Early Maternal Death & Mating Strategy

• Sex and Evolution: Bateman, Trivers-Willard, Coolidge, and Their Effects by James Brody, 6/20/97
  
  

A lot has been written about parental investment, gamete availability, and resulting differences in male and female mating tactics. The conventional wisdom is that women get to make one choice every couple of years and will likely spend most of their time with the youngster; thus, the ladies choose a mate carefully and only after checking Symons-Buss. They want a guy that will hang around, bring her food, build the house, and not spend his check on sports cars or buy treats for another woman. Seems logical; probably true. Yet ...

A simpler idea may help. Miller & Fishkin (1997) summarize findings that women often died in childbirth because human babies have relatively larger heads while mom's upright stance narrowed the birth canal. One outcome would be a possible selective advantage for women who had less mature children; such women would live to have more children. Another outcome, however, is that women who waited longer to reproduce would perhaps be more likely to achieve full skeletal growth. Miller & Fishkin cite findings that women with wider pelvises usually lived longer. Perhaps those same women evaded reproduction long enough to grow a wider pelvis?

There are other correlated variables that would shift in a manner consistent with Symons-Buss models. That is, a more mature male might take the time to reassure, to alleviate fear in women. Part of fear reduction is offering protection from other males and sharing resources. Eating usually competes with being frightened. Thus, males who had become more emotionally stable and more resourceful would be more likely to achieve mating success.

The Symons-Buss model, despite balking from a few (Miller & Fishkin, 1997) has become complex, mature, and even popular. There are details upon details, all of them finely dovetailed. Their model is fun, satisfying. And, it's probably flexible enough to incorporate maternal death variables.

Reference:

Miller L & Fishkin S (1997) The Dynamics of Human Bonding and Reproductive Success: Seeking Windowns on the Adapted-For Human-Environmental Interface. In Simpson J & Kendrick D (Eds.) Evolutionary Social Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

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