Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals.

Ross, CTORCID logo; Hooper, PL; Smith, JE; Jaeggi, AVORCID logo; Smith, EAORCID logo; Gavrilets, SORCID logo; Zohora, FT; Ziker, JORCID logo; Xygalatas, DORCID logo; Wroblewski, EE; +94 more...Wood, BORCID logo; Winterhalder, BORCID logo; Willführ, KP; Willard, AK; Walker, K; von Rueden, CORCID logo; Voland, EORCID logo; Valeggia, C; Vaitla, B; Urlacher, SORCID logo; Towner, M; Sum, CORCID logo; Sugiyama, LSORCID logo; Strier, KBORCID logo; Starkweather, KORCID logo; Major-Smith, D; Shenk, MORCID logo; Sear, RORCID logo; Seabright, EORCID logo; Schacht, RORCID logo; Scelza, B; Scaggs, SORCID logo; Salerno, JORCID logo; Revilla-Minaya, C; Redhead, D; Pusey, AORCID logo; Purzycki, BGORCID logo; Power, EAORCID logo; Pisor, A; Pettay, JORCID logo; Perry, SORCID logo; Page, AEORCID logo; Pacheco-Cobos, LORCID logo; Oths, KORCID logo; Oh, S; Nolin, D; Nettle, D; Moya, CORCID logo; Migliano, AB; Mertens, KJORCID logo; McNamara, RAORCID logo; McElreath, R; Mattison, SORCID logo; Massengill, E; Marlowe, F; Madimenos, FORCID logo; Macfarlan, SORCID logo; Lummaa, V; Lizarralde, R; Liu, R; Liebert, MAORCID logo; Lew-Levy, S; Leslie, PORCID logo; Lanning, J; Kramer, K; Koster, J; Kaplan, HSORCID logo; Jamsranjav, B; Hurtado, AMORCID logo; Hill, KORCID logo; Hewlett, B; Helle, S; Headland, T; Headland, J; Gurven, MORCID logo; Grimalda, GORCID logo; Greaves, R; Golden, CDORCID logo; Godoy, IORCID logo; Gibson, MORCID logo; Mouden, CE; Dyble, M; Draper, P; Downey, SORCID logo; DeMarco, AL; Davis, HEORCID logo; Crabtree, SORCID logo; Cortez, C; Colleran, HORCID logo; Cohen, E; Clark, GORCID logo; Clark, J; Caudell, MAORCID logo; Carminito, CE; Bunce, JORCID logo; Boyette, A; Bowles, SORCID logo; Blumenfield, TORCID logo; Beheim, B; Beckerman, S; Atkinson, QORCID logo; Apicella, C; Alam, NORCID logo; Mulder, MBORCID logo and (2023) Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120 (22). e2220124120-. ISSN 0027-8424 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220124120
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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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