Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution
Humans have an unusual mating system - nominally monogamous pair-bonds set within multimale/multifemale communities. In the context of large, dispersed communities, this inevitably places a significant stress on mating strategies, especially for males for whom paternity uncertainty is a real problem...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2010
|
| _version_ | 1797068645368594432 |
|---|---|
| author | Dunbar, R |
| author_facet | Dunbar, R |
| author_sort | Dunbar, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Humans have an unusual mating system - nominally monogamous pair-bonds set within multimale/multifemale communities. In the context of large, dispersed communities, this inevitably places a significant stress on mating strategies, especially for males for whom paternity uncertainty is a real problem. I discuss the nature of this bonding process in terms of the proximate mechanisms that make it possible, and then ask why such a phenomenon might have evolved. I suggest that the evidence for the importance of biparental care (the conventional explanation) is weak, and a more likely explanation is that females attached themselves to males in order to reduce the risks of harassment and infanticide from other males (the 'hired gun' hypothesis). Finally, I ask when pair-bonds of this kind might have evolved during the course of hominin evolution, and suggest that it might have been quite late. © The British Academy 2010. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:13:08Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:527c5ae7-b4e5-47ad-8aa6-d9a90257c5da |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T22:13:08Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:527c5ae7-b4e5-47ad-8aa6-d9a90257c5da2022-03-26T16:25:52ZDeacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolutionJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:527c5ae7-b4e5-47ad-8aa6-d9a90257c5daEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2010Dunbar, RHumans have an unusual mating system - nominally monogamous pair-bonds set within multimale/multifemale communities. In the context of large, dispersed communities, this inevitably places a significant stress on mating strategies, especially for males for whom paternity uncertainty is a real problem. I discuss the nature of this bonding process in terms of the proximate mechanisms that make it possible, and then ask why such a phenomenon might have evolved. I suggest that the evidence for the importance of biparental care (the conventional explanation) is weak, and a more likely explanation is that females attached themselves to males in order to reduce the risks of harassment and infanticide from other males (the 'hired gun' hypothesis). Finally, I ask when pair-bonds of this kind might have evolved during the course of hominin evolution, and suggest that it might have been quite late. © The British Academy 2010. |
| spellingShingle | Dunbar, R Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title | Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title_full | Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title_fullStr | Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title_short | Deacon's dilemma: The problem of pair-bonding in human evolution |
| title_sort | deacon s dilemma the problem of pair bonding in human evolution |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dunbarr deaconsdilemmatheproblemofpairbondinginhumanevolution |