ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2023
Reproductive inequality in humans and other mammals.
Abstract read
In one paragraph
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- The legacy of privilege: Social inheritance reverses sex differences in reproductive inequality in the spotted hyena.Science advances · 2026Article
- Complementary Evidence From Historical and Contemporary Gene Dispersal Reveals Contrasting Population Dynamics in a Tropical Tree Species.Evolutionary applications · 2026Article
- The Shuar Health and Life History Project: Overview at 20 Years and Introduction to the Special Issue.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- Investigating the causal effects of religiosity on childbearing among U.S. adolescents using a three-wave longitudinal design.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Competition for heritable wealth, not cultural group selection, drives the evolution of monogamy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Women's mental health: current status and evolutionary perspectives.Evolutionary human sciences · 2026Review
- Sex-Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Indirect genetic effects among neighbors promote cooperation and accelerate adaptation in a small-scale human society.Science advances · 2025Article
- DNA Methylation Dynamics Reflect Sex and Status Differences in Mortality Rates in a Polygynous Bat.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Human Reproductive Egalitarianism: A Catalyst for the Evolution of Personality Traits.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2025Article
- Little evidence that nonmonogamous family structures are detrimental to children's well-being in Mpimbwe, Tanzania.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Lifetime trajectories of male mating effort under reproductive conflict in a cooperatively breeding mammal.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Sex, season, age and status influence urinary steroid hormone profiles in an extremely polygynous neotropical bat.Hormones and behavior · 2024Article
- Jeans and language: kin networks and reproductive success are associated with the adoption of outgroup norms.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024Article
- A gene-culture co-evolutionary perspective on the puzzle of human twinship.Evolutionary human sciences · 2024Article
- Toward an evolutionary ecology of (in)equality.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Mechanisms of equality and inequality in mammalian societies.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2023Article
- Explaining variation in the kinship composition of mammal groups.Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral EcologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
104 authors.
Cody T RossSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.ORCID 0000-0002-0067-4799
Paul L HooperSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.
Jennifer E SmithDepartment of Biology, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI 54702.
Adrian V JaeggiInstitut für Anthropologie und Anthropologisches Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich 8006, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-1695-0388
Eric Alden SmithDepartment of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.ORCID 0000-0002-9482-9666
Sergey GavriletsDepartments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996.ORCID 0000-0003-1581-4018
Fatema Tuz ZohoraInternational Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
John ZikerDepartment of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725.ORCID 0000-0001-9059-5594
Dimitris XygalatasDepartment of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269.ORCID 0000-0003-1561-9327
Emily E WroblewskiDepartment of Structural Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Brian WoodDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8187-9429
Bruce WinterhalderDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.ORCID 0000-0001-6560-3302
Kai P WillführInstitute for Social Science, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg 26129, Germany.
Aiyana K WillardCentre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University, London UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
Kara WalkerCollege of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695.
Christopher von RuedenJepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173.ORCID 0000-0002-3225-5791
Eckart VolandInstitute for Philosophy, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen 35390, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2283-2735
Claudia ValeggiaDepartment of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520.
Bapu VaitlaDepartment of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.
Samuel UrlacherDepartment of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76706.ORCID 0000-0002-6489-4117
Mary TownerDepartment of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078.
Chun-Yi SumCollege of General Studies, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215.ORCID 0000-0001-6507-9184
Lawrence S SugiyamaDepartment of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.ORCID 0000-0003-1279-0006
Karen B StrierDepartment of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.ORCID 0000-0003-2520-9110
Kathrine StarkweatherDepartment of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607.ORCID 0000-0002-1554-4567
Daniel Major-SmithDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, United Kingdom.
Mary ShenkDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.ORCID 0000-0003-2002-1469
Rebecca SearDepartment of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-4315-0223
Edmond SeabrightDepartment of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.ORCID 0000-0003-3804-8010
Ryan SchachtDepartment of Anthropology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858.ORCID 0000-0002-4606-7345
Brooke ScelzaDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
Shane ScaggsDepartment of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.ORCID 0000-0003-1223-8588
Jonathan SalernoDepartment of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523.ORCID 0000-0001-9402-6479
Caissa Revilla-MinayaDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Daniel RedheadDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Anne PuseyDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.ORCID 0000-0002-2280-8954
Benjamin Grant PurzyckiDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9595-7360
Eleanor A PowerSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.ORCID 0000-0002-3064-2050
Anne PisorDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Jenni PettayDepartment of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-7768-5883
Susan PerryDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.ORCID 0000-0001-5306-5383
Abigail E PageDepartment of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-0973-1569
Luis Pacheco-CobosFacultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz 94294, Mexico.ORCID 0000-0002-0992-6905
Kathryn OthsDepartment of Anthropology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.ORCID 0000-0002-7832-457X
Seung-Yun OhKorea Insurance Research Institute, Seoul 150-606, Korea.
David NolinDepartment of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003.
Daniel NettleDépartement d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université PSL, Paris 75230, France.
