Men in egalitarian tribe hide who are the best hunters, who out of modesty also cooperate masking how successful they are; they all get the girls with equal probability

Foraging Performance, Prosociality, and Kin Presence Do Not Predict Lifetime Reproductive Success in Batek Hunter-Gatherers. Thomas S. Kraft et al. Human Nature, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-018-9334-2

Abstract: Identifying the determinants of reproductive success in small-scale societies is critical for understanding how natural selection has shaped human evolution and behavior. The available evidence suggests that status-accruing behaviors such as hunting and prosociality are pathways to reproductive success, but social egalitarianism may diminish this pathway. Here we introduce a mixed longitudinal/cross-sectional dataset based on 45 years of research with the Batek, a population of egalitarian rain forest hunter-gatherers in Peninsular Malaysia, and use it to test the effects of four predictors of lifetime reproductive success: (i) foraging return rate, (ii) sharing proclivity, (iii) cooperative foraging tendency, and (iv) kin presence. We found that none of these factors can explain variation in lifetime reproduction among males or females. We suggest that social egalitarianism, combined with strikingly low infant and juvenile mortality rates, can mediate the pathway between foraging, status-accruing behavior, and reproductive success. Our approach advocates for greater theoretical and empirical attention to quantitative social network measures, female foraging, and fitness outcomes.

Keywords: Hunter-gatherers Reproductive success Foraging Prosociality Sharing Cooperation

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Although Batek took quiet satisfaction in their skills and accomplishments, there was a strong social convention against overt bragging or showing off. Modesty was a valued trait. Hunters with gamewould usually enter camp quietly and then hand the carcass to someone else to butcher and distribute. Gatherers with loads of tubers would distribute their surplus to other families without fanfare. Although Batek strongly guarded their personal autonomy, they also felt an obligation to cooperate with other camp and group members. Competition was suppressed, even in games adopted from outsiders, such as cards.