How and why have measurement systems evolved? Many early measurement systems were derived from parts of the body, such as the foot or cubit– the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Recent research has suggested that measurement systems transitioned through stages, from body-measurements to more complex standardized systems. However, through analyses of ethnographic data drawn from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, the authors find that the use of body-based measurement is still prevalent in most cultures worldwide, despite the development of standardized measurement systems. The authors posit that the persistence of body-based measurement is due to the advantages it holds over standardized measurement systems.

Based on prior findings, the present study tests the theory that subsistence type, specifically agricultural level, influences descent type, conjugal formation, and marriage type. All three of the latter variables are predicted to be antecedents of ancestor worship. The author claims support for the theory.

This article provides a descriptive account of the prevalence and variation in out-of-body experiences (OOBEs) worldwide. The author suggests that contemporary social science explanations for OOBEs (i.e. social control, crisis, and dream theories) are inadequate. Certain beliefs regarding OOBEs, such as whether they occur and the conditions for their occurrence, were shown to be relatively similar cross-culturally.

Researchers looked at 180 of the 186 societies in the SCCS for changes over time in lineage systems. The goal was to estimate the frequency of transitions away from and to matriliny cross-culturally, as well as explore the potential causes of these patterns / transitions. The study focused on two overarching research questions: 1. How common are transitions away from matriliny and how often do ‘reverse transitions’ to matriliny occur? 2. What causes transitions to or from matriliny? Overall, the study found that transitions away from matriliny have been quite common within the time frames covered by the ethnographic samples available, while transitions from another system to matrility have been rare. In answering the second question, the researchers report the highest correlation is between subsistence transitions (towards pastoralism, intensive agriculture, or a market economy) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny) as well as between higher levels of social complexity (measured by stratification, slavery, and population size) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny).

The author asserts that ecological conditions (and associated survival necessities) underwrite all human behavior and may be used to produce some general rules. Considering this, the author suggests that "culture" as a concept should be used to explain deviations from these essential rules rather than to explain all human behavioral phenomena. Data is compiled into a discursive presentation of the most important ecological factors determining choice in food animal consumption in "the primitive diet." These include abundance, herding (propensity to live in a herd or group), animal body size, dangerousness to humans, and "humanity" (spiritual closeness to humans or having a human spirit).

Jorgensen revisits Driver’s 1974 study of the various explanations for kin avoidances which mainly focused on North America, and broadens the scope to include a world-wide sample. In his work he brings up what he believes to be flaws in the comparative method, arguing that Driver’s work did not properly test for the independence of the correlations. Jorgensen revisits over 50 different variables in order to test for ‘all relationships among all categories.’ Overall, the results that he found agreed with Driver’s work, but presented a more transparent overview. See the article for the individual clusterings of Phi Coefficients for the set of 21 variables set as well as the set of 50 variables.

This study examines the relationship between sexual dimorphism and degree of polygyny. Authors test this relationship in both humans and non-human species. In non-human species, every correlation between sexual dimorphism (measured by body length) and degree of polygyny was significant. In human populations, sexual dimporhism was not related to degree of polygyny, however, there were some differences between populations with socially imposed monogomy and those with ecologically imposed monogamy.

In this study of 80 societies, the author initially sets out to test the theory that if social customs and rules forbid satisfaction of sexual impulses, "civilization" will be built based on sacrifices of these desires.

Derived from the evolutionary anthropology theory, this study examines the difference of importance placed on traditions and customs between cultures. The authors found that descendants from regions with less climatic stability place less emphasis on tradition and customs than those from more stable environments. The authors suggest that with climatic stability, the traditions and customs which have evolved and benefited the previous generations will be passed on to the next, therefore promoting cultural persistence.

This book investigates peaceful societies and the social and ecological conditions that discourage war. The author uses ethnographic examples, cross-cultural findings, primatology, and archaeology to examine war, social organization, human evolution, and conflict management.