ABSTRACT
Polygamy figured prominently in the formulation of early anthropological theories of man, kinship and culture. During the nineteenth century, theories of culture were dominated by the idea of cultural evolution: cultures were considered to move through various stages of development, ending up with the pinnacle of human development, Euro-American civilization. Closely related to the suggestion that polygamy serves a political function in a society is the idea that it serves as marker of power. An influential set of theories links polygamy with power through gerontocracy, a system of social stratification in which the old, typically the old men, dominate the young. The link between polygamy and gerontocracy remains very influential theoretically, nonetheless, and continues to form the basis for many explanations of polygamy. The social division between polygynists and bachelors in gerontocratic societies points to another theory of polygamy, which is also based on social stratification: in societies where social status distinctions are not based on control over productive resources.
