Research on patterns of marriage has determined that marriages serve as a reproductive contract between men and women. Marriage usually lasts for periods of time sufficient to raise a child until he or she can care for himself or herself. Patterns of marriage and divorce also embody features showing that the sexes act in their own reproductive best interests, for example, men initiating divorce later in life to find younger, more fertile partners. With this in mind, this article investigates the rituals, symbols, and ceremonies associated with marriages across several cultures to compile evolutionarily salient events and symbolism. In many cultures, the wedding ceremony contains not only rituals of reproduction and fertility important to both sexes but also displays of wealth and resources on the part of the groom, which is of particular evolutionary interest to females, and symbols of chastity on the part of the bride, which is of particular evolutionary interest to males. Essentially, the wedding is not only a pair-bonding codification but also a display of male and female reproductive goals and strategies.

中文翻译：

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婚礼作为生殖仪式

对婚姻模式的研究已经确定，婚姻是男女之间的生殖契约。婚姻通常持续一段足以养育孩子的时间，直到他或她可以照顾自己为止。婚姻和离婚的模式还体现出以下特征：两性行为是为了自己的生殖最佳利益而进行的，例如，男人在生活的晚些时候发起离婚，以寻找更年轻，更富饶的伴侣。考虑到这一点，本文研究了几种文化下与婚姻相关的仪式，象征和仪式，以编制进化上的显着事件和象征主义。在许多文化中，婚礼不仅包含对男女都重要的生殖和生育仪式，而且新郎也展示了丰富的财富和资源，它对女性特别具有进化意义，而新娘方面的贞操象征对男性特别具有进化意义。本质上，婚礼不仅是成对的编纂，而且是男女生殖目标和策略的展示。