Sexual selection in ancestral human societies: The importance of the anthropological and historical records.

Abstract

Application of the sexual selection theory is required for understanding the evolution of the human mind. Still, sexual selection is not a homogenous force, and there are different sexual selection forces. It has been generally assumed that female choice had been the primary sexual selection force during the period of human evolution. More recently, however, it has been proposed that male-male competition and parental choice respectively, had been instead the primary sexual selection forces. This article argues that any theorizing on sexual selection in ancestral human societies needs to be consistent with the anthropological and historical records. Based on this reasoning, it argues further that systematic evidence from these sources is consistent with the hypothesis that male parental choice had been the primary sexual selection force during most of the period of human evolution, while female choice and male-male competi- tion had also been important sexual selection forces. Individuals who are unable to attract and retain members of the opposite sex for the pur- pose of reproduction pay a heavy fitness cost and will be selected out of the population. This translates into sexual selection being a powerful evolutionary force in sexually reproducing spe- cies like our own. Accordingly, the human mind should have been the primary target of sexual selection forces; that is, many behavioral mech- anisms have evolved to enable us to attract and retain members of the opposite sex. In consequence, the application of sexual selec- tion theory becomes central in the evolutionary studies of human behavior. Yet, sexual selection is not a homogenous force as there are distinct sex- ual selection forces. At present, there is a disagree- ment over which sexual selection force has been the primary one in ancestral human societies dur- ing the period of human evolution. In particular, most researchers (e.g., Buss, 2003; Miller, 2000) have assumed that female choice had been the primary sexual selection force. Puts (2010) has argued that male-male competition had been the primary sexual selection force, yet Apostolou (2007, 2010) has argued that it had been parental choice. Given the importance of sexual selection theory for understanding the human mind, this argument needs to be resolved for evolutionary research to be based on solid assumptions about ancestral human condition. The purpose of this article is to argue first that any theorizing on sexual selection in ancestral human societies should be consistent with the anthropological and historical records. Based on this reasoning, it is further argued that systematic evidence from these sources is consistent with the hypothesis that parental choice had been the primary sexual selection force during most of the period of human evolution, and female choice and male-male competition had also been important sexual selection forces. Before discussing the evi- dence from the anthropological and historical records, a brief discussion of each selection force is needed.