Like many living things in nature, the basic motivation of the human species is ‘reproduction’ and ‘survival’. Of course, as our species now most classically describes itself as an ‘advanced’ species, it has expanded its reproductive and survival behaviors through various activities, adding individual ‘purposes’ and ‘targets’ to the list. So he convinced himself that he was different from animals.
However, the fact that there are different polygamous and monogamous creatures in nature, and that humans have not always been monogamous throughout their evolution, made modern humans ask the same question: Are humans really monogamous or polygamous? Unfortunately, scientific studies on this subject over the years cannot give a single answer to this question. Well, let’s see how this happens.
Are humans monogamous?
Monogamy, in its simplest definition, is used for creatures that have sex and reproduce with only one person. This definition alone is enough to show that people are not actually monogamous. Because we know that humans can have sex with more than one partner and reproduce.
When the mammal species existing in nature are examined, it is observed that only 3% of the 5 thousand species are ‘monogamous’. In other words, humans are not alone in this regard in the class of mammals they belong to.
But monogamy does not exist in a single form in nature. Apart from the simple definition we made above, monogamy in different species can differ before and after mating, and even by sex. For example, in some mammalian species, only males are monogamous, while females can be polygamous. Or vice versa.
Likewise, while some animals mate with more than one mate and produce offspring, they can be with a single mate and take care of all the offspring with that mate. Different scenarios like this one reveal the concepts of being sexually and socially monogamous/polygamous. In this case, mating with more than one partner, taking care of the offspring with a single partner and living with a single partner means being sexually polygamous and socially monogamous.
So people are polygamous?
Polygamy means having sex and procreation with multiple partners. However, people, unfortunately, are not fully included in this class. Because, especially at the point we have reached socially and culturally, this scenario creates a very ‘unapproved’ situation in many societies. Many people spend their lives choosing a partner, having sex with him and procreating, and that makes them monogamous.
And that’s not the only thing that shows we’re not polygamous. Generally, there is a noticeable difference between males and females in polygamous creatures. Because males develop some features that they will ‘display’ in themselves in order to be selected by the female in the current competitive environment. Like the fascinating and colorful plumage of male peacocks… However, these ‘differences’ in humans are not as big a difference as in other mammals, and studies show that humans differ from other polygamous animals in this aspect as well. In other words, there are some obstacles in front of us calling our species polygamous.
Since social and cultural influences are also involved and it is not possible to reject these effects, it is necessary to evaluate it according to the scenario in question, instead of saying that people are monogamous or polygamous.
So why have we chosen a monogamous life as humanity over the years?
Of course, the reason why human evolution has become so complicated when it comes to reproduction and mate selection is of course being investigated. Scientists think that ‘human offspring’ are one of the reasons why humans chose to choose a single mate over time and move forward with it. Because human babies are among the babies that take the longest to develop and the last to be able to take care of themselves. As a result, mothers may be looking for a stable partner to be with them and raise the baby with them in order to raise their babies.
It is also thought that this may be a strategy women devise to discourage men from killing babies they suspect are not theirs.
Source 1, Source 2, Source 3
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