Robert A. Paul
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226240725
- eISBN:
- 9780226241050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226241050.003.0005
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
The chapter begins by placing human social organization in the context of other social animals, including canids and higher primates. Only humans manage the integration of social groupings based on ...
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The chapter begins by placing human social organization in the context of other social animals, including canids and higher primates. Only humans manage the integration of social groupings based on genetic kinship with those encompassing a wider group of non-related individuals. Attention is focused on hamadryas baboons, who have evolved a social system having features in common with the elementary human social pattern, involving continuous male-female bonds beyond brief sexual encounters and non-interference by males with established male-female pair bonds. Humans achieve the same thing by cultural rather than evolved genetic means, that is, marriage regulations. Marriage is examined as a solution to the problem posed by the competition among males for mating opportunities. The Hill Pandaram of South India are presented as an illustrative case of Dravidian kinship reckoning and how it regulates sexual reproduction.Less
The chapter begins by placing human social organization in the context of other social animals, including canids and higher primates. Only humans manage the integration of social groupings based on genetic kinship with those encompassing a wider group of non-related individuals. Attention is focused on hamadryas baboons, who have evolved a social system having features in common with the elementary human social pattern, involving continuous male-female bonds beyond brief sexual encounters and non-interference by males with established male-female pair bonds. Humans achieve the same thing by cultural rather than evolved genetic means, that is, marriage regulations. Marriage is examined as a solution to the problem posed by the competition among males for mating opportunities. The Hill Pandaram of South India are presented as an illustrative case of Dravidian kinship reckoning and how it regulates sexual reproduction.
