Sex and Reward Hypothesis
Schroder reviews a hypothesis by Symons' and Hill's that hunting males exchanged meat for sex with females. Females who continuously mimicked estrus may have benefited from more meat than those who did not. If this occurred with enough frequency, then a definite period of estrus would have been lost, and, with it, sexual signaling specific to ovulation would have disappeared.
Read more about this topic: Concealed Ovulation
Famous quotes containing the words reward and/or hypothesis:
“The militancy of men, through all the centuries, has drenched the world with blood, and for these deeds of horror and destruction men have been rewarded with monuments, with great songs and epics. The militancy of women has harmed no human life save the lives of those who fought the battle of righteousness. Time alone will reveal what reward will be allotted to women.”
—Emmeline Pankhurst (18581928)
“The wheels and springs of man are all set to the hypothesis of the permanence of nature. We are not built like a ship to be tossed, but like a house to stand.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)