Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-10-2010
Abstract
This paper examines social determinants of resource competition among Tsimane Amerindian women of Bolivia. We introduce a semi-anonymous experiment (the Social Strategy Game) designed to simulate resource competition among women. Information concerning dyadic social relationships and demographic data were collected to identify variables influencing resource competition intensity, as measured by the number of beads one woman took from another. Relationship variables are used to test how the affiliative or competitive aspects of dyads affect the extent of prosociality in the game. Using a mixed-modeling procedure, we find that women compete with those with whom they are quarreling over accusations of meat theft, mate competition, and rumor spreading. They also compete with members of their social network and with those who were designated as cooperative helpers or as close kin. Women take fewer beads from desired friends, neighbors, and from those viewed as enemies. We interpret favoritism toward enemies as resulting from fear of retribution. Our results suggest that social relations among women are multifaceted and often cannot be simplified by exclusive focus on genetic relatedness, physical proximity, or reciprocity. We argue that a complex understanding of cooperation and competition among women may require important contextual information concerning relationship history in addition to typical features of resource ecology.
Recommended Citation
Rucas SL, Gurven, M., Kaplan, H., & Winking, J. (2010). The Social Strategy Game: Resource Competition within Female Social Networks among Small-scale Forager-Horticulturalists. Human Nature, 21(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-010-9079-z
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
Springer
Included in
Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons, Economic Theory Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, Other Economics Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Human Nature, volume 21, issue 1, in 2010 following peer review. The final publication may differ and is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-010-9079-z.