye J Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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4
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Ji T, Zhang H, Pagel M, Mace R. A phylogenetic analysis of dispersal norms, descent and subsistence in Sino-Tibetans. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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5
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A high-resolution picture of kinship practices in an Early Neolithic tomb. Nature 2021; 601:584-587. [PMID: 34937939 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04241-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
To explore kinship practices at chambered tombs in Early Neolithic Britain, here we combined archaeological and genetic analyses of 35 individuals who lived about 5,700 years ago and were entombed at Hazleton North long cairn1. Twenty-seven individuals are part of the first extended pedigree reconstructed from ancient DNA, a five-generation family whose many interrelationships provide statistical power to document kinship practices that were invisible without direct genetic data. Patrilineal descent was key in determining who was buried in the tomb, as all 15 intergenerational transmissions were through men. The presence of women who had reproduced with lineage men and the absence of adult lineage daughters suggest virilocal burial and female exogamy. We demonstrate that one male progenitor reproduced with four women: the descendants of two of those women were buried in the same half of the tomb over all generations. This suggests that maternal sub-lineages were grouped into branches whose distinctiveness was recognized during the construction of the tomb. Four men descended from non-lineage fathers and mothers who also reproduced with lineage male individuals, suggesting that some men adopted the children of their reproductive partners by other men into their patriline. Eight individuals were not close biological relatives of the main lineage, raising the possibility that kinship also encompassed social bonds independent of biological relatedness.
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6
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Whiteley P, McConvell P. How Crow-Omaha Skewing Spreads. JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/716742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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7
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Lukas D, Towner M, Borgerhoff Mulder M. The potential to infer the historical pattern of cultural macroevolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200057. [PMID: 33993769 PMCID: PMC8126461 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic analyses increasingly take centre-stage in our understanding of the processes shaping patterns of cultural diversity and cultural evolution over time. Just as biologists explain the origins and maintenance of trait differences among organisms using phylogenetic methods, so anthropologists studying cultural macroevolutionary processes use phylogenetic methods to uncover the history of human populations and the dynamics of culturally transmitted traits. In this paper, we revisit concerns with the validity of these methods. Specifically, we use simulations to reveal how properties of the sample (size, missing data), properties of the tree (shape) and properties of the traits (rate of change, number of variants, transmission mode) might influence the inferences that can be drawn about trait distributions across a given phylogeny and the power to discern alternative histories. Our approach shows that in two example datasets specific combinations of properties of the sample, of the tree and of the trait can lead to potentially high rates of Type I and Type II errors. We offer this simulation tool to help assess the potential impact of this list of persistent perils in future cultural macroevolutionary work. This article is part of the theme issue 'Foundations of cultural evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter Lukas
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mary Towner
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
| | - Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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8
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Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China. SOCIAL SCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/socsci10070253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although cooperative social networks are considered key to human evolution, emphasis has usually been placed on the functions of men’s cooperative networks. What do women’s networks look like? Do they differ from men’s networks and what does this suggest about evolutionarily inherited gender differences in reproductive and social strategies? In this paper, we test the ‘universal gender differences’ hypothesis positing gender-specific network structures against the ‘gender reversal’ hypothesis that posits that women’s networks look more ‘masculine’ under matriliny. Specifically, we ask whether men’s friendship networks are always larger than women’s networks and we investigate measures of centrality by gender and descent system. To do so, we use tools from social network analysis and data on men’s and women’s friendship ties in matrilineal and patrilineal Mosuo communities. In tentative support of the gender reversal hypothesis, we find that women’s friendship networks in matriliny are relatively large. Measures of centrality and generalized linear models otherwise reveal greater differences between communities than between men and women. The data and analyses we present are primarily descriptive given limitations of sample size and sampling strategy. Nonetheless, our results provide support for the flexible application of social relationships across genders and clearly challenge the predominant narrative of universal gender differences across space and time.
