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Human Lactation, Pair-bonds, and Alloparents

A Cross-Cultural Analysis

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Abstract

The evolutionary origin of human pair-bonds is uncertain. One hypothesis, supported by data from forgers, suggests that pair-bonds function to provision mothers and dependent offspring during lactation. Similarly, public health data from large-scale industrial societies indicate that single mothers tend to wean their children earlier than do women living with a mate. Here we examine relations between pair-bond stability, alloparenting, and cross-cultural trends in breastfeeding using data from 58 “traditional” societies in the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS). Analyses show that stable conjugal relationships were associated with significantly later weaning among the societies in the SCCS. The relationship between pair-bond stability and age at weaning was not mediated by women’s ability to provision themselves or women’s kin support. Availability of alloparental care was also inversely related to age at weaning, and the association was not significantly reduced after controlling for frequency of divorce. This study indicates that among a woman’s kin relationships, a pair-bond with a child’s father is especially supportive of breastfeeding. These cross-cultural findings are further evidence that human pair-bonds may have evolved to support lactation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164-4910, USA

    Robert J. Quinlan & Marsha B. Quinlan

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  1. Robert J. Quinlan
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Correspondence to Robert J. Quinlan.

Appendix

Appendix

Table A1 Dataset for the analysis
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Table A2 Regional clusters of the SCCS subsample
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Quinlan, R.J., Quinlan, M.B. Human Lactation, Pair-bonds, and Alloparents. Hum Nat 19, 87–102 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-007-9026-9

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