Kellette, John; Reynolds, Vernon. Mating and Marriage. Oxford University Press: New

I really did not know what topic to choose for the project, so I went to the library and looked under the Cultural Anthropology section, and discovered a few different books of interest. I chose this book to review because it contains valuable text that is useful for all humans to read. Although the book contains chapters such as “The Evolution of Animal Mating Systems” and “The Biological Basis of Human Patterns of Mating and Marriage” I chose primarily to devote much of the focus of this essay to the latter chapters of the book (“The Social Anthropology of Marriage and Mating” and “Mating, the Family, and Marriage: A Sociological View”). The most interesting parts of the book will be summarized in this essay. I found it out of the ordinary when the text discussed human societies in relevance to mating and marriage and at times failed to discuss the cultural implications of such things. The chapters presented

Throughout the book, several examples, and references were made to birds, mammals (other than humans) and fish to further develop the argument about the differences in mating patterns. One fascinating example discussed the mating patterns of a little fist called a stickleback. The male, red-bellied fish courts the female, plain-colored bellied fish with a ‘zig-zag’ swimming that leads the female to the nest the male has made to hold her eggs. When the female decides the nest is up to par, she lays her eggs in it and the male follows behind to fertilize the eggs with his sperm. The male is typically the guardian of the nest, and is aggressive towards competitors and chases them away. Another kind of stickleback fish has evolved. This fish is male, but it has a plain-colored belly resembling the female belly. This male fish patiently waits by another male’s nest for a female to lay her eggs and then he unsuspectingly darts in and fertilizes the eggs before the rightful male can do so.

The former discussion about the fish describes behavior patterns such as courtship, aggression, and deception, and this clearly bears a resemblance to the behavior patterns of other species in their mating conduct as well. Further, the discussion about the mating signals of female primates allow a distinction between human beings and all other bisexual animals. While humans exhibit these same characteristics in mating, another major component is missing if marriage is not discussed. The study of non-human bisexual animals allows anthropologists to realize that the human beings are extraordinary, and it also calls for a complex explanation of how the institution of marriage evolved. From the reading, one could gather that no such explanation exists.

To begin, one must differentiate the verbiage of mating and marriage and realize that a genuine difference exists. Mating is a behavior that exists throughout all bisexual animal species. Mating refers

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