Much of the evolutionary literature on human mating is based on the assumption of extensive female choice during the history of our species. However, ethnographic evidence from foraging societies reveals that, in societies thought to be akin to those of our ancestors, female choice is constrained by the control that parents exercise over their daughters. Data from 190 hunting and gathering societies indicate that almost all reproduction takes place while the woman is married and that the institution of marriage is regulated by parents and close kin. Parents are able to influence the mating decisions of both sons and daughters, but stronger control is exercised with regard to daughters; male parents have more say in selecting in-laws than their female counterparts. In light of the fact that parental control is the typical pattern of mate choice among extant foragers, it is likely that this pattern was also prevalent throughout human evolution. Because daughters' preferences can be expected not to fully coincide with those of their parents, research to date may thus have simultaneously overestimated the contribution of female preferences to processes of sexual selection and underestimated the contribution of parental preferences to such processes.
Evolutionary psychology combines evolutionary theory with evidence from preindustrial societies in an attempt to reconstruct the ancestral environment and to make valid claims about the evolution of human behavior (Pinker, 1997). Since most of human evolution took place in an environment where subsistence was based on hunting and gathering (Lee & DeVore, 1968), particular emphasis is placed on evidence from modern foragers. Patterns of behavior and social organization that are typical among hunter–gatherers are also assumed to be typical of ancestral human societies (but see Kelly, 1995). However, much of the existing theory about the evolution of mating behavior has not taken into account the typical patterns in hunting and gathering societies (Ember, 1978). This fact makes many evolutionary claims problematic.
Over the last few years, a substantial literature on the evolution of human mating has emerged. Research in this area is commonly based on the assumption of extensive female choice during the period of human evolution (e.g., Buss, 1995, Buss, 2003, Daly & Wilson, 1983, Miller, 2000 and Symons, 1979). However, the ethnographic record indicates that female mate choice is far from free. To the contrary, it demonstrates that the mating decisions of females are heavily controlled by their parents (Broude & Green, 1983, Minturn et al., 1969 and Whyte, 1978b). Consequently, present models that do not incorporate the influence of close kin in mating decisions are inadequate for the study of human mating (Cronk, 1991). Accordingly, the first aim of this article is to provide an evolutionary model that incorporates the control over mate choice that is exercised by close kin and better accounts for the mating patterns observed in foraging societies. Secondly, data from an extensive sample of modern hunters and gatherers are surveyed and presented here, and the typical patterns of mating in these societies are identified.
