Title

Re‐Evaluating Primate Monogamy

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Anthropology and Museum Studies

Publication Date

12-1998

Abstract

Researchers propose hypotheses for the occurrence of monogamy as a social system in primates based on the assumption that there are a group of primates, including humans, which live exclusively in “nuclear families” and share a similar set of social behaviors. Examining the primates purported to be “monogamous” reveals that they cover a wide range of grouping types, mating patterns, taxonomic groups, and evolutionary grades. While there are a few primate species that do live in small, two‐adult groups and share a similar set of social behaviors, the vast majority of the supposed “monogamous” primates, including humans, do not.

Comments

This article was originally published in American Anthropologist. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download from ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Journal

American Anthropologist

Rights

Copyright © 1999, American Anthropological Association

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