Sexual dimorphism in stature and women's work: A phylogenetic cross-cultural analysis

Abstract

The following cultural variables were tested for their association with sexual dimorphism: sexual division of labor, type of subsistence (hunting and agriculture), and polygyny. The transmission of these traits among populations was investigated. All the traits were found to be associated with phylogeny, indicating that they are inherited from mother to daughter populations. A cross-cultural comparative method was used which controls for the statistical effects of similarity due to common ancestry (Galton's problem). Cross-cultural variation in sexual dimorphism in stature is negatively associated with women's contribution to subsistence. Women are taller, relative to men, in societies where women contribute more to food production. This may be because female nutritional status is better in these societies. No relationship was found between sexual dimorphism and other aspects of subsistence or polygyny. These results are discussed in relation to other studies of sexual dimorphism in modern and archaeological populations, and in relation to cross-cultural variation in sex-biased parental investment.