Showing papers by "Mary K. Shenk published in 2023"
TL;DR: The marginal habitat hypothesis as mentioned in this paper suggests that foraging persisted because foragers tended to live in marginal habitats generally not suited to agriculture, and the alternative but untested oasis hypothesis of agricultural intensification claims that intensive agriculture developed in areas with low biodiversity and a reliable water source not reliant on local rainfall.
Abstract: Despite the global spread of intensive agriculture, many populations retained foraging or mixed subsistence strategies until well into the twentieth century. Understanding why has been a longstanding puzzle. One explanation, called the marginal habitat hypothesis, is that foraging persisted because foragers tended to live in marginal habitats generally not suited to agriculture. However, recent empirical studies have not supported this view. The alternative but untested oasis hypothesis of agricultural intensification claims that intensive agriculture developed in areas with low biodiversity and a reliable water source not reliant on local rainfall. We test both the marginal habitat and oasis hypotheses using a cross-cultural sample drawn from the 'Ethnographic atlas' (Murdock 1967 Ethnology 6, 109–236). Our analyses provide support for both hypotheses. We found that intensive agriculture was unlikely in areas with high rainfall. Further, high biodiversity, including pathogens associated with high rainfall, appears to have limited the development of intensive agriculture. Our analyses of African societies show that tsetse flies, elephants and malaria are negatively associated with intensive agriculture, but only the effect of tsetse flies reached significance. Our results suggest that in certain ecologies intensive agriculture may be difficult or impossible to develop but that generally lower rainfall and biodiversity is favourable for its emergence. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of inequality’.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors use data from 90 human societies and 49 mammalian species to demonstrate that humans exhibit lower average sex differences in reproductive inequality than do most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range.
Abstract: Significance How and why do human systems of marriage and reproduction differ from comparable systems in other mammals? To answer these questions, we use data from 90 human societies and 49 mammalian species. We demonstrate that humans exhibit lower average sex differences in reproductive inequality than do most other mammals, while nevertheless falling within the mammalian range. We attribute these small sex differences in reproductive skew to institutions supporting monogamy, to a limited intensity of polygyny in those groups practicing it, and especially to heavy dependence of children on care from both parents in our species. Such mammal-wide comparisons reveal the extent of, and possible reasons for, human exceptionalism.
2 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that gender differentially predicts income and educational attainment among ethnic Chinese Mosuo, and that men were more likely to report income than women; amounts earned were higher for men overall, but the difference between men and women was minimal under matriliny.
Abstract: Contemporary inequality exists at an unprecedented scale. Social scientists have emphasized the role played by material wealth in driving its escalation. Evolutionary anthropologists understand the drive to accumulate material wealth as one that is coupled ultimately to increasing reproductive success. Owing to biological caps on reproduction for women, the efficiency of this conversion can differ by gender, with implications for understanding the evolution of gender disparities in resource accumulation. Efficiency also differs according to the type of resources used to support reproductive success. In this paper, we review evolutionary explanations of gender disparities in resources and investigate empirical evidence to support or refute those explanations among matrilineal and patrilineal subpopulations of ethnic Chinese Mosuo, who share an ethnolinguistic identity, but differ strikingly in terms of institutions and norms surrounding kinship and gender. We find that gender differentially predicts income and educational attainment. Men were more likely to report income than women; amounts earned were higher for men overall, but the difference between men and women was minimal under matriliny. Men reported higher levels of educational attainment than women, unexpectedly more so in matrilineal contexts. The results reveal nuances in how biology and cultural institutions affect gender disparities in wealth. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of inequality’.
1 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored the association between betel quid use and anemia among men and non-pregnant women in a random sample of women and their husbands in Matlab, Bangladesh.
Abstract: Anemia accounts for 8.8% of total disability burden worldwide. Betel quid use among pregnant women has been found to increase anemia risk. Betel quid is prepared by wrapping the betel (or areca) nut, with spices and other additions, in betel or tobacco leaf and it is chewed or placed in the mouth. We explored the association between betel quid use and anemia among men and non-pregnant women. We collected data from a random sample of women and their husbands in Matlab, Bangladesh. Participants reported their current betel quid use and individual characteristics. We assessed hemoglobin (a biomarker of anemia) with a hemoglobinometer and soluble transferrin receptor (a biomarker of iron deficiency) and C-reactive protein (a biomarker of inflammation) in dried blood spots via enzyme immunoassay. We estimated logistic regression models to evaluate the association between betel quid use and anemia and structural equation models (SEM) to evaluate mediating roles of iron deficiency and elevated inflammation. A total of 1133 participants (390 men and 743 non-pregnant women) were included. After controlling for important confounders, any betel quid use was positively associated with anemia among men (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.12, 2.89). Among women, betel quid use was associated with anemia only among the most frequent users (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.53). SEM did not reveal indirect paths through inflammation or iron deficiency. Betel quid use may contribute to the burden of anemia among adults in Bangladesh. Our findings suggest the burden of disease attributed to betel quid use has been underestimated.