Cristina MoyaDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.ORCID 0000-0001-7100-9115
Andrea Bamberg MiglianoInstitut für Anthropologie und Anthropologisches Museum, University of Zürich, Zürich 8006, Switzerland.
Karl J MertensDepartment of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725.ORCID 0000-0002-2456-1262
Rita A McNamaraSchool of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-8530-768X
Richard McElreathDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Siobhan MattisonDepartment of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.ORCID 0000-0002-9537-5459
Eric MassengillDepartment of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
Frank MarloweDepartment of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, United Kingdom.
Felicia MadimenosDepartment of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), New York, NY 11367.ORCID 0000-0001-5442-232X
Shane MacfarlanDepartment of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.ORCID 0000-0002-6332-9829
Virpi LummaaDepartment of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland.
Roberto LizarraldeFacultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas 1010A, Venezuela.
Ruizhe LiuDepartment of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.
Melissa A LiebertDepartment of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011.ORCID 0000-0001-8013-6773
Sheina Lew-LevyDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Paul LeslieDepartment of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599.ORCID 0000-0001-9856-4602
Joseph LanningSIT Graduate Institute, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
Karen KramerDepartment of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
Jeremy KosterDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Hillard S KaplanEconomic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866.ORCID 0000-0002-7398-7358
Bayarsaikhan JamsranjavNational Museum of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 13373, Mongolia.
A Magdalena HurtadoSchool of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287.ORCID 0000-0003-1025-4824
Kim HillSchool of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287.ORCID 0000-0003-0655-0014
Barry HewlettDepartment of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164.
Samuli HelleDepartment of Biology, University of Turku, Turku 20014, Finland.
Thomas HeadlandSIL International, Dallas, TX 75236.
Janet HeadlandSIL International, Dallas, TX 75236.
Michael GurvenDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.ORCID 0000-0002-5661-527X
Gianluca GrimaldaKiel Institute for the World Economy, Kiel 24105, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5605-5591
Russell GreavesDepartment of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
Christopher D GoldenDepartment of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115.ORCID 0000-0002-2258-7493
Irene GodoyDepartment of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld 33615, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4405-226X
Mhairi GibsonDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1QU, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-7963-4759
Claire El MoudenSchool of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom.
Mark DybleDepartment of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
Patricia DraperSchool of Global Integrative Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588.
Sean DowneyDepartment of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.ORCID 0000-0001-7671-6759
Angelina L DeMarcoDepartment of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
Helen Elizabeth DavisDepartment of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.ORCID 0000-0002-8880-354X
Stefani CrabtreeSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.ORCID 0000-0001-8585-8943
Carmen CortezDepartment of Anthropology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.
Heidi ColleranDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2126-8116
Emma CohenSchool of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2JD, United Kingdom.
Gregory ClarkDepartment of Economics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.ORCID 0000-0001-6972-4478
Julia ClarkNomad Science, Darkhad 67011, Mongolia.
Mark A CaudellDepartment of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164.ORCID 0000-0003-4456-3318
Chelsea E CarminitoDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221.
John BunceDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4092-485X
Adam BoyetteDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Samuel BowlesSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.ORCID 0000-0001-6068-4430
Tami BlumenfieldDepartment of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131.ORCID 0000-0001-5833-0123
Bret BeheimDepartment of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Stephen BeckermanDepartment of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.
Quentin AtkinsonSchool of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-8499-7535
Coren ApicellaDepartment of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Nurul AlamInternational Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0002-1202-4451
Monique Borgerhoff MulderSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501.ORCID 0000-0003-1117-5984
Funding
Testing Hypothesized Pathways Linking Infection, Physical Activity, Apoe Genotype, And Biological Sex To Low Dementia Prevalence And Reduced Brain Atrophy In Two Native American PopulationsR01AG054442 · NIA · CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY · PI CALEB E FINCH, Margaret Gatz · 2022 to 2026
$15.2MNIA NIH HHS R01 AG054442
Abstract
To address claims of human exceptionalism, we determine where humans fit within the greater mammalian distribution of reproductive inequality. We show that humans exhibit lower reproductive skew (i.e., inequality in the number of surviving offspring) among males and smaller sex differences in reproductive skew than most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. Additionally, female reproductive skew is higher in polygynous human populations than in polygynous nonhumans mammals on average. This patterning of skew can be attributed in part to the prevalence of monogamy in humans compared to the predominance of polygyny in nonhuman mammals, to the limited degree of polygyny in the human societies that practice it, and to the importance of unequally held rival resources to women's fitness. The muted reproductive inequality observed in humans appears to be linked to several unusual characteristics of our species-including high levels of cooperation among males, high dependence on unequally held rival resources, complementarities between maternal and paternal investment, as well as social and legal institutions that enforce monogamous norms.
Indexed as
ReproductionSex CharacteristicsAnimalsFemaleHumansMaleMammalsMarriageSexual Behavior, Animalegalitarian syndromeinequalitymating systemsmonogamyreproductive skew
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390
Registered trials
None linked
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.