Sex at Dawn

published

2011-08-13

rating

5

Sex at Dawn explains what life as a hunter-gather may have been like prior to the agricultural revolution with an emphasis on sexuality and pair-bonding. One of the central themes of the book is that humans may not be as monogamous as is often thought. The so called "standard narrative" suggests that couples form pair-bonds to raise children, but try to get away with cheating on their spouse in order to enhance their reproductive success. Sex at Dawn points out that primitive societies have been observed in modern times in which promiscuity is accepted and children are thought to have multiple fathers. Based on this, and many other anthropological arguments and comparisons with other primate species, the book suggests that humans, both men and women, may be naturally more polygamous than monogamous.