The article examines whether cultural groups tend to use supernatural beliefs more to explain natural phenomena or social phenomena. Analysis of ethnographic text from 114 diverse societies reveals that supernatural explanations are more common for natural phenomena, consistent with the theory that humans tend to perceive intent and agency in the natural world. However, supernatural explanations of social phenomena were more prevalent in urbanized societies with greater social complexity and anonymity. The study highlights how people use supernatural beliefs to explain their world and how this varies across small-scale and urbanized communities.

This study tests for a relationship between subsistence type and fertility using phylogenetic and statistical analyses. The authors find a clear relationship between dependence on agriculture and fertility among non-permanently settled groups.

This paper describes a typology which is intended to indicate the kinds of family and kinship structures associated with the conflicting requirements of cohesion and differentiation of broader social structures.

Communal drive hunts have been a common form of game procurement worldwide; their function and origins, however, are largely unknown. Using a human behavioral ecology perspective, this study reevaluates communal drive hunts (CDH) as a long neglected form of subsistence. Previous studies of CDHs have generally been costs and benefits analysis linked to small prey. There is a potential for data, however, there are noticeable trends outlining the larger picture of CDHs. Readers should note that this article also includes comments and responses from outside researchers and members of this study.