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Evolution of mating strategies: Evidence from the fossil and archaeological records

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 August 2019

Steven Mithen
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights House, Reading, RG6 6AA, United [email protected]

Abstract

Gangestad & Simpson provide a persuasive argument that both men and women have evolved conditional mating strategies. Their references to “ancestral” males and females are rather vague, which is unfortunate, as they seek to justify their arguments by invoking human evolutionary history. When one actually examines the evidence for human evolution further, more support for their arguments can be found, as predominant types of mating strategies are likely to have shifted in light of environmental and anatomical developments. We can also see in the archaeological record evidence for a further dimension of strategic pluralism – the use of material culture to advertise good genes in some species of ancestral males.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
2000 Cambridge University Press

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