Growing a long, elaborate beard may be about more than just wanting sweet facial hair or trying to look like those Duck Dynasty guys: It may be one way for male humans to show dominance in an increasingly competitive world, new research from Swiss and Australian claims.
In research published online earlier this month in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, Dr. Cyril Grueter, a professor from the University of Western Australia, and his colleagues suggest that one reason that flamboyant facial hair is in again right now is that guys are feeling perceived pressure from increased competition and are responding by growing ornamental beards.
We’re all just bearded apes
The researchers investigated their hypothesis in primates, and found that in larger societies with multiple levels, male primates went on to develop ever more ostentatious features that essentially served as badges of honor. Some examples include the elongated noses of proboscis monkeys, the cheek flanges of orangutans, the capes of white and silvery hair in hamadryas baboons, the reddened chests of in geladas and the upper-lip warts in golden snub-nosed monkeys.
Human beards could fall into the same category, they explained. At least some of these types of features appear to enhance the sexual attractiveness of males to females, and the competition amongst male members of the species may also be responsible for the evolution of badges such as facial hair. Men with beards may be seen as more aggressive and dominant than those without them, attracting females that are drawn to males that appear to be more powerful.
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“In general, our new research shows that body ornaments appear to be more elaborate in larger groups of primates (where signaling quality and status to strangers is of great importance) and the same may apply to humans which live in fairly large societies,” Dr. Grueter, lead author of the study and an associate professor of biological anthropology, told The Huffington Post.
“When you live in a small group where everyone knows everyone… there is no need to signal quality and competitiveness via ornaments,” he added. “In large groups where individuals are surrounded by strangers, we need a quick reliable tool to evaluate someone’s strength and quality, and that’s where these elaborate ornaments come in. In the case of humans, this may also include phenotypic extensions such as body decoration, jeweler and prestige items.”
Size matters
Dr. Grueter and his fellow researchers investigated a total of 154 different primate species and found more conspicuous badges in the male members of species in multilevel social groups with limited individual recognition and regular social and physical conflict. They suggested that these badges were of benefit to males in those societies to signal their rank and identity, as well as to demonstrate their degree of dominance and their level of attractiveness to potential mates.
Conversely, species that live in smaller groups had less need of such ornaments, as individual recognition and an increased frequency of interactions allowed their fellow creatures to better assess the social status, strength and quality of their contemporaries. They went on to argue that the popularity of moustaches and beards among UK men from 1842 to 1971 increased when the number of males in the marriage pool increased and facial hair was deemed more attractive.
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“Our analysis suggests that among primates with larger group sizes and multilevel social organizations, males have more developed visually conspicuous secondary sexual traits,” the authors wrote. “This may reflect selection for amplified signals of individual identity, rank, dominance, or attractiveness in large and complex social organizations wherein social and physical conflict may arise frequently and individual recognition is limited.”
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