Christopher Ryan

Cacilda Jeth‡

Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. Mainstream science — as well as religious and cultural institutions — has maintained that men and women evolved in families in which a man's possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman's fertility and fidelity. In this groundbreaking book, however, Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá argue that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. With intelligence and humour, Ryan and Jethá explain how our promiscuous past haunts our contemporary struggles. They explore why many people find long-term fidelity so difficult; why sexual passion tends to fade even as love deepens; why homosexuality persists in the face of standard evolutionary logic; and what the human body reveals about the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality. Shocking, enlightening, and ultimately inspiring, Sex at Dawn offers a revolutionary understanding of why we live and love as we do.

The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

Sex at Dawn

Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. it doesn't, and it never has. Mainstream science-as well as religious and cultural institutions-have long maintained that men and women evolved in families where a man's possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman's fertility and fidelity. But this narrative is collapsing. Fewer and fewer couples are getting married and divorce rates keep climbing as adultery and flagging libido drag down even seemingly solid marriages. In Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality, renegade researchers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda JethÁ debunk almost everything we 'think we know' about sex while offering a bold alternative explanation for why we live and love as we do. With intelligence, humor, and wonder, Ryan and JethÁ show how our promiscuous past haunts our current struggles regarding monogamy, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. They explore why long-term fidelity can be so difficult for so many; why sexual passion tends to fade even as love deepens; why many middle-aged men risk everything for an affair; why homosexuality persists in the face of standard evolutionary logic; and what the human body reveals about the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality.

Cacilda Jeth‡

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