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9
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Sheard C, Bowern C, Dockum R, Jordan FM. Pama-Nyungan grandparent systems change with grandchildren, but not cross-cousin terms or social norms. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e30. [PMID: 35663513 PMCID: PMC7612801 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Kinship is a fundamental and universal aspect of the structure of human society. The kinship category of 'grandparents' is socially salient, due to grandparents' investment in the care of the grandchildren as well as to older generations' control of wealth and cultural knowledge, but the evolutionary dynamics of grandparent terms has yet to be studied in a phylogenetically explicit context. Here, we present the first phylogenetic comparative study of grandparent terms by investigating 134 languages in Pama-Nyungan, an Australian family of hunter-gatherer languages. We infer that proto-Pama-Nyungan had, with high certainty, four separate terms for grandparents. This state then shifted into either a two-term system that distinguishes the genders of the grandparents or a three-term system that merges the 'parallel' grandparents, which could then transition into a different three-term system that merges the 'cross' grandparents. We find no support for the co-evolution of these systems with either community marriage organisation or post-marital residence. We find some evidence for the correlation of grandparent and grandchild terms, but no support for the correlation of grandparent and cross-cousin terms, suggesting that grandparents and grandchildren potentially form a single lexical category but that the entire kinship system does not necessarily change synchronously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Sheard
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1UU, UK
| | - Claire Bowern
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven. CT06520, USA
| | - Rikker Dockum
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven. CT06520, USA
| | - Fiona M. Jordan
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1UU, UK
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10
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Hrnčíř V, Duda P, Šaffa G, Květina P, Zrzavý J. Identifying post-marital residence patterns in prehistory: A phylogenetic comparative analysis of dwelling size. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229363. [PMID: 32092129 PMCID: PMC7039508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-marital residence patterns are an important aspect of human social organization. However, identifying such patterns in prehistoric societies is challenging since they leave almost no direct traces in archaeological records. Cross-cultural researchers have attempted to identify correlates of post-marital residence through the statistical analysis of ethnographic data. Several studies have demonstrated that, in agricultural societies, large dwellings (over ca. 65 m2) are associated with matrilocality (spouse resides with or near the wife’s family), whereas smaller dwellings are associated with patrilocality (spouse resides with or near the husband’s family). In the present study, we tested the association between post-marital residence and dwelling size (average house floor area) using phylogenetic comparative methods and a global sample of 86 pre-industrial societies, 22 of which were matrilocal. Our analysis included the presence of agriculture, sedentism, and durability of house construction material as additional explanatory variables. The results confirm a strong association between matrilocality and dwelling size, although very large dwellings (over ca. 200 m2) were found to be associated with all types of post-marital residence. The best model combined dwelling size, post-marital residence pattern, and sedentism, the latter being the single best predictor of house size. The effect of agriculture on dwelling size becomes insignificant once the fixity of settlement is taken into account. Our results indicate that post-marital residence and house size evolve in a correlated fashion, namely that matrilocality is a predictable response to an increase in dwelling size. As such, we suggest that reliable inferences about the social organization of prehistoric societies can be made from archaeological records.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Hrnčíř
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- * E-mail:
| | - Pavel Duda
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Gabriel Šaffa
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Petr Květina
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jan Zrzavý
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
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11
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Chung NN, Jacobs GS, Sudoyo H, Malik SG, Chew LY, Lansing JS, Cox MP. Sex-linked genetic diversity originates from persistent sociocultural processes at microgeographic scales. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190733. [PMID: 31598251 PMCID: PMC6731738 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Population genetics has been successful at identifying the relationships between human groups and their interconnected histories. However, the link between genetic demography inferred at large scales and the individual human behaviours that ultimately generate that demography is not always clear. While anthropological and historical context are routinely presented as adjuncts in population genetic studies to help describe the past, determining how underlying patterns of human sociocultural behaviour impact genetics still remains challenging. Here, we analyse patterns of genetic variation in village-scale samples from two islands in eastern Indonesia, patrilocal Sumba and a matrilocal region of Timor. Adopting a 'process modelling' approach, we iteratively explore combinations of structurally different models as a thinking tool. We find interconnected socio-genetic interactions involving sex-biased migration, lineage-focused founder effects, and on Sumba, heritable social dominance. Strikingly, founder ideology, a cultural model derived from anthropological and archaeological studies at larger regional scales, has both its origins and impact at the scale of villages. Process modelling lets us explore these complex interactions, first by circumventing the complexity of formal inference when studying large datasets with many interacting parts, and then by explicitly testing complex anthropological hypotheses about sociocultural behaviour from a more familiar population genetic standpoint.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Ning Chung
- Complexity Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- Centre for University Core, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
| | - Guy S. Jacobs
- Complexity Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Herawati Sudoyo
- Genome Diversity and Diseases Laboratory, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Safarina G. Malik
