Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
"Funny, witty, and light . . . the book is a scandal in the best sense, one that will have you reading the best parts aloud and reassessing your ideas about humanity's basic urges well after the book is done."
Kate Dailey, Newsweek
Copy from the Press Release:
On an almost daily basis we are inundated with stories about the collapse of the latest celebrity marriageand infidelity is almost always the cause of the break up. From Sandra Bullock and Jessie James to Tiger Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren, it seems that famous couples (just like ordinary folks) struggle to keep their marriages healthy and thriving. Is it even possible for two people to stay together happily over an extended period of time? Since Darwins day, weve been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. It doesnt, and it never has.
Mainstream scienceas well as religious and cultural institutionshave long maintained that men and women evolved in families where a mans possessions and protection were exchanged for a womans 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 (July 1, 2010, 384 pages; $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-170780-3), renegade researchers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jeth debunk almost everything we think we know about sex while offering a bold alternative explanation for why we live and love as we do.
Ryan and Jeth show how our promiscuous past haunts our current struggles regarding monogamy, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. Some of the themes they explore include:
- 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
Ryan and Jeth show that our ancestors lived in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, often overlooked evidence from anthropology, archeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature sexual monogamy really is. They expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.
In the tradition of the best historical and scientific writing, SEX AT DAWN unapologetically upends unwarranted assumptions and unfounded conclusions while offering a revolutionary understanding of why we live and love as we do. A controversial, idea-driven book that challenges everything you know about sex, marriage, family, and society.
"Funny, witty, and light . . . the book is a scandal in the best sense, one that will have you reading the best parts aloud and reassessing your ideas about humanity's basic urges well after the book is done."
Kate Dailey, Newsweek
Copy from the Press Release:
On an almost daily basis we are inundated with stories about the collapse of the latest celebrity marriageand infidelity is almost always the cause of the break up. From Sandra Bullock and Jessie James to Tiger Woods and his wife Elin Nordegren, it seems that famous couples (just like ordinary folks) struggle to keep their marriages healthy and thriving. Is it even possible for two people to stay together happily over an extended period of time? Since Darwins day, weve been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. It doesnt, and it never has.
Mainstream scienceas well as religious and cultural institutionshave long maintained that men and women evolved in families where a mans possessions and protection were exchanged for a womans 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 (July 1, 2010, 384 pages; $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-170780-3), renegade researchers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jeth debunk almost everything we think we know about sex while offering a bold alternative explanation for why we live and love as we do.
Ryan and Jeth show how our promiscuous past haunts our current struggles regarding monogamy, sexual orientation, and family dynamics. Some of the themes they explore include:
- 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
Ryan and Jeth show that our ancestors lived in egalitarian groups that shared food, child care, and often, sexual partners. Weaving together convergent, often overlooked evidence from anthropology, archeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality, the authors show how far from human nature sexual monogamy really is. They expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.
In the tradition of the best historical and scientific writing, SEX AT DAWN unapologetically upends unwarranted assumptions and unfounded conclusions while offering a revolutionary understanding of why we live and love as we do. A controversial, idea-driven book that challenges everything you know about sex, marriage, family, and society.