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Linking dispersal and resources in humans

Life history data from Oakham, Massachusetts (1750–1850)

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Abstract

Competition for resources is one of the main evolutionary explanations for dispersal from the natal area. For humans this explanation has received little attention, despite the key role dispersal is thought to play in shaping social systems. I examine the link between dispersal and resources using historical data on people from the small farming town of Oakham, Massachusetts (1750–1850). I reconstruct individual life histories through a variety of records, identifying dispersers, their age at dispersal, and their destinations. I find that sex, father’s wealth and social status, and age at father’s death were all significantly associated with one or more dispersal variables. Birth order and number of siblings were not significantly associated with any of the dispersal variables. I also use wills and deeds to study transfers of land from fathers to sons. More stayers than dispersers acquired Oakham land from their fathers, but some sons who acquired Oakham land later dispersed. I discuss the causality underlying the relationship between dispersal and resource acquisition, as well as implications for a general understanding of human dispersal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of California, Santa Barbara, 735 State Street, Suite 300, 93101-5504, Santa Barbara, CA

    Mary C. Towner

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  1. Mary C. Towner
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Correspondence to Mary C. Towner.

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Mary Towner is a human behavioral ecologist with a degree in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis. Currently a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, she uses historical records and theoretical modeling to study human dispersal and its relationship to other life history traits.

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Towner, M.C. Linking dispersal and resources in humans. Hum Nat 12, 321–349 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-001-1002-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-001-1002-1

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