Cross-cousin marriage among Tsimane forager–horticulturalists during demographic transition and market integration

Arianna Dalzero, Bret A. Beheim, Hillard Kaplan, Jonathan Stieglitz, Paul L. Hooper, Cody T. Ross, Michael Gurven and Dieter Lukas
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Arianna Dalzero: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig] - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Bret A. Beheim: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig] - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Hillard Kaplan: Chapman University
Jonathan Stieglitz: TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse
Paul L. Hooper: Chapman University, The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque] - NMC - New Mexico Consortium
Cody T. Ross: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig] - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Michael Gurven: UC Santa Barbara - University of California [Santa Barbara] - UC - University of California
Dieter Lukas: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig] - Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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Abstract: Although still prevalent in many human societies, the practice of cousin marriage has precipitously declined in populations undergoing rapid demographic and socioeconomic change. However, it is still unclear whether changes in the structure of the marriage pool or changes in the fitness-relevant consequences of cousin marriage more strongly influence the frequency of cousin marriage. Here, we use genealogical data collected by the Tsimane Health and Life History Project to show that there is a small but measurable decline in the frequency of first cross-cousin marriage since the mid-twentieth century. Such changes are linked to concomitant changes in the pool of potential spouses in recent decades. We find only very modest differences in fitness-relevant demographic measures between first cousin and non-cousin marriages. These differences have been diminishing as the Tsimane have become more market integrated. The factors that influence preferences for cousin marriage appear to be less prevalent now than in the past, but cultural inertia might slow the pace of change in marriage norms. Overall, our findings suggest that cultural changes in marriage practices reflect underlying societal changes that shape the pool of potential spouses.

Keywords: Cousin marriage; Life-history; Demography; Kinship; Tsimane (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04524409v1
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Published in Evolutionary Human Sciences, 2024, 6, pp.e18. ⟨10.1017/ehs.2024.11⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04524409

DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.11

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