Sexual Dimorphism and Human Evolution

2397 Words5 Pages

Introduction

The topic of gender differences must understandably be

approached with caution in our modern world. Emotionally

charged and fraught with ideas about political correctness,

gender can be a difficult subject to address, particularly

when discussed in correlation to behavior and social

behavior. Throughout history, many people have strove to

understand what makes men and women different. Until the

modern era, this topic was generally left up to religious

leaders and philosophers to discuss. However, with the

acquisition of more specialized medical knowledge of human

physiology and the advent of anthropology, we now know a

great deal more about gender differences than at any other

point in history. However, many of our questions still

remain.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the physical

aspect of gender differences in humans, otherwise known as

sexual dimorphism, it’s evolutionary history in our

species, and some behavioral and societal trends that are

associated with it. To accomplish this, I will begin by

outlining the anatomical structures that are commonly used

in measuring sexual dimorphism in our species. After

establishing these criteria, I will expand upon the

evolutionary history of sexual dimorphism in humans

beginning with the anthropoids in the Oligocene and ending

with present day trends. I will conclude this paper by

discussing some of the behavioral traits that have been

thought to correlate with differing degrees of sexual

dimorphism and their plausibility.

Anatomical Structures Used to Study Human Sexual Dimorphism

To discuss sexual dimorphism, one must first define

the term. Webster’s Dictionary defines sexual dimorphism

as “the condition in which differences i...

... middle of paper ...

...
Bindon, Jim

2004 Fossil Hominids. ANT 270 Notes.

http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/bindon/ant270/lectures/

hominids1.pdf

Delson, Eric

1981 Paleoanthropology: Pliocene and Pleistocene

Human Evolution. Paleobiology, 7:3:298-305.

Frayer, David W. and Milford Walpoff

1985 Sexual Dimorphism. Annual Review of

Anthropology, 14:429-473

Key, Catherine A.

2000 The Evolution of Human Life History. World

Archaeology, 31:3:329-350.

Mitani, J.C. et al

1996 Sexual Dimorphism, the Operational Sex Ratio,

and the Intensity of Male Competition in

Polygamous Primates. The American Naturalist,

147:6:966-980.

Rogers, Alan R. and Arindam Mukherjee

1992 Quantitative Genetics of Sexual Dimorphism in

Human Body Size. Evolution,46:1:226-334.

Wolpoff, Milford H.

1976 Some Aspects of the Evolution of Early Hominid

Sexual Dimorphism. Current Anthropology

18:4:579-606.

Open Document