As a society where the institution of marriage underpins the general concept of monogamy, we may be surprised to find out that it's not love that drives us to choose to pair up—it's the threat of infanticide.
Monogamy is rare in mammals, and there are a number of theories concerning why monogamy arose in primates: 1) In order to provide better parental care, 2) In order to guard solitary females against rival males, and 3) In order to stave off the threat of infanticide.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states that the most compelling reason monogamy evolved is to protect against infanticide, which occurs when a male kills off another male's offspring in order to induce ovulation in the mother. The new male can then mate with her and spawn his own children, thus fulfilling his most primal purpose.
"What makes this study so exciting is that it allows us to peer back into our evolutionary past to understand the factors that were important in making us human," said one of the study's authors, Susanne Shultz from the University of Manchester.
"Once fathers decide to stick around and care for young, mothers can then change their reproductive decisions and have more, brainy offspring."
The team of researchers involved in the study looked at trait data from 230 primate species and attempted to correlate the rise of monogamy with certain factors. What they found was that monogamy seems to have been a response to an increase in infanticide rates.
"This is the first time that the theories for the evolution of monogamy have been systematically tested, conclusively showing that infanticide is the driver of monogamy. This brings to a close the long running debate about the origin of monogamy in primates," lead author of the study Christopher Opie confidently stated.
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