A recent study revealed that contrary to popular belief, the human species does not prefer polygamy compared to other mammals, most primates such as monkeys and gorillas. The study conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge within human communities and animal groups relied on genetic evidence to measure whether mating occurs exclusively, where each male mates with one female, or whether it is a multiple relationship between males and females of the same group. Previous research aimed at studying partner choice behavior in early humans relied on the study of fossils and observations by anthropologists, while similar research in the animal world was based on observing the social behaviors of different groups and genetic paternity tests to understand how mating systems work among different species. Mark Dyble, a Cambridge University archaeology specialist, says the new study relies on comparing the number of full and half-siblings among many animal species and human societies in different time periods, explaining in statements to the scientific research website 'Scientific Daily' that an increase in the number of full siblings within a group indicates a high rate of monogamous marriage, while numerous half-siblings are the product of polygamy. The research team fed modern genetic data into a computer model to infer results about mating strategies among different species. Although this scientific approach may not lead to accurate results, it is considered a tangible and direct method for measuring polygamy rates among living species in general. Dyble confirms that 'humans rank high on the list of species that prefer monogamy, as the number of full siblings in human societies far exceeds that in other animal groups, which indicates that monogamous marriage is the prevailing concept of mating for the human species.' Studies indicate that human mating strategies have changed over the ages, with previous research revealing that 85% of pre-industrial human societies allowed polygamy, where a man was married to more than one woman at the same time. Dyble drew the study's results from genetic evidence collected from archaeological sites such as Bronze Age graves in Europe and Anatolia, as well as ethnographic data on 94 human societies around the world, from the Hadza tribe in Tanzania to the Toraja people in Indonesia. Dyble believes that 'despite the great diversity in human behavior regarding marriage customs and traditions, monogamy remains the predominant trait in humans.' According to the study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Science journal, which specializes in biological sciences, the rate of full siblings in human societies in general is 66%, placing humans seventh among species that prefer long-term monogamy. First place went to California's deer mice, considered the most monogamous animal with 100% full siblings, followed by the African wild dog, then the Damaraland mole-rat, fourth were South American tamarins, fifth the Ethiopian wolf, and sixth the Eurasian beaver. Seventh place was humans, followed by eighth place gibbons, a type of higher ape living in Asia, with a full sibling rate of 5.63%. Regarding the nature of the difference between humans and other mammals, Dyble says that for most mammals that rely on monogamy, the lifestyle of these animals either depends on the family model in its traditional form where the couple cares for the young, or it takes the form of a family that includes one large female that raises her young. As for humans, they live in complex societies with close social ties, in addition to the diversity of forms of partnership relations between men and women that allow for the existence of more full and half-siblings within the same family, not to mention humans' insistence on strongly investing in parental relationships whether the children are the product of monogamous or polygamous marriages. It is believed that the only mammal that lives a complex and independent social life similar to humans is a type of rodent resembling a rabbit known as the Patagonian Mara, where these animals live in a network of underground tunnels in the form of pairs that remain together for a long time. The rate of full siblings in mountain gorilla societies was 6%, and the rate dropped to 4% in chimpanzees, equal to that of dolphins. Japanese macaques and rhesus macaques came at the bottom of the list with rates of 3.2% and 1%, respectively. Dyble speculates that 'measuring mating patterns among primate species that are similar to humans, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, suggests that the idea of monogamy may have developed within human societies that accept polygamy, a transitional process unusual among other mammal species.'
