The Prehistoric Origins of Human Sexuality

Sex at Dawn co-author Christopher Ryan argues against the “standard narrative” of human sexual evolution — the idea that men have always traded food, protection, and status for women’s fidelity — calling it a projection of modern institutions onto prehistory. Drawing on the book he wrote with Cacilda Jetha, he contends that human sexuality evolved in small hunter-gatherer bands that shared food, shelter, childcare, and sexual partners, and that bonobo social life tracks these societies more closely than chimpanzee behavior does. He surveys evidence from primate biology and anthropology, including the Mosuo of southwestern China and the “partible paternity” beliefs of Amazonian societies, and closes by hoping this view brings greater respect for unconventional relationship models.

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