the new alpha female took the top spot.21 The closest human parallel is the fierce competition and intrigues among slave concubines in the Ottoman Imperial Harem, some of whom gained a status equal to the sultan’s wives. These women groomed their sons to become the next sultan. Upon ascension to the throne, the winner would inevitably order the killing of all his brothers, so he would be the only one to sire offspring. We humans simply do things more radically than bonobos.
