Land- and power-based stratified societies are then discussed, followed by an analysis of wage-based competitive labor markets and demographic transition.
The transition from hunting and gathering to farming and pastoralism is considered first. The third section applies the framework developed in the first two parts to understanding major historical trends in human fertility, parental investment, and mating regimes. The second section discusses humans in a comparative context, with a particular emphasis on the hunter- and gatherer lifestyle because of its relevance to the vast majority of human evolutionary history. Building on this foundation, an ecological framework for understanding variation in each of those domains is then introduced. Since the fitness consequences of alternative fertility and parental investment regimes depend on ecology and individual condition, both specialization and flexibility in life histories are considered. The first section of this chapter presents an introduction to life history theory and current thinking in evolutionary biology with respect to the three themes. A secondary goal is to discuss how evolutionary biology can be integrated with more traditional approaches to human demography and the new research questions such integration would generate. Our primary goal is to introduce a new ecological framework for understanding variations in each of those domains and then to apply the framework to understanding both the special characteristics of our species in a comparative perspective and variations within and among human groups. Each of these themes is addressed from two perspectives: first, in a comparative cross-species context, and second, in terms of variation within and among human groups. Sexual dimorphism and its relationship to mating systems together are the third theme. Second is the regulation of reproductive rates and its relationship to parental investment.
The first is the timing of life events, including development, reproduction, and aging. This chapter considers the evolutionary biology of human fertility, parental investment, and mating and is designed to provide a broad overview of the topic.
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