The evolution and ecology of land ownership

Land ownership norms play a central role in social-ecological systems, and have been studied extensively as a component of ethnographies. Yet only recently has the distribution of land ownership norms across cultures been examined from evolutionary and ecological perspectives. Here we incorporate evolutionary and macroecological modelling to test associations between land ownership norms and environmental, subsistence, and cultural contact predictors for societies in the Bantu language family. We find that Bantu land ownership norms likely evolved on a unilinear trajectory, but not necessarily one requiring consistent increase in exclusivity as suggested by prior theory. Our macroecological analyses suggest that Bantu societies are more likely to have some form of ownership when their neighbors also do. We also find an effect of environmental productivity, supporting resource defensibility theory, which posits that land ownership is more likely where productivity is predictable. We find less support for a proposed link between agricultural intensification and land ownership. Overall, we demonstrate the value of combining analytical approaches from evolution and ecology to test diverse hypotheses on land ownership across a range of disciplines.1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods 2.1 Data 2.2 Phylogenetic analyses of evolution of land ownership 2.3 Multi-model inference of drivers of spatial patterns in land ownership 3. Results 3.1 Evolutionary trajectories of land ownership 3.2 Drivers of spatial variation in land ownership 4. Discussio

Pathways to social inequality

Social inequality is now pervasive in human societies, despite the fact that humans lived in relatively egalitarian, small-scale societies across most of our history. Prior literature highlights the importance of environmental conditions, economic defensibility, and wealth transmission for shaping early Holocene origins of social inequality. However, it remains untested whether the mechanisms that drive the evolution of inequality in recent human societies follow a similar trajectory. We conduct the first global analysis of pathways to inequality within modern human societies using structural equation modeling. Our analytical approach demonstrates that environmental conditions, resource intensification, and wealth transmission mechanisms impact various forms of social inequality via a complex web of causality. We further find that subsistence practices have a direct impact on some institutionalized forms of inequality. This work identifies drivers of social inequality in the modern world and demonstrates the application of structural equation modeling methods to investigate complex relationships between elements of human culture

Pathways to social inequality

Social inequality is now pervasive in human societies, despite the fact that humans lived in relatively egalitarian, small-scale societies across most of our history. Prior literature highlights the importance of environmental conditions, economic defensibility, and wealth transmission for shaping early Holocene origins of social inequality. However, it remains untested whether the mechanisms that drive the evolution of inequality in recent human societies follow a similar trajectory. We conduct the first global analysis of pathways to inequality within modern human societies using structural equation modeling. Our analytical approach demonstrates that environmental conditions, resource intensification, and wealth transmission mechanisms impact various forms of social inequality via a complex web of causality. We further find that subsistence practices have a direct impact on some institutionalized forms of inequality. This work identifies drivers of social inequality in the modern world and demonstrates the application of structural equation modeling methods to investigate complex relationships between elements of human culture

Coffin-Siris syndrome with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We report the case of an unusual association of Coffin-Siris syndrome with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome. This association has never previously been reported in the medical literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A nine-year-old Indian girl was referred to our hospital for growth retardation, mental retardation, lax joints, generalized hypertrichosis, and hypoplastic fifth fingernails and toenails. A thorough medical examination and evaluation revealed she had phenotypic features of Coffin-Siris syndrome, with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome on radiological evaluation. The karyotype of our patient was normal.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In an unexplained case of mental retardation with facies suggestive of Coffin-Siris syndrome, association with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome should be considered and the patient should be evaluated for the same. Both of these syndromes may have a common pathogenesis, as yet unknown. This case report has broad implications, as similar cases in future may give insights into the pathogenesis of both these syndromes.</p

Patterns of Paternal Investment Predict Cross-Cultural Variation in Jealous Response

Long-lasting, romantic partnerships are a universal feature of human societies; but almost as ubiquitous is the risk of instability that comes when one partner strays. Jealous response to the threat of infidelity is a well-studied phenomenon, but most empirical work on the topic has focused on a proposed sex difference in the type of jealousy (sexual or emotional) men and women find most upsetting, rather than on how jealous response varies1,2. This stems in part from the predominance of studies using student samples from industrialized populations, which represent a relatively homogenous group in terms of age, life history stage, and social norms3,4. To better understand variation in partner jealousy, we conducted a two-part study in 11 populations (1,048 individuals), including eight small-scale societies, which examines how both sex and culture affect perceptions of infidelity. We show that, in spite of a robust sex difference, variation in jealous response is impacted more by the culture a respondent belongs to than by their sex. We further identify paternal investment and frequency of extramarital sex as two key predictors of cultural variation. Partner jealousy thus appears to be a facultative response, in part reflective of the variable risks and costs of men’s investment across societies

Small-scale societies exhibit fundamental variation in the role of intentions in moral judgment

Intent and mitigating circumstances play a central role in moral and legal assessments in large-scale industrialized societies. Although these features of moral assessment are widely assumed to be universal, to date, they have only been studied in a narrow range of societies. We show that there is substantial cross-cultural variation among eight traditional small-scale societies (ranging from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist to horticulturalist) and two Western societies (one urban, one rural) in the extent to which intent and mitigating circumstances influence moral judgments. Although participants in all societies took such factors into account to some degree, they did so to very different extents, varying in both the types of considerations taken into account and the types of violations to which such considerations were applied. The particular patterns of assessment characteristic of large-scale industrialized societies may thus reflect relatively recently culturally evolved norms rather than inherent features of human moral judgment

Ellis-Van Creveld syndrome

Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (EVC) is a chondral and ectodermal dysplasia characterized by short ribs, polydactyly, growth retardation, and ectodermal and heart defects. It is a rare disease with approximately 150 cases reported worldwide. The exact prevalence is unknown, but the syndrome seems more common among the Amish community. Prenatal abnormalities (that may be detected by ultrasound examination) include narrow thorax, shortening of long bones, hexadactyly and cardiac defects. After birth, cardinal features are short stature, short ribs, polydactyly, and dysplastic fingernails and teeth. Heart defects, especially abnormalities of atrial septation, occur in about 60% of cases. Cognitive and motor development is normal. This rare condition is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait with variable expression. Mutations of the EVC1 and EVC2 genes, located in a head to head configuration on chromosome 4p16, have been identified as causative. EVC belongs to the short rib-polydactyly group (SRP) and these SRPs, especially type III (Verma-Naumoff syndrome), are discussed in the prenatal differential diagnosis. Postnatally, the essential differential diagnoses include Jeune dystrophy, McKusick-Kaufman syndrome and Weyers syndrome. The management of EVC is multidisciplinary. Management during the neonatal period is mostly symptomatic, involving treatment of the respiratory distress due to narrow chest and heart failure. Orthopedic follow-up is required to manage the bones deformities. Professional dental care should be considered for management of the oral manifestations. Prognosis is linked to the respiratory difficulties in the first months of life due to thoracic narrowness and possible heart defects. Prognosis of the final body height is difficult to predict