Inspired by the recent Jordan Peterson article in the NYT, what does the phrase "enforced monogamy" mean in Anthropological terms? (x-post from r/AskAnthropology)

This questions is inspired by a recent NYT article in which in a response to the recent van attack in Toronto Jordan Peterson according to the NYT stated

He was angry at God because women were rejecting him. The cure for that is enforced monogamy. That’s actually why monogamy emerges.

In Peterson's defense of the phrase he quotes a statement from an article by Ben Shapiro.

“enforced monogamy” does not mean government-enforced monogamy. “Enforced monogamy” means socially-promoted, culturally-inculcated monogamy, as opposed to genetic monogamy – evolutionarily-dictated monogamy, which does exist in some species (but does not exist in humans). This distinction has been present in anthropological and scientific literature for decades.

Is this phrase, as it is defined above, commonly used in the field of anthropology like Peterson and Shapiro suggest?

1 Answers 2018-05-21

Can someone explain Gustavian tactics, Frederick the Great’s tactics, and Napoleonic warfare?

I know each one of these can make a post of their own, but each one evolved the past one’s tactics. I’ve been trying to learn more about this era of warfare and would just want to know more about each one.

1 Answers 2018-05-21

Why did the 1924 Immg law exclude the Western Hemisphere?

The legislation put very low quotas on immigration southern and easter Europe, and banned it from most of Asia and Africa, but there were no quotas at all for the countries of the Western hemisphere. I'm guessing this was due either to diplomacy or desire for migrant labor?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

How did people travel through Siberia in the Winter in the 1920s?

Like, say someone wanted to get from one town to the next traveling north or south without the use of a train? How would someone have done that? edit: Particularly in small groups.

1 Answers 2018-05-20

How historical is the 'lost civilization of the sun' hypothesis?

I'd like to know whether there is any solid historical, scientific, and archaeological basis for the hypothesis put forward by the authors of the book "The Path of the Spiritual Sun" and summarized on their website https://www.spiritualsun.com/lost-civilization-sun

Please take a look at the claims on the website and let me know. Briefly, they claim that there was an advanced civilization of sun worshippers from at least the 10th millennium BCE, that this civilization existed in the Americas, Europe, Egypt, India, China, and Pacific islands, and that they built megaliths aligned with solstices and equinoxes such as Stonehenge, Arkaim, Carnac stones, pyramids, etc. This civilization was allegedly Caucasian. They claim that the civilization was founded by survivors of Atlantis after a great flood in the 10th millennium, and that some of these survivors were Odin, Osiris, Thoth, Viracocha, etc. as historical persons. In the book they cite sources such as Graham Hancock, Thor Heyerdahl, Martin Doutre, and Andrew Collins, who are associated with pseudo-archeology.

1 Answers 2018-05-20

Why did banning alcohol require a Constitutional Amendment, but banning other drugs just needed an Act of Congress?

This question has always perplexed me. I'm aware that the initial attempts to regulate certain drugs were based on taxation, but then I guess a lawsuit in the 1960’s saw these thrown out? After which Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act in the early 1970's... so why was that adequate when controlling alcohol during Prohibition required the 18th Amendment?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

What is the current thinking of Greek style craftsmen help make the statues for the first emperor of China

Just saw a history program called greatest tombs in history about Greek craftsmen instructing the Chinese to make the terracotta warriors and bronze statues (it's got bad qualities of being patronising, doing re-enactments of researching, ignoring the steppe route existed with Chinese/Greek goods traded both via the Scythians but still being interesting enough to watch)

This was made 2016 and there been conflicting reports of research being pulled for national prestige being hurt in China. Has there been more work presented to make this more clear?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

Why did Rome conquer Britain, considering the logistics required for such a remote province and the apparent lack of value?

I know that Caesar visited the island and saw first hand that it wasn't particularly developed. Did later emperors forget this or were there other reasons for them to try and conquer Britain?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

What was the historical significance within North Africa of the Battle of Alcácer Quibir?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

This Week's Theme: North Africa

1 Answers 2018-05-20

What motivated the Manhatten project leakers ?

