The Human Community as a Primate Society [and Comments]

Rodseth, Lars; Wrangham, Richard W.; Harrigan, Alisa M.; Smuts, Barbara; Dare, Ron; Fox, Robin; King, Barbara J.; Lee, P. C.; Foley, Robert; Muller, J. C.; Otterbein, Keith F.; Strier, Karen B.; Turke, Paul W.; Wolpoff, Milford H.

doi:10.1086/203952

Cited by 328 publications

(209 citation statements)

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“…However, qualitative differences exist between the two species (8,31,43). Chimpanzees form no broader coalitions beyond the local community, but humans demonstrate a unique form of multitiered social structure in which marriage, social kinship, alliances, trade, and communication bond multiple descent groups, residential communities, and even ethnolinguistic units (32,(44)(45)(46)(47). Human metagroup social structure involves a concomitant increase in cooperation and competition in wider networks that extend beyond the local community (45,46).…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Lethal coalitionary aggression and long-term alliance formation among Yanomamö men

Macfarlan

Walker

Flinn

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

109

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Some cross-cultural evidence suggests lethal coalitionary aggression in humans is the product of residence and descent rules that promote fraternal interest groups, i.e., power groups of coresident males bonded by kinship. As such, human lethal coalitions are hypothesized to be homologous to chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) border patrols. However, humans demonstrate a unique metagroup social structure in which strategic alliances allow individuals to form coalitions transcending local community boundaries. We test predictions derived from the fraternal interest group and strategic alliance models using lethal coalition data from a lowland South American population, the Yanomamö. Yanomamö men who kill an enemy acquire a special status, termed unokai. We examine the social characteristics of co-unokais or men who jointly kill others. Analyses indicate co-unokais generally are (i) from the same population but from different villages and patrilines, (ii) close age mates, and (iii) maternal half-first cousins. Furthermore, the incident rate for co-unokai killings increases if men are similar in age, from the same population, and from different natal communities. Co-unokais who have killed more times in the past and who are more genetically related to each other have a higher probability of coresidence in adulthood. Last, a relationship exists between lethal coalition formation and marriage exchange. In this population, internal warfare unites multiple communities, and co-unokais strategically form new residential groups and marriage alliances. These results support the strategic alliance model of coalitionary aggression, demonstrate the complexities of human alliance formation, and illuminate key differences in social structure distinguishing humans from other primates.internal warfare | male coalitions | fraternal interest groups | strategic alliances | Yanomamö T he evolution of lethal coalitionary aggression remains a pivotal topic across the biological and social sciences (1-12). Revealing the ultimate and proximate factors responsible for the emergence and dynamics of warfare is of practical and theoretical importance across a wide range of contexts, including the evolution of human ultra-sociality, coalitionary psychology, ethnic identity, leadership, and political behavior. Surprisingly few detailed analyses exist concerning the social composition of lethal coalitions in small-scale societies. This lack is problematic, because the particular form that lethal coalitions take sheds light on the adaptive function of this behavior and the phylogenetic roots of coalitionary aggression with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).Humans, like chimpanzees, demonstrate a capacity to coordinate behavior with others to kill conspecifics (11)(12)(13)(14)(15). Although the scope of lethal coalitionary aggression is far greater in humans, a number of similarities exist between the two species, namely coordinated groups of adult males defending home territories and aggressing against individuals from other communities with low-cost but ...

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Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Lethal coalitionary aggression and long-term alliance formation among Yanomamö men

Macfarlan

Walker

Flinn

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

109

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“…Finally, human societies differ from those of apes in a number of respects: the assembly of the whole band at an overnight base camp, the presence of social and economic pair bonds, significant alloparental inputs in child rearing, exchange of goods as tokens of social relations, and, perhaps rather obviously, the use of language in regulating relationships (see also Dunbar 1993;Marlowe 2005;Rodseth et al 1991). These differences are numerically and qualitatively sufficiently large that they are unlikely to have arisen at the same time, which raises the second issue of our framework: how were these differences acquired in the hominid lineage?…”

Section: Human and Ape Social Systems Comparedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fission‐Fusion Dynamics

Aureli¹,

Schaffner²,

Boesch³

et al. 2008

Current Anthropology

804

275

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“…association index | fission-fusion | multilevel society | range expansion | social network analysis T raditional human societies typically consist of stable communities comprising several conjugal family groups (1). Sexual relationships are predominantly monogamous, and individuals of both sexes may disperse from their family groups or stay, resulting in coresidence of both brothers and sisters (2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Male tolerance and male–male bonds in a multilevel primate society

Patzelt

Kopp

Ndao³

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

190

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Male relationships in most species of mammals generally are characterized by intense intrasexual competition, with little bonding among unrelated individuals. In contrast, human societies are characterized by high levels of cooperation and strong bonds among both related and unrelated males. The emergence of cooperative male-male relationships has been linked to the multilevel structure of traditional human societies. Based on an analysis of the patterns of spatial and social interaction in combination with genetic relatedness data of wild Guinea baboons (Papio papio), we show that this species exhibits a multilevel social organization in which males maintain strong bonds and are highly tolerant of each other. Several "units" of males with their associated females form "parties," which team up as "gangs." Several gangs of the same "community" use the same home range. Males formed strong bonds predominantly within parties; however, these bonds were not correlated with genetic relatedness. Agonistic interactions were relatively rare and were restricted to a few dyads. Although the social organization of Guinea baboons resembles that of hamadryas baboons, we found stronger male-male affiliation and more elaborate greeting rituals among male Guinea baboons and less aggression toward females. Thus, the social relationships of male Guinea baboons differ markedly from those of other members of the genus, adding valuable comparative data to test hypotheses regarding social evolution. We suggest that this species constitutes an intriguing model to study the predictors and fitness benefits of male bonds, thus contributing to a better understanding of the evolution of this important facet of human social behavior.association index | fission-fusion | multilevel society | range expansion | social network analysis

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The Human Community as a Primate Society [and Comments]

Cited by 328 publications

References 0 publications

Lethal coalitionary aggression and long-term alliance formation among Yanomamö men

Lethal coalitionary aggression and long-term alliance formation among Yanomamö men

Fission‐Fusion Dynamics

Male tolerance and male–male bonds in a multilevel primate society

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