Higher rates of polygyny are associated with stricter arranged marriages and larger age gaps at first marriage across the hunter-gatherer societies in the Binford and Apostolou datasets. From my talk at HBES

Had a good time presenting some of my work on black magic at the cultural evolution society conference

“The idea that humans evolved to be protective & sensitive to harm directed towards women appears increasingly popular in evolutionary psych [but] ethnographic evidence conflict with this perspective, [which seems] rooted in contemporary WEIRD values rather than an evolved psychological mechanism”

Evolutionary psychologists have claimed that "humans evolved heightened sensitivity to harm directed at women." This excellent (albeit at times gruesome) post makes the point that the ethnographic evidence does not really support this narrative.

Uses of musical instruments in hunter-gatherer societies traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/some-uses-...

Ritualized treatment of the umbilical cord after birth is common across hunter-gatherer societies traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/cutting-th...

In many societies, after a child is born, the father is under a variety of restrictions, such as food and work taboos, under the belief that if he undertakes certain kinds of labor or consumes certain foods it would harm the child via sympathetic magic traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/couvade

Independent hunter-gatherer societies from all over the world have used diss songs in the midst of their conflicts. traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/diss-songs

"Considering its common use across nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, and what it represents—as a tool to enable the carrying of more tools—the belt may be a bit of an unsung hero of human history." traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/handy-man

While most primates do not build sleeping nests, all the great apes do traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/millions-o...

“when a man is publicly accused of being a sorcerer he normally denies that he is. Nevertheless, some men have confided to me that they have successfully performed sorcery and they have told me whom they killed, how they did it, and why…They have even offered to teach me how to perform sorcery…”

Abortion procedures in hunter-gatherer societies traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/abortion-p...

Importantly though, he adds, “we must not forget that Baruya women have their own secrets, protecting them from men and constantly reminding them that women have powers too.” - @Evolving_Moloch traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/womens-secre…

Toy, ritual tool, religious symbol, sound maker for hunting and herding? Quite an interesting survey by @Evolving_Moloch on the ethnographic and historic function and use of #bullroarers: https://traditionsofconflict.com/blog/2019/12/3/the-bullroarer

"Such elaborate designs often take as long as five hours to execute, but are considered necessary to disguise the close relatives of a deceased Tiwi from his ghost as they approach the grave to carry out the final rituals" traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/appeasing-...

Traditional Methods of Black Magic traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/traditiona...