Was monogamy a key step on the hominin road? Reevaluating the monogamy hypothesis in the evolution of cooperative breeding.

摘要: Because human mothers routinely rely on others to help raise their young, humans have been characterized as cooperative breeders.(1-9) Several large-scale phylogenetic analyses presented compelling evidence that monogamy preceded the evolution of breeding in a wide variety nonhuman animals.(10-14) These studies suggested provides general rule (the hypothesis) for explaining evolutionary transitions breeding.(15) Given prevalence contemporary societies, we evaluate whether this suggests monogamous hominin past.