Stacey Rucas: California Polytechnic State University Department of Social Sciences

This research examines the complexity of women’s social behaviors with other women through various modes of evolutionary inquiry and methods. Results indicate that women engage in alternating forms of competitive and cooperative behaviors across the lifecourse in their quest for reproductively limiting resources. Data presented will highlight several avenues of research conducted with the Tsimane that attempt to identify contested resources, track their exchanges, and understand the use of social aggression to secure status and compete (or cooperate) for friends, mates and food within female social networks.