- Genome Diversity and Diseases Laboratory, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Lock Yue Chew
- Complexity Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - J. Stephen Lansing
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Stockholm Resilience Center, Kräftriket, 10405 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Murray P. Cox
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Group, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
- Te Pūnaha Matatini, Centre of Research Excellence for Complex Systems, Aukland, New Zealand
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12
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Mattison SM, Quinlan RJ, Hare D. The expendable male hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180080. [PMID: 31303164 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Matriliny is a system of kinship in which descent and inheritance are conferred along the female line. The theoretically influential concept of the matrilineal puzzle posits that matriliny poses special problems for understanding men's roles in matrilineal societies. Ethnographic work describes the puzzle as the tension experienced by men between the desire to exert control over their natal kin (i.e. the lineage to which they belong) and over their affinal kin (i.e. their spouses and their biological children). Evolutionary work frames the paradox as one resulting from a man investing in his nieces and nephews at the expense of his own biological offspring. In both cases, the rationale for the puzzle rests on two fundamental assumptions: (i) that men are in positions of authority over women and over resources; and (ii) that men are interested in the outcomes of parenting. In this paper, we posit a novel hypothesis that suggests that certain ecological conditions render men expendable within local kinship configurations, nullifying the above assumptions. This arises when (i) women, without significant assistance from men, are capable of meeting the subsistence needs of their families; and (ii) men have little to gain from parental investment in children. We conclude that the expendable male hypothesis may explain the evolution of matriliny in numerous cases, and by noting that female-centred approaches that call into doubt assumptions inherent to male-centred models of kinship are justified in evolutionary perspective. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M Mattison
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
| | - Robert J Quinlan
- 2 Department of Anthropology, Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99163 , USA
| | - Darragh Hare
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
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13
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Shenk MK, Begley RO, Nolin DA, Swiatek A. When does matriliny fail? The frequencies and causes of transitions to and from matriliny estimated from a de novo coding of a cross-cultural sample. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190006. [PMID: 31303165 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of when and why societies have transitioned away from matriliny to other types of kinship systems-and when and why they transition towards matriliny-has a long history in anthropology, one that is heavily engaged with both evolutionary theory and cross-cultural research methods. This article presents tabulations from a new coding of ethnographic documents from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), tallying claims of transitions in kinship systems both away from and to matriliny using various levels of stringency. We then use our counts as the outcome variables in a set of Bayesian analyses that simultaneously estimate the probability of a transition occurring given societal covariates alongside the conditional probability of detecting a transition given the volume of ethnographic data available to code. Our goal is to estimate the cross-cultural and comparative frequency of transitions away from and to matriliny, as well as to explore potential causes underlying these patterns. We find that transitions away from matriliny have been significantly more common than 'reverse transitions' to matriliny. Our evidence suggests that both rates may be, in part, an artefact of the colonial and globalizing period during which the data comprising much of the current ethnographic record were recorded. Analyses of the correlates of transitions away from matriliny are consistent with several of the key causal arguments made by anthropologists over the past century, especially with respect to subsistence transition (to pastoralism, intensive agriculture and market economies), social complexity and colonialism, highlighting the importance of ecological factors in such transitions. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary K Shenk
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - Ryan O Begley
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - David A Nolin
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - Andrew Swiatek
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
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14
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Mattison SM, Shenk MK, Thompson ME, Borgerhoff Mulder M, Fortunato L. The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190007. [PMID: 31303170 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Female-biased kinship (FBK) arises in numerous species and in diverse human cultures, suggesting deep evolutionary roots to female-oriented social structures. The significance of FBK has been debated for centuries in human studies, where it has often been described as difficult to explain. At the same time, studies of FBK in non-human animals point to its apparent benefits for longevity, social complexity and reproduction. Are female-biased social systems evolutionarily stable and under what circumstances? What are the causes and consequences of FBK? The purpose of this theme issue is to consolidate efforts towards understanding the evolutionary significance and stability of FBK in humans and other mammals. The issue includes broad theoretical and empirical reviews as well as specific case studies addressing the social and ecological correlates of FBK across taxa, time and space. It leverages a comparative approach to test existing hypotheses and presents novel arguments that aim to expand our understanding of how males and females negotiate kinship across diverse contexts in ways that lead to the expression of female biases in kinship behaviour and social structure. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M Mattison
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 , USA
| | - Mary K Shenk
- 2 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA 16802 , USA
| | | | | | - Laura Fortunato
- 4 Department of Anthropology, Magdalen College, University of Oxford , Oxford, OX1 4AU , UK.,5 Santa Fe Institute , Santa Fe, NM 87501 , USA
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