Inter-household transfers of material goods among Sama "sea nomads" of the Philippines: Reciprocity, helping, signaling, or something else?

ABSTRACT: The extent to which humans share with both kin and non-kin is a defining characteristic of our species. Evolutionary research suggests that pervasive reliance on inter-individual transfers of goods and services may have evolved to support a cooperative breeding adaptation in humans. However, while intensive food sharing between individuals and families has frequently been investigated in small-scale human societies, a comprehensive analysis of the daily transfers of all material goods has not been attempted. Likewise, while much previous research on cooperative transfers focused on terrestrial foraging populations, less attention is paid to other small-scale economic modalities traditionally inhabited by humans. Drawing on over three years' worth of interviews and observational data from a

SUBMITTER: Phelps JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10449209 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature