Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society
It is widely believed that there is strong association between physiological stress and an individual's social status in their social hierarchy. This has been claimed for all humans cross-culturally, as well as in non-human animals living in social groups. However, the relationship between stre...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X20000444/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811156376662048768 |
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| author | Piotr Fedurek Laurent Lacroix Julia Lehmann Athena Aktipis Lee Cronk Cathryn Townsend E. Jerryson Makambi Ibrahim Mabulla Volker Behrends J. Colette Berbesque |
| author_facet | Piotr Fedurek Laurent Lacroix Julia Lehmann Athena Aktipis Lee Cronk Cathryn Townsend E. Jerryson Makambi Ibrahim Mabulla Volker Behrends J. Colette Berbesque |
| author_sort | Piotr Fedurek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is widely believed that there is strong association between physiological stress and an individual's social status in their social hierarchy. This has been claimed for all humans cross-culturally, as well as in non-human animals living in social groups. However, the relationship between stress and social status has not been explored in any egalitarian hunter–gatherer society; it is also under investigated in exclusively female social groups. Most of human evolutionary history was spent in small, mobile foraging bands of hunter–gatherers with little economic differentiation – egalitarian societies. We analysed women's hair cortisol concentration along with two domains of women's social status (foraging reputation and popularity) in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society, the Hadza. We hypothesized that higher social status would be associated with lower physiological indicators of stress in these women. Surprisingly, we did not find any association between either foraging reputation or popularity and hair cortisol concentration. The results of our study suggest that social status is not a consistent or powerful predictor of physiological stress levels in women in an egalitarian social structure. This challenges the notion that social status has the same basic physiological implications across all demographics and in all human societies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:50:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7526c3cd65f94ee89d6354a57168561e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2513-843X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:50:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7526c3cd65f94ee89d6354a57168561e2023-03-09T12:32:19ZengCambridge University PressEvolutionary Human Sciences2513-843X2020-01-01210.1017/ehs.2020.44Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer societyPiotr Fedurek0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3620-6839Laurent Lacroix1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5715-8058Julia Lehmann2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-1705Athena Aktipis3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-670XLee Cronk4Cathryn Townsend5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4274-1811E. Jerryson Makambi6Ibrahim Mabulla7Volker Behrends8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4855-5497J. Colette Berbesque9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0517-9524Centre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Inter-Disciplinary Anthropology, Roehampton University, London, UKHealth Sciences Research Centre, Roehampton University, London, UKCentre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Inter-Disciplinary Anthropology, Roehampton University, London, UKDepartment of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USADepartment of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USADepartment of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USAMount Meru Tour Guide and International Language School, Arusha, TanzaniaNational Museums of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaHealth Sciences Research Centre, Roehampton University, London, UKCentre for Research in Evolutionary, Social and Inter-Disciplinary Anthropology, Roehampton University, London, UKIt is widely believed that there is strong association between physiological stress and an individual's social status in their social hierarchy. This has been claimed for all humans cross-culturally, as well as in non-human animals living in social groups. However, the relationship between stress and social status has not been explored in any egalitarian hunter–gatherer society; it is also under investigated in exclusively female social groups. Most of human evolutionary history was spent in small, mobile foraging bands of hunter–gatherers with little economic differentiation – egalitarian societies. We analysed women's hair cortisol concentration along with two domains of women's social status (foraging reputation and popularity) in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society, the Hadza. We hypothesized that higher social status would be associated with lower physiological indicators of stress in these women. Surprisingly, we did not find any association between either foraging reputation or popularity and hair cortisol concentration. The results of our study suggest that social status is not a consistent or powerful predictor of physiological stress levels in women in an egalitarian social structure. This challenges the notion that social status has the same basic physiological implications across all demographics and in all human societies.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X20000444/type/journal_articlecortisolegalitarianismhierarchyhunter–gatherersprestigesocial status |
| spellingShingle | Piotr Fedurek Laurent Lacroix Julia Lehmann Athena Aktipis Lee Cronk Cathryn Townsend E. Jerryson Makambi Ibrahim Mabulla Volker Behrends J. Colette Berbesque Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society Evolutionary Human Sciences cortisol egalitarianism hierarchy hunter–gatherers prestige social status |
| title | Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society |
| title_full | Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society |
| title_fullStr | Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society |
| title_full_unstemmed | Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society |
| title_short | Status does not predict stress: Women in an egalitarian hunter–gatherer society |
| title_sort | status does not predict stress women in an egalitarian hunter gatherer society |
| topic | cortisol egalitarianism hierarchy hunter–gatherers prestige social status |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X20000444/type/journal_article |
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