In this pilot study, the authors investigate the relationships between both subsistence types and environmental conditions, and various coping mechanisms for drought in 35 societies in Africa. Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), they find subsistence strategies to have a more significant correlation with the distribution of coping strategies for drought than environmental conditions.

In this pilot study, the authors investigate the relationships between both subsistence types and environmental conditions, and various coping mechanisms for drought in 35 societies in Africa. Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), they find subsistence strategies to have a more significant correlation with the distribution of coping strategies for drought than environmental conditions.

In this pilot study, the authors investigate the relationships between both subsistence types and environmental conditions, and various coping mechanisms for drought in 35 societies in Africa. Using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), they find subsistence strategies to have a more significant correlation with the distribution of coping strategies for drought than environmental conditions.

The author analyzes 76 societies synchronically, positing that the evil eye belief functions as a useful heuristic and prosocial/cohesive element in weakly-institutionalized societies with significant wealth inequality; in particular, the evil eye belief is found to be more prevalent in agro-pastoral societies where material wealth is vulnerable and plays a dominant role in subsistence economy.

The 'obstetrical dilemma' postulates that human females evolved a pelvis shape that was a compromise between the needs of bipedal locomotion and the need for a wider pelvic opening. The implication is that the female pelvis should be similar across the world. Researchers examine the size and shape of the birth canal of female individuals in the Goldman and Human Origin datasets. Contrary to the 'obstetrical dilemma,' the findings reveal that there is indeed significant geographical variation in size and shape of the female birth canal. Neutral evolutionary processes, particularly genetic drift, were suggested to be influential in female canal shape whereas the predicted effects of climate on canal diversity were only minimal.

Using a representative sample of 339 hunter-gatherer societies, researchers examine the relationship between hunter-gatherer use of space, size of population and supply of resources to see if they are similar to other organisms. By combining all factors into a single model, the authors claim to explain 86% of the variation in home range. Hunters have greater resource distribution than gatherers but both more so than aquatic foragers. Lastly, terrestrial foragers have more extensive home ranges than aquatic foragers.

The present study examines the effect of social status on stature sexual dimorphism and whether food security acts as a mediator for this relationship. In societies where females have high social status and can exercise mate choice, there is lower stature sexual dimorphism. Food security enhances these results. Conversely, there is greater stature sexual dimorphism in societies where females have low social status and cannot exercise mate choice, especially if there is food insecurity.

Using multiple logistic regression, the researchers compare the relative strength of predictors of land ownership across 102 societies. The analysis finds significant predictive power in factors such as neighbors' property system, population density, and geography.

Using a cross-cultural sample of 91 societies, this paper draws on ecological theory to test if unpredictable environments will favor subsistence diversification. The general hypothesis is that societies with high climate unpredictability and resource stress would exhibit more subsistence diversity than societies in more stable climates. The authors examined four environmental and resource stress variables while controlling for temperature variance, subsistence activity, and phylogeny. Support was found for 2 of the 4 variables--chronic scarcity and environmental instability. In the discussion they suggest that more commonly observed events (e.g. annual hunger and climate unpredictability) may give people more motivation to change subsistence than rarer events (e.g. natural hazards and famine).

Using a cross-cultural sample of 91 societies, this paper draws on ecological theory to test if unpredictable environments will favor subsistence diversification. The general hypothesis is that societies with high climate unpredictability and resource stress would exhibit more subsistence diversity than societies in more stable climates. The authors examined four environmental and resource stress variables while controlling for temperature variance, subsistence activity, and phylogeny. Support was found for 2 of the 4 variables--chronic scarcity and environmental instability. In the discussion they suggest that more commonly observed events (e.g. annual hunger and climate unpredictability) may give people more motivation to change subsistence than rarer events (e.g. natural hazards and famine).