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the h
ierarchical ladder. For a monkey's physiology, position in the
pecking order is everything.59
Humans not only undergo the same changes when they're under
society's heel, but their blood pressure goes up...and stays there. The
result is an increase in the odds of heart attack and stroke, and a loss of
mental swiftness.60
Blood and sperm are not the only bodily substances to shift their
concentration in response to pecking order changes. In monkeys and
humans, when groups fight, the winners snag a hormonal prize. Their
testosterone level rises. Testosterone--the male hormone--inspires
confidence and aggression. The fresh jolt of it in the blood invigorates
the victors. For the losers it's a different story. Testosterone level
plummets.61 The body shifts into resignation.
Low baboons on the totem pole carry additional consequences in their
bloodstream. Their circulation is flooded with glucocorticoids--stress
hormones that constitute a slow internal poison. The baboons on top
do not suffer this chemical corrosion. Their bloodstreams are relatively
glucocorticoid-free. Once again, position in the pecking order reshapes
physiology.62
After a while, top or bottom position in the pecking order gets to
be a habit. Numerous studies show that a creature who has won a
fight is more likely to win the next one. An animal who has lost barely
shuffles through his next contest. The odds are high he'll lose again.63
All of this may explain a phenomenon that crops up in Julius
Caesar's battle narratives. Caesar frequently confronted tribesmen
who had been bred from birth to fight, men who prided themselves on
their ferocity. But when the Roman legions won a decisive victory, the
proud barbarian warriors sometimes bowed their heads and marched
meekly into slavery. The barbarian women--who had once been
equally defiant--held up their children to the Romans and begged to be
spared. Then they gave themselves up, caving in to a subservient fate.
The humiliation of defeat changed these fierce fighters into beaten
men. A quick slide from the pecking order's top to its bottom seemed
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