About 80% of all societies recorded by anthropologists are polygynous
(men have many wives). Even our own society is less monogamous than
claimed. This paper attempts to explain such mysteries as
why bride prices and dowries are not ``opposites'', why polygamous
societies are usually characterized by positive bride prices and dowry
is mainly confined to monogamous societies, why polyandry (women
having multiple husbands) is rare, but not extinct, and why the more you
have to pay for a wife the better you will treat her.
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