This article examines variation in polygyny among foragers. Empirical analysis suggests that the level of male provisioning influences mating systems: higher male contribution to subsistence is associated with monogamy. The influences of pathogen stress, male-male competition, and male coercion are also considered.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

In this study, the authors analyze subsistence economies to better understand their variability and success, the role of the environment in different subsistence choices, and the relevance of fishing, specifically in mixed economies. They find regular subsistence patterns, suggesting that not all subsistence combinations are successful. Their findings also indicate that environment influences subsistence choice, mixed economies are common, and that fishing plays a key role in mixed economies.

In this paper, the authors analyzed data on 20 hunter-gatherer groups in order to understand the factors that influence the diversity and elaborateness of their tool assemblages. They used data collected by a variety of ethnographers to draw inferences about the complexity of implement assemblages and how it is affected by ecological constraints, modes of resource procurement, group movement, and population size. Regression analysis showed that the two strongest predictors of implement complexity were growth season (GS) (as a proxy for risk) and the number of annual residential moves (NMV). With the understanding that NMV and GS are likely not independent, the authors created addition and interaction models to understand how these variables may work in tandem to influence implement diversity and elaborateness. The results show that a shorter growing season (higher risk) and a lower number of moves are correlated with greater implement complexity. This analysis also divided the hunter-gatherers into two subgroups: a subgroup characterized by higher diversity of complex implements and more elaborate individual implements than predicted by the model, and a subgroup characterized by lower diversity and less elaborateness than predicted. These subgroups were found to correspond with the distinction between foragers (groups that move more-or-less as a unit while gathering) and collectors (groups that gather (logistically from a more-or-less fixed settlement), with the higher diversity subgroup being made up mostly of collectors and the lower diversity subgroup being made up mostly of foragers. Finally, the authors suggest that under conditions where population growth leads to increased density, foraging strategies will tend to shift to collector strategies in conjunction with increased elaborateness of implements to exploit resources with greater intensity.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on societies where subsistence is primarily by 'food gathering' which includes hunting, fishing, and gathering.