Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals - CNRS - Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Journal Articles Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Year : 2023

Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals

Cody Ross , Paul Hooper , Jennifer Smith (1) , Adrian Jaeggi , Eric Alden Smith , Sergey Gavrilets , Fatema Tuz Zohora , John Ziker , Dimitris Xygalatas , Emily Wroblewski (2) , Brian Wood (3) , Bruce Winterhalder , Kai Willführ , Aiyana Willard , Kara Walker , Christopher von Rueden , Eckart Voland (4) , Claudia Valeggia , Bapu Vaitla , Samuel Urlacher (5) , Mary Towner , Chun-Yi Sum , Lawrence Sugiyama , Karen Strier , Kathrine Starkweather , Daniel Major-Smith , Mary Shenk , Rebecca Sear , Edmond Seabright , Ryan Schacht , Brooke Scelza , Shane Scaggs , Jonathan Salerno , Caissa Revilla-Minaya , Daniel Redhead , Anne Pusey , Benjamin Grant Purzycki , Eleanor Power , Anne Pisor , Jenni Pettay , Susan Perry , Abigail Page , Luis Pacheco-Cobos , Kathryn Oths , Seung-Yun Oh , David Nolin , Daniel Nettle , Cristina Moya , Andrea Bamberg Migliano , Karl Mertens , Rita Mcnamara , Richard Mcelreath , Siobhan Mattison , Eric Massengill , Frank Marlowe , Felicia Madimenos , Shane Macfarlan , Virpi Lummaa , Roberto Lizarralde , Ruizhe Liu , Melissa Liebert , Sheina Lew-Levy , Paul Leslie , Joseph Lanning , Karen Kramer , Jeremy Koster , Hillard Kaplan , Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav , A. Magdalena Hurtado , Kim Hill , Barry Hewlett , Samuli Helle , Thomas Headland , Janet Headland , Michael Gurven , Gianluca Grimalda , Russell Greaves , Christopher Golden , Irene Godoy , Mhairi Gibson , Claire El Mouden , Mark Dyble , Patricia Draper , Sean Downey , Angelina Demarco , Helen Elizabeth Davis , Stefani Crabtree , Carmen Cortez , Heidi Colleran , Emma Cohen , Gregory Clark , Julia Clark , Mark Caudell , Chelsea Carminito , John Bunce , Adam Boyette , Samuel Bowles , Tami Blumenfield , Bret Beheim , Stephen Beckerman , Quentin Atkinson , Coren Apicella , Nurul Alam , Monique Borgerhoff Mulder
Cody Ross
Paul Hooper
  • Function : Author
Jennifer Smith
Adrian Jaeggi
Eric Alden Smith
Sergey Gavrilets
Fatema Tuz Zohora
  • Function : Author
John Ziker
Dimitris Xygalatas
Brian Wood
Bruce Winterhalder
Kai Willführ
  • Function : Author
Aiyana Willard
  • Function : Author
Kara Walker
  • Function : Author
Christopher von Rueden
Claudia Valeggia
  • Function : Author
Bapu Vaitla
  • Function : Author
Samuel Urlacher
Mary Towner
  • Function : Author
Chun-Yi Sum
Lawrence Sugiyama
Karen Strier
Kathrine Starkweather
Daniel Major-Smith
  • Function : Author
Mary Shenk
Rebecca Sear
Edmond Seabright
Ryan Schacht
Brooke Scelza
  • Function : Author
Shane Scaggs
Jonathan Salerno
Caissa Revilla-Minaya
  • Function : Author
Daniel Redhead
  • Function : Author
Anne Pusey
Benjamin Grant Purzycki
Eleanor Power
Anne Pisor
  • Function : Author
Jenni Pettay
Susan Perry
Abigail Page
Luis Pacheco-Cobos
Kathryn Oths
Seung-Yun Oh
  • Function : Author
David Nolin
  • Function : Author
Daniel Nettle
Cristina Moya
Andrea Bamberg Migliano
  • Function : Author
Karl Mertens
Rita Mcnamara
Richard Mcelreath
  • Function : Author
Siobhan Mattison
Eric Massengill
  • Function : Author
Frank Marlowe
  • Function : Author
Felicia Madimenos
Shane Macfarlan
Virpi Lummaa
  • Function : Author
Roberto Lizarralde
  • Function : Author
Ruizhe Liu
  • Function : Author
Melissa Liebert
Sheina Lew-Levy
  • Function : Author
Paul Leslie
Joseph Lanning
  • Function : Author
Karen Kramer
  • Function : Author
Jeremy Koster
  • Function : Author
Hillard Kaplan
Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav
  • Function : Author
A. Magdalena Hurtado
Kim Hill
Barry Hewlett
  • Function : Author
Samuli Helle
  • Function : Author
Thomas Headland
  • Function : Author
Janet Headland
  • Function : Author
Michael Gurven
Gianluca Grimalda
Russell Greaves
  • Function : Author
Christopher Golden
Irene Godoy
Mhairi Gibson
Claire El Mouden
  • Function : Author
Mark Dyble
  • Function : Author
Patricia Draper
  • Function : Author
Sean Downey
Angelina Demarco
  • Function : Author
Helen Elizabeth Davis
Stefani Crabtree
Carmen Cortez
  • Function : Author
Heidi Colleran
Emma Cohen
  • Function : Author
Gregory Clark
Julia Clark
  • Function : Author
Mark Caudell
Chelsea Carminito
  • Function : Author
John Bunce
Adam Boyette
  • Function : Author
Samuel Bowles
Tami Blumenfield
Bret Beheim
  • Function : Author
Stephen Beckerman
  • Function : Author
Quentin Atkinson
Coren Apicella
  • Function : Author
Nurul Alam
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder

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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Dates and versions

hal-04287627 , version 1 (15-11-2023)

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Cody Ross, Paul Hooper, Jennifer Smith, Adrian Jaeggi, Eric Alden Smith, et al.. Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2023, 120 (22), ⟨10.1073/pnas.2220124120⟩. ⟨hal-04287627⟩

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