Brother-sister and parent-child marriage outside royal families in ancient egypt and iran: A challenge to the sociobiological view of incest avoidance?

摘要: Abstract Copious and unequivocal evidence of legally condoned socially favored brother-sister parent-child marriage among common people from Roman Egypt (first to third centuries, A.D.) Zoroastrian Iran (fifth century, B.C. 11th can be taken pose a challenge the sociobiological case for universal evolved incest avoidance within nuclear family, triggered by early childhood proximity (the Westermarck effect). Official census documents show high incidence full sibling unions with relatively small age gaps between spouses no indication reduced marital fertility, sexual aversion, or increased infant child mortality. religious tracts actively encourage family extol its meritorious nature supernatural benefits. A schematic assessment likely extent inbreeding depression in such families under conditions very mortality through other causes makes reproduction at replacement level seem difficult accomplish. But given lack information on frequency deleterious recessive genes these populations, this reconstruction is fraught uncertainty; pertinent ancient suggestive some but remains inconclusive. Aversion revulsion incestuous proves similarly elusive issue. Although cases antiquity do not clearly contradict view as an mechanism that engenders indifference normally translates into corresponding cultural norms, they demonstrate need more comprehensive consideration available historical record testing evolutionary rules.