When Taking Multiple Husbands Makes Sense

Indeed, according to Starkweather and Hames, anthropologists have documented social systems for polyandrous unions “among foragers in a wide variety of environments ranging from the Arctic to the tropics, and to the desert.” Recognizing that at least half these groups are hunter-gatherer societies, the authors conclude that, if those groups are similar to our ancestors — as we may reasonably suspect — then “it is probable that polyandry has a deep human history.”

Rather than treating polyandry as a mystery to be explained away, Starkweather and Hames suggest polyandry constitutes a variation on the common, evolutionarily-adaptive phenomenon of pair-bonding — a variation that sometimes emerges in response to environmental conditions.

Read more. [Image: Abrams]

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   When Taking Multiple Husbands Makes Sense

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   Not that I needed validation, but this is nice to see.

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14. bookwormbreakfast reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    This is super cool. Anthropology is super cool! I am discovering that I like the social sciences (the social...

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20. teachingisforlearning reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    This was one of my presentation topics for the class, “Animal Behavior.” Incredibly interesting.

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    Oh man. The hilarity.

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    no shit

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46. catstudies reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    very, very interesting read!

47. cabezaderadish reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    awesomeness.

48. barefootinarowingboat reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    Interesting read but I wanted more.

49. citylifechange23 reblogged this from theatlantic and added:

    Anthropology majors know humanity has many types of relationships

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