polygyny

Adult relationships vary in form across societies and include not only the type most common around the world today — heterosexual monogamy — but also same-sex marriage, nonmarital unions, polyamory, polygyny and polyandry.

While the tomb reveals evidence of polygyny - men having children with multiple women - it also shows that polyandry was also widespread: women having children with multiple men.

“Looking at modern day hunter gatherers who provide some sort of model for pre-agricultural societies, ie any human society prior to about 10,000 years ago, then polygyny is very rare,” he said.

In a Snapchat reply to one of his followers, Odah stated that men should settle for marrying only one woman, an unpopular opinion in a country where polygyny is widely practised.

But the authors found that polygyny had an even stronger effect on females: It made them drabber.