Researchers from the University of Cambridge in England have conducted a new study revealing that humans are more monogamous than evolutionarily thought.
According to the study, humans are more monogamous than even our closest primate relatives, but lag behind beavers in the same regard.
THEIR CRITERIA WAS BROTHERHOOD
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In the study, scientists compared the ratios of full and half-siblings in different animal species and human societies throughout history. It was thought that if there were many half-siblings in a species, monogamy was low, and if there were many full-siblings, monogamy was high.
Researchers used genetic data from archaeological sites and ethnographic information from 94 different human societies to calculate the rate of monogamy in humans.
Mark Dyble, an evolutionary anthropologist who led the research team, analyzed sibling data from genetic studies of humans and other mammals with a computer model.
HERE ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF MONOGAMY
According to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, beavers had the highest rate of monogamy at 72 percent, while humans came in second with 66 percent. Meerkats come in third place with 60 percent.
Researchers have described these three types as the “premier league of monogamy.”
At the bottom of the list are dolphins and chimpanzees, where monogamy is 4 percent, and mountain gorillas, where monogamy is 6 percent.
PEOPLE ARE CLEARLY DIFFERENTIATED
Dyble stated that this study was not the first to use full-sibling ratios as a criterion, but emphasized that it was the first study to directly compare humans with other mammals.
One of the most striking findings was the clear difference between human societies and non-monogamous mammals. According to Dyble, even in human societies with the lowest monogamy rate, the rate of full siblings was 26 percent, while the highest rate of full siblings in non-monogamous mammals was 22 percent.
This shows that humans are distinctly different from other mammals in general.
According to researchers, monogamy played an important role in enabling humans to achieve high levels of social cooperation and become a planet-dominant species.
