miercuri, 15 februarie 2012

[...] has evolved to function like a non-human mating display arena [...]

"Most historians of sport agree that sport began as a way for boys to develop the physical and mental attributes needed for success in primitive hunting and warfare. Today, sports retain some of their original training functions but Lombardo hypothesizes that sport has evolved to function like a non-human mating display arena, commonly called a lek, like those found in birds such as the sage grouse of the western USA, but with an important difference.

In typical mating display leks, males congregate in areas that do not contain resources used by breeding females and perform courtship displays observed by females that either directly choose with whom they will mate, or copy the mate choice of others. Lombardo hypothesizes that athletic contests function as “leks” where male physical prowess and the behaviors important in conflict and cooperation are displayed by athletes and evaluated primarily by male, not female, spectators.

The characteristics of historical and modern sports are consistent with the predictions of the male spectator lek hypothesis. Observations that champion male athletes in sports (e.g., American football, baseball, basketball, soccer) requiring the skills needed for success in fighting and primitive hunting and warfare obtain the most reproductive opportunities supports intersexual selection theories of sport. However, Lombardo’s analyses suggest that while male-male competition and female mate choice preferences both influenced the evolution of sport, the primary driving force shaping the characteristics of male sports and athletes was male-male competition.

Michael Lombardo, "The evolution of sport as a male spectator lek"

Tot articolul il gasiti aici: On the evolution of sport