Dynamical Structure of a Traditional Amazonian Social Network

TL;DR

This study investigates the temporal and structural features of reciprocity in a traditional Amazonian social network, revealing heterogeneity based on kinship and proximity, and introducing a new method for analyzing dynamic reciprocity effects.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into the temporal dynamics of reciprocity and introduces a new analytical method for studying non-stationary reciprocity in social networks.

Findings

Reciprocity varies with kinship and spatial proximity.

Short-term reciprocity occurs among non- and distant-kin pairs.

Close kin cooperation is explained by stationary reciprocity.

Abstract

Reciprocity is a vital feature of social networks, but relatively little is known about its temporal structure or the mechanisms underlying its persistence in real world behavior. In pursuit of these two questions, we study the stationary and dynamical signals of reciprocity in a network of manioc beer (Spanish: chicha; Tsimane': shocdye') drinking events in a Tsimane' village in lowland Bolivia. At the stationary level, our analysis reveals that social exchange within the community is heterogeneously patterned according to kinship and spatial proximity. A positive relationship between the frequencies at which two families host each other, controlling for kinship and proximity, provides evidence for stationary reciprocity. Our analysis of the dynamical structure of this network presents a novel method for the study of conditional, or non-stationary, reciprocity effects. We find evidence that short-timescale reciprocity (within three days) is present among non- and distant-kin pairs; conversely, we find that levels of cooperation among close kin can be accounted for on the stationary hypothesis alone.