Cultures of Multiple Fathers: The Theory and Practice of Partible Paternity in Lowland South America [Hardcover]

STEPHeN BECKERMAN (Editor), PAUL VALENTINE (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002

This book is the first to explore the concept of partible paternity, the aboriginal South American belief that a child can have more than one biological father--in other words, that all men who have sex with a woman during her pregnancy contribute to the formation of her baby and may assume social responsibilities for the child after its birth. The contributors, all Amazonian ethnologists with varied anthropological backgrounds and arguably the world's experts on this little-known phenomenon, explore how partible paternity works in several aboriginal societies in the South American lowlands. Many findings in this book challenge long-held dogma in such fields as evolutionary psychology and evolutionary anthropology and sociology. For example, under some circumstances, children with multiple putative fathers have higher prospects for surviving than do children ascribed to only a single father. Among several ethnic groups, a strong case can be made for a pregnant woman's having a lover so that her child will have more than one father and provider. The study goes well beyond presenting the fact of belief in partible paternity, placing it in an extensive matrix of kinship, marriage, and associated features of social life. Each author discusses a particular society's beliefs about such related issues as conception and fetal development, domestic group composition and kin terminology, determining which males supply and distribute fish and game to the group, and the fate of children whose fathers die or depart. This book is the first to explore the concept of partible paternity, the aboriginal South American belief that a child can have more than one biological father--in other words, that all men who have sex with a woman during her pregnancy contribute to the formation of her baby and may assume social responsibilities for the child after its birth. The contributors, all Amazonian ethnologists with varied anthropological backgrounds and arguably the world's experts on this little-known phenomenon, explore how partible paternity works in several aboriginal societies in the South American lowlands. Many findings in this book challenge long-held dogma in such fields as evolutionary psychology and evolutionary anthropology and sociology. For example, under some circumstances, children with multiple putative fathers have higher prospects for surviving than do children ascribed to only a single father. Among several ethnic groups, a strong case can be made for a pregnant woman's having a lover so that her child will have more than one father and provider. The study goes well beyond presenting the fact of belief in partible paternity, placing it in an extensive matrix of kinship, marriage, and associated features of social life. Each author discusses a particular society's beliefs about such related issues as conception and fetal development, domestic group composition and kin terminology, determining which males supply and distribute fish and game to the group, and the fate of children whose fathers die or depart.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813024560
• ISBN-13: 978-0813024561
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,242,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ground-breaking science, July 21, 2007

By 

Christopher Ryan "Co-author: Sex at Dawn: The... (Barcelona, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cultures of Multiple Fathers: The Theory and Practice of Partible Paternity in Lowland South America (Hardcover)

Beckerman and Valentine have collected a series of anthropological essays that call into question the generally-accepted view of human sexuality, which they call The Standard Model. Essentially, the accounts presented here show that there are many cultures -- with no contact between them -- that believe a baby is composed of accumulated semen. Consequently, their babies can have several different fathers (partible paternity), if several men had sex with the mother. These accounts offer first-hand anthropological accounts of cultures in which sperm competition is ubiquitous and sexual monogamy is discouraged or even prohibited. They are essential reading for anyone who seeks evidence for questioning the standard "humans are monogamous" Darwinian line. Quite overpriced for such a slim volume; get your library to order a copy.