Gurving Article Summary

For this week’s lab there were two readings. The first was “Hamilton's rule and kin competition: the Kipsigis case” by Monique Borgerhoff Mulder. The second reading was “To give and to give not: The behavioral ecology of human food transfers” by Michael Gurven. The first reading, discussed how nepotism is shown more often when animals have more resources. This makes sense because if you have no resources, then you have nothing to give through nepotism. For example, a wealthy business owner has the means to be able to give their child the same opportunity. However, someone who is not paid as well or does not have the same kind of power can not give their child that same opportunity. Also, because of the first person’s power, they may even have the chance to give more to people who are not as closely …show more content…
This is simple evolutionary theory in respect to the idea that animals wish to provide for their kin in order for them to be more likely to survive. Whether we like it or not, in this society, money gives you better means to survival. In the end, it truly makes sense that we see this as the case in all species and around the world. The second reading by Gurven, I found to be a little bit more interesting than the first reading by Mulder. This article discussed why humans may share foods. This boiled down mostly due to trade and social reasons. The aspect of trade makes a lot of sense because it allows for people to specialize, create a comparative advantage, and get more bang for their buck in the long run. Thus, trade will allow for the family to work smart and not hard. In turn, this takes away the burden of having to be completely self sufficient and would increase the survival rate of their own family even though they are also helping others. Social interaction is also an interesting way to look at it. It seems as though humans are always striving to make connections and earn