Final answer:
Fraternal polyandry can be understood as a means to solve livelihood issues related to scarce resources and dense population by allowing brothers to share an inheritance of land and take turns living away from home to tend to herds or fields.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fraternal polyandry, as described in the article 'When brothers share a wife,' is a form of polyandry in which brothers marry a single wife. This practice can be understood as a means to solve livelihood issues related to scarce resources and dense population. In societies like Nepal, where fraternal polyandry is most common, it allows brothers to share an inheritance of land instead of dividing it, reducing inequality within the household and enabling the family to collectively subsist on the land.
Furthermore, in areas where land is scattered over large distances, fraternal polyandry allows brothers to take turns living away from home to tend to herds or fields, while still spending time with their shared wife. This arrangement helps minimize reproduction and population growth in societies facing resource scarcity and limited land availability.