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Humans may be more monogamous by nature first thoughtResearchers say.
monogamy More comparable to typical orgasms seen in humans The Meerkats And beaver more than us close cousinsays Mark Dyble, anthropologist at the University of Cambridge.
Monogamy, or the practice of mating with only one partner at a time, is widely considered a cornerstone of society, even as researchers continue to discover a range of mating norms among humans.
A new measure developed by Dr. Diable shows that humans practice monogamy much more than other primates. This measure calculates monogamy rates for different species by looking at the ratio of full and half siblings.
Species with higher monogamy rates are likely to produce more complete siblings, Dr. Diable explains.
They used this reasoning to develop a computer model that mapped sibling data from genetic studies conducted in recent years onto the known mating strategies of different species to derive their estimated monogamy rates.
“There is a premier league of monogamy, in which humans sit comfortably while most others mammals He compared his ranking system to the standing table of football teams in England’s top division, saying it “takes a far more narrow approach to sex.”
In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Dr. Dyble calculates human monogamy rates based on genetic data from Bronze Age cemeteries in Europe and Neolithic sites in Anatolia. The study also took into account cultural information about 94 human societies such as Tanzanian Hadza hunter-gatherers and Indonesian Toraja rice farmers.
Research reveals a 66 percent rate of full siblings in humans, which ranks us seventh out of the 11 socially monogamous species included in the study. “Humans have a variety of partnerships that create conditions for mixing of full and half-siblings with strong ancestral investment, ranging from gradual monogamy to stable polygamy,” Dr. Dyable said.
In comparison, meerkats show a 60 percent full-sibling rate, while beavers outdo us in monogamy with 73 percent.
Our fellow primates are at the bottom of the table, with mountain gorillas managing a 6 percent full-sibling rate, chimpanzees 4 percent, and various macaque species ranging from 2 to 1 percent, indicating a highly promiscuous lifestyle.
“Based on the mating patterns of our closest living relatives, such as chimpanzees and gorillas,” Dr. Dyable said, “human monogamy probably evolved from non-monogamous group living, a transition that is extremely unusual among mammals.”
The anthropologist said the study “measures reproductive monogamy rather than sexual behavior”.
“In most mammals, mating and reproduction are deeply interconnected,” he said. “In humans, birth control methods and cultural practices break that connection.”