Human Mating Patterns

by Edited by C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor , Anthony J. Boyce

• ISBN13: 9780521114684
• ISBN10: 0521114683
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

First published in 1988, this book examines the causes and consequences of different mating patterns in man with particular reference to biological, medical and demographic factors. Although the effects of inbreeding on genetic structure and gene frequencies have been well covered in the medical genetics literature, and specific social systems have been described in social anthropology texts, this attempts to present an holistic approach. Four main areas are covered: historical and demographic aspects; mate choice and assortative mating; social systems, religious rules and mating practices; medical and genetic issues. The papers in each section have been carefully edited and integrated to present a cohesive treatment of value to advanced students and research workers in human biology and genetics.

Table of Contents

Preface

Historical and Demographic Studies

Mating Patterns: an historical perspective

Mating distance and historical population structure: a review

Marriage distance and ethnicity

Mating patterns in isolates

Mate Choice and Assortative mating

Assortative mating for psychometric characters

Assortative mating for anthropometric characters

Application of surname frequency distributions to studies of mating preferences

Medical and Biological Aspects of Inbreeding

Genetic relatedness and the evolution of animal mating patterns

Regulation of mating choice in nonhuman primates

Inbreeding in human populations: an assessment of the costs

Mating patterns and genetic disease

Social, Religious and Cultural Factors

The effect of preference rules on marriage patterns

Religious rules, mating patterns and fertility

The relevance of the polygyny threshold model to humans

Index

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