Competition for heritable wealth, not cultural group selection, drives the evolution of monogamy

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Issue 1, January 2026. <br/>SignificanceWhy did monogamy replace polygyny in many of the world’s most unequal societies? One theory holds that monogamy reduces reproductive inequality, fosters cooperation, and is selected for at the group level. Another, rooted in individual-level …