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Sex at dawn : the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality
- Author
- Ryan, Christopher, 1962-
- Title
- Sex at dawn : the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality / Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá.
- Format
- Book
- Edition
- 1st ed.
- Published
- New York : Harper, c2010.
- Description
- xiii, 400 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
- Other contributors
- Jethá, Cacilda.
- Notes
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [315]-380) and index. Inscribed by author to Kenneth Haslam.
- Contents
-
- Part I: on the origin of specious
- Remember the Yucatán!
- What Darwin didn't know about sex
- A closer look at the standard narrative of human sexual evolution
- The ape in the mirror
- Part II: lust in paradise (solitary?)
- Who lost what in paradise?
- Who's your daddies?
- Mommies dearest
- Making a mess of marriage, mating, and monogamy
- Paternity certainty: the crumbling cornerstone of the standard narrative
- Jealousy: a beginner's guide to coveting thy neighbor's spouse
- Part III: the what we weren't
- "The wealth of nature" (Poor?)
- The selfish meme (Nasty?)
- The never-ending battle of prehistoric war (Brutish?)
- The longevity lie (Short?)
- Part IV: bodies in motion
- Little big man
- The truest measure of a man
- Sometimes a penis is just a penis
- The prehistory of O
- When girls go wild
- Part V: men are from Africa, women are from Africa
- On Mona Lisa's mind
- The pervert's lament
- Confronting the sky together.
- Summary
- Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. But this narrative is collapsing. Here, renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, while debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, offer a bold alternative explanation. Ryan and Jethá's central contention is that human beings evolved in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and, often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature monogamy really is. With intelligence, humor, and wonder, Ryan and Jethá show how our promiscuous past haunts our struggles over monogamy, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. Human beings everywhere and in every era have confronted the same familiar, intimate situations in surprisingly different ways. The authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.--From publisher description.
- Kinsey subjects
- Sex behavior history. Sex behavior in traditional societies. Sex customs. Sex and society. Primate sex behavior. Biological anthropology.
- ISBN
- 9780061707803 (hc) 0061707805