Loss of Oestrus and Concealed Ovulation in Human Evolution
The Case against the Sexual-Selection Hypothesis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2187339 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Boguslaw Pawlowski (0000-0002-7418-475X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 257-276 |
| Publication date | 1999-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Current Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0011-3204 • E-ISSN: 1537-5382 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/200017 |
| OpenAlex | W2223713657 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 15 |
| References cited | 90 |
The assumption that absence of oestrus and of manifestations of ovulation is specific to humans has given rise to various proposals of a role for selection pressures in the evolution of these features in the form of sexual selection or other behavioural adaptations. Analysis of the sexual behaviour of nonhuman primates and humans indicates, however, that constant receptivity is not unique to humans and that human sexual behaviour is not independent of the phases of the menstrual cycle. Quantitative differences in the distribution of sexual behaviour between humans and the nonhuman primates in question may be the result of many morphological, ecological, and cultural factors of which those differences are side effects. In the case of the postulated selection pressures on the disappearance of visual manifestations of ovulation, the rather unlikely chimpanzee model of anogenital swelling in the early Hominidae may be replaced by an early-hominoidal model in which the swelling was relatively small. Its reduction in anthropogenesis may have been caused by bipedal locomotion, the cost of water accumulation, hyperaemia of the area, and an increase in adipose tissue. Furthermore, olfactory communication in the context of sexual behaviour in the climatic conditions of the African savannah would have been sufficient for detection of the fertile periods of the menstrual cycle. Thus, assuming the existence of direct selection pressures on sexual behaviour in the Plio/Pleistocene evolution of the Homininae seems unjustified
Anosmia · Biology · Context (archaeology · Estrous cycle · Evolutionary biology · Hormone · Ovulation · Sexual selection · Zoology · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Ecology · Endocrinology · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Primate Behavior and Ecology
Menstrual cycle phases and female receptivity to a courtship solicitation
Menstrual cycle shifts in attentional bias for courtship language
Concealed Ovulation
Sometimes an Orgasm is Just an Orgasm
Juggling Priorities
Perineal swelling, intermenstrual cycle, and female sexual behavior in bonobos ( Pan paniscus )
Hormone profiles and reproductive characteristics in wild female Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata )
Adaptive Design, Female Mate Preferences, and Shifts across the Menstrual Cycle
Is Human Ovulation Concealed? Evidence from Conception Beliefs in a Hunter-Gatherer Society
Effects of Solicitor Sex and Attractiveness on Receptivity to Sexual Offers
Social evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins
Evolution of life history and behavior in Hominidae
Sperm competition and female procurement of male resources
An agent-based model of the female rivalry hypothesis for concealed ovulation in humans
The Chimpanzee Has No Clothes
Social Organization of Pan paniscus in the Lomako Forest, Zaire
Sexual swelling, receptivity, and grouping of wild pygmy chimpanzee females at Wamba, Zaïre
Adolescent exaggeration in female catarrhine primates
Copulatory behavior unaccompanied by ovulation in the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata)
Reproductive development and behavior of captive female chimpanzees
Sexual behavior of tibetan macaques at Mt. Emei, China
Coital frequency and sexual abstinence in rural Bangladesh
A cross-national comparison of the relative influence of male and female age on the frequency of marital intercourse
Sexual attractivity, proceptivity, and receptivity in female mammals
Ecology, Sexual Selection, and the Evolution of Mating Systems
The Origin of Man
Mating patterns and reproductive strategies in a community of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)
Menstrual Synchrony and Suppression
Observations on the Evolution and Behavioral Significance of “Sexual Skin” in Female Primates
Anogenital swelling in pregnant chimpanzees of Gombe National Park
Chimpanzee genital swelling and its role in the pattern of sociosexual behavior
Mood, Sexuality, Hormones, and the Menstrual Cycle. III. Sexuality and the Role of Androgens
Energy economy in the evolution of menstruation
Why are human newborns so big and fat
A sexual selection model for hominid evolution
The relationship between female urinary estrogen excretion and mating behavior in cotton-topped tamarins,Saguinus oedipus oedipus
Synchrony of estrous swelling in captive group-living chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Menstrual cycle variation of women's interest in erotica
Sexual behavior, sexual swelling, and penile evolution in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Menstrual cycle and work schedule
Permanent breast enlargement in human females
Socio-sexual behavior in Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes
The evolution of bipedality and loss of functional body hair in hominids
Sexual cyclicity and concealed ovulation
The evolution of human skin
Olfaction-a link with the past
The evolution of sexuality in chimpanzees and bonobos
| Unique citing works | 15 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,6 |
| Citation span | 2001 - 2021 (21) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |