Male-Fenlale Bonding: A Cross-Species Study of Mammals and Birds

Abstract

This paper describes a new way of testing adaptational theories about species-wide traits. The major concern here is why nearly all human so cieties have had the custom of marriage. Data from a random sample of mammal and bird species are used to test several possible explanations of marriage (viewed cross-specifically as male-female bonding). The results suggest that male-female bonding may be selectively favored in humans and other animals when mothers' feeding requirements interfere with their baby-tending. The duration of the bond seems to be predicted by the duration of dependency, and polygynous rather than monogamous bonding seems to be predicted by an excess of females.