Definition
Mating systems in which a member of one sex associates with multiple members of the other sex.
Introduction
There is little doubt that the “natural” mating system for human beings is polygamy, which includes two different reproductive arrangements: polygyny and polyandry. In polygyny, one man mates with more than one woman, a “harem” as traditionally understood. In polyandry, one woman mates with more than one man. Neither implies promiscuity, since both polygyny and polyandry involve establishing some sort of long-standing relationship.
Evidence for Polygyny
The evidence for human polygyny comes from several independent sources:
- 1.
Sexual dimorphism, the pattern in which the sexes are phenotypically distinct, typically with males larger than females, and – in other animals – often outfitted with anatomical weaponry. Men are, on average, 20 % larger than women, with this difference greater yet with respect to muscle mass....
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References
Barash, D. (2016). Out of Eden: Surprising consequences of polygamy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Barash, D., & Lipton, J. E. (2009). How women got their curves and other just-so stories. New York: Columbia University Press.
Dupanloup, I., Pereira, L., Bertorelle, G., Calafell, F., Prata, M. J., Amorim, A., & Barbujani, G. (2003). A recent shift from polygyny to monogamy in humans is suggested by the analysis of worldwide Y-chromosome diversity. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 57(1), 85–97.
Murdock, G. P. (1967). The ethnographic atlas. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press.
Thornhill, R., & Gangestad, S. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Barash, D.P. (2016). Polygamy in Humans. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_117-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_117-1
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