Did they genuinely admire Stalin and the Soviet Union ?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

Other than writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, what were some other influential things that Harriet Beecher Stowe did?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

How did our ancestors stay hydrated?

[deleted]

1 Answers 2018-05-20

What language was spoken in North Africa before the Arabs arrived?

Since the romans were there previously, I wonder if it might have been something a lot like latin, similar to Spanish or Italian.

If there is any information on it, what did it sound like? Were there any aspects of the local language(s) that are/were completely unique?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

I recently read about the Green Armies of the Russian Civil War. Were there any notable groups that found some success against the Bolsheviks? What was the common hierarchy of these groups? What was the level of popular support that the groups had among the local peasants?

I was watching a video about the Black Army from The Great War youtube series, in which they briefly brought up the Green armies. I was aware of the Kronstadt Rebellion, the left-wing uprisings like the right-wing SR, and the various White army groups, but not of any armed peasant insurrections. Are there any notable examples of these peasant uprisings that actually made a minor difference? I'm also very interested in the social structures of the groups considering that, from what I've gathered from Orlando Fige's work, was that the peasant villages were usually informally led by village elders who competed with younger, more liberal reformers. Which brings me to a supporting question, due to these differences in the peasant culture, what was the popular support of the Green Armies?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

Were Native American bison hunts truly sustainable?

The Native American bison hunt is kind of the archetype of sustainable resource use, especially compared to the destructive practices brought by westerners. But I saw on twitter the other day (from a user I consider generally trustworthy), that the adoption of horses by the plains cultures allowed them to hunt unsustainable numbers of bison that was already decimating herds even before the US Army came in. Is this view supported?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

"God" in Judaism used to be just one god (named El) among many gods that were part an ancient polytheistic religion. Do we know how or why the first Jews decided El was the one true god?

2 Answers 2018-05-20

Why didn't the Holy Roman Empire re-form after the Napoleonic war?

I'm aware that the empire was deliberately disbanded by Francis II to prevent Napoleon from taking the title, however i just wonder why the empire wasn't reformed after Napoleon was defeated. Were the german states unwilling to accept a Holy Roman emperor again? Was the pope unwilling to annoint one?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

The Great Seal of the United States

With the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem last week I saw an Evangelical (Zionist-supporting) Christian share a video, in which a guy is describing the Great Seal of the United States. He points to the 13 stars and notes that they were arranged to form the Star of David and says this was done as a gesture to Haym Salomon. Now, this just seems like a coincidence to me and not an actual gesture to Salomon. Has anyone found any supporting documents that says this is true? Or is this folklore in the making?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

In one famous narrative, the Indonesians at first accepted and celebrated the Japanese occupation because of the Jayabaya prophecy. Does such prophecy actually existed and how influential or known was it in the Indonesian/Javanese society at the time?

IIRC the prophecy was "There will be a time where people with small stature and yellow skin come and rule upon the land for less than a corn's lifespan". It has been a long time ago since i heard it so it might be wrong. Additionally does the prophecy actually being considered in decision-making, if it truly exists

1 Answers 2018-05-20

have any ancient roman laws or instutions survived until the collapse of the byzantine empire? have any of them outlived it?

2 Answers 2018-05-20

Sunday Digest | Interesting & Overlooked Posts | May 14, 2018–May 20, 2018

Previous

Today:

Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.

8 Answers 2018-05-20

Why was the Sassanid capital in Ctesiphon, near the border of their territory? Why not a capital in their Persian heartlands?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

How did people deal with sunburn during medieval times?

2 Answers 2018-05-20

Edward VII (Victoria's successor) Ruled for less than ten years, how is it that in such a short time an "Era" is ascribed to his rule?

1 Answers 2018-05-20

⯇ 2621 / 7255 ⯈

Back to start