Dedicated to the memory of Tatyana Ivanovna Alekseeva As a model group, the adaptive capabilities of which were projected on successful hunters of traditional society, athletes of the highest category performed. Morphological features, endocrine status, and personality traits of athletes of different skill levels were studied. A complex of adaptive traits inherent in the studied group is revealed. Athletes were distinguished by masculine proportions of the face and figure, increased testosterone secretion, early onset of sexual activity, extraversion and conscientiousness. The results are discussed in the context of recent advances in ethology and evolutionary anthropology. Keywords: adaptation, human evolution, masculinity, athletes of the highest category, waist-to-hip ratio, finger index, testosterone, aggressive behavior, dominance, risk tolerance, extraversion. Introduction Adaptation is an integral property of all living things, one of the most important factors in speciation. In the course of his evolution, man has mastered almost the entire ecumene precisely because of the widest range of his adaptive capabilities, including behavioral ones. As noted by V. P. Alekseev, human adaptive reactions, such as morphological, physiological, subtle biochemical, and at the population level ethological, constitute an essential component of human variability and have played and, importantly, continue to play an important role in human shaping [2007, p.239, 264]. Adaptation to diverse living conditions, along with genetic-automatic processes, is the main reason for the current polymorphism and polytypy of modern humanity. In our country, intensive study of the ecology of human populations began in the 60s of the last century under the leadership and direct participation of T. I. Alekseeva [1977, 1986, 2003]. In the course of evolution, biological and social transformations were inextricably linked with each other. The efforts of many scientists were aimed at separating th ... Read more