Evolutionary Perspectives On Human Division Of Labour In Different Ecological Contexts

In different ecological contexts,human behaviour is different.Different behaviour patterns adopted in different regions may be related to economic level,individual or collective interests,and may also be related to various kinship systems.It is one of the most important research topics in human behaviour ecology and one of the research hotspots to compare the similarities and differences of human behaviour patterns in different areas.In particular,the research on the evolutionary mechanism of division of labour is rarely involved in the agricultural and animal husbandry society.The labour difference between men and women is related to many factors,such as physical fitness,individual expertise,and so on.In this research,we examine how the dispersal patterns of men and women at marriage is associated with their relative workloads by using a wearable device(Miband2).we exploit the diversity in dispersal and post-marital residence norms across six rural populations in western China,to measure how sex differences in physical activity depend on social structure.We validated readings of a wearable fitness tracker by confirming that the total number of ‘steps' of participants was positively correlated with time spent in high energy activities like agriculture and animal husbandry,while negatively correlated with low energy activities like entertainment and rest.We show that two characteristics that lead to an unfavourable division of workload: sex,and dispersing at marriage.Females do the most work under patrilocal and duolocal post-marital residence while controlling for age cohort(i.e.when males do not disperse from their natal home);gender equality in workloads is only found under matrilocal residence(when men disperse to live with their wife's kin).The number of ‘steps' of those living in large households was also lower than those in small households,suggesting efficiencies emerge from group living.This is consistent with the hypothesis that males have increased bargaining power when remaining in their natal home,which results in an unfavourable division of labour.