The evolutionary ecology of despotism

Abstract

In this paper, I investigate the relevance of recent work in reproductive skew theory to explanations of the evolution of social stratification in human societies. I briefly review human social evolution and corresponding increases in stratification, as well as recent developments in skew theory. I then attempt to integrate basic factors that have been a focus of interest by skew theorists to previous work on human social stratification from an evolutionary ecological perspective. I also discuss factors peculiar to human social systems that could profitably be incorporated into future models of reproductive skew.