Final answer:
Historically, the most common marriage pattern is polygyny, a form of polygamy where one man is married to several women. Monogamy is predominant in Western societies, whereas polyandry is relatively rare worldwide. The correct option is a. Polygamy
Step-by-step explanation:
Most Common Historical Marriage Patterns
The marriage pattern that has been most common historically is polygyny, which is a form of polygamy. Polygyny involves one man being married to multiple women.
This practice is found across various cultures worldwide and has been particularly common in societies in northern Africa and East Asia. Polygyny has been associated with benefits such as maximizing the labor force, shared resources, wider kinship connections, and often conveying higher social status.
In contrast, monogamy, which is the practice of being married to only one person at a time, is more common in postindustrial societies and is the dominant form of marriage in Western cultures. Polyandry, the marriage of one woman to multiple men, is much less common, occurring in about 1 percent of the world's cultures. Furthermore, group marriage, with multiple men and women, is exceedingly rare and not widely practiced. The correct option is a. Polygamy