Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

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Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

by Christopher Ryan (Goodreads Author), Cacilda Jethá

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 5,228 ratings · 839 reviews

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. But this narrative is collapsing. Fewer and fewer couples are getti...more 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. 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.

How can reality be reconciled with the accepted narrative? It can't be, according to renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá. While debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, they offer a bold alternative explanation in this provocative and brilliant book.

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. 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.

With intelligence, humor, and wonder, Ryan and Jethá show how our promiscuous past haunts our struggles over 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 transient affairs with younger women; why homosexuality persists in the face of standard evolutionary logic; and what the human body reveals about the prehistoric origins of modern sexuality.

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.(less)

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published June 29th 2010 by Harper (first published January 1st 2010)

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Aug 01, 2012 Ryan Lacanilao rated it 2 of 5 stars

UPDATE #2: "Not since the Holy Bible has any book so misunderstood the process that created human beings." – Robert Wright.

Though the above quote was said half-jokingly, it sums things up quite nicely (if you can forgive the hyperbole). These were some of the last words in a videoconference between Robert Wright and Christopher Ryan. Click here to watch this conversation via bloggingheads. I just finished watching it, and it was well worth the time. As I mentioned in my initial review below, I n...more

34 likes · like · see review

Mar 20, 2013 Steve rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-non-fiction

I loved this book, but to be honest I have nowhere near the education to be able to evaluate the validity of the arguments presented in the book. I have seen grumblings here and there about the book, mostly from religious people who this book will understandably offend.

One of the main messages of the book is that monogamy is not natural to either men or women.

The authors are two researchers and psychologists, both married.

Despite being academics and approaching a variety of very weighty subjects...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2011 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: culture, nonfiction, society, sex

Hey! Hey, baby, baby, waitwaitwaitwait. Wait. Wait! Baby, don't... don't freak out

Okay, okay, I know what this looks like, but I can explain! Quiet, Chad, let me handle this. I can explain! I'm just - please, stop crying and listen - I'm just fulfilling my evolutionary heritage and helping to cement social bonds with... um... the pizza boy, but that'snotthepoint!! That's not the point! Look, before you do anything, y'know, drastic, you just need to read this book....

Humans are really good at fi...more

54 likes · like · see review

Jan 27, 2011 Taka rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-nonfiction-you-must-read, japan_jul07-aug10, popular-science, history

Fantastic--

This is one of those paradigm-shifting books that pretty much changes your belief system. Having read Robin Baker's Sperm Wars and absorbing its grim interpretation of human sexuality, this book, Sex at Dawn came as a pleasant and generally kick-ass surprise.

With abundance of humor and compelling narrative, the authors posit that human beings, like their primate cousins, originally engaged in multiple mating for most of their existence on earth before the advent of agriculture. And "m...more

19 likes · like · see review

Jan 16, 2012 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars

I heard Ryan interviewed on the podcast "Sex Nerd Sandra", was intrigued by his novel ideas, and decided to pick up the book. The overarching argument is that men and women were not historically monogamous the way society and many scientists claim. They back up this with physical and behavioral evidence from our close cousins, the chimp and bonobo, and from the information we have about prehistoric human societies and existing hunter-gatherers.

The authors are also somewhat avowed neo-Rousseauns...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 13, 2012 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Couples, nerds who like sex

Shelves: author-gender-female, author-gender-male, author-nationality-usa, author-nationality-mozambique, misc-forever-favorites, misc-stand-alone-book, nonfiction-science, nonfiction-anthropology, nonfiction-sexuality, publisher-harpercollins, rating-5-stars, read-in-2012, reviewed-by-iamfantastikate

Should I read it? Yes, yes, yes! You shouldn't even bother with this review! Just go read the book!

What's the short and skinny of it?
From the first few chapters, readers are introduced to the questions Sex at Dawn seeks to answer: "Why do we have the urges and anatomies we do, and what do these things say of our evolution? Are the cultural narratives we're taught about sexuality and marriage based on science? Do we work against nature because of culture? How did we develop the ideas we have abou...more

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Jan 20, 2011 Nancy Rector rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Phenomenal mind opening book about the true origins of our societies typical view of sex and monogamy. Also delves into the topics of war and jealousy and if those are indeed innate traits of humans. The facts show they are not. As with many beliefs that are just mindlessly accepted by so many people this points out that many things are not what they seem. And that we as a people need to have the courage and strength to think for ourselves and to continually question and learn for ourselves.

The...more

8 likes · like · see review

Sep 05, 2010 Valerie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Valerie by: Dan Savage

Shelves: gblt-friendly, tv-made-me-do-it

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I was an anthropology major at UCSC. Although I wanted to specialize in physical anthropology, I did quite a bit of classwork in cultural. One of the things that always fascinated me was fictitious kin. The idea of creating a network of ties to promote sharing among small groups. Church congregations and the scooby gang of Joss Whedon's Buffy are examples of this. I found the author's description of several of these types of kinship networks based on common...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Kumar McMillan rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating and well researched view into how humans became the highly sexual creatures we are today. It flips the outdated and poorly proven Hobbes theory--that we were brutish, impoverished, war torn prehistoric animals--on its head. Instead, it offers compelling evidence and astute observations that for 90% of our 2.5 million years on Earth, humans basically had enjoyable sex with each other all day (multiple partners) and ate nutritious food from the earth without war and without m...more

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Jan 16, 2012 sologdin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sciences, sexology

A popularizer's polemic against evolutionary psychology vis-a-vis the doctrine and institution of monogamy. The book is well-humored, and the prose reads well.

The broad strokes of the argument are difficult to dispute, and I wouldn't want to dispute them. Monogamy earned this ass-kicking--and it is an ass-kicking, a true shellacking, considering the data marshalled in support, as well as the motion-for-summary-judgment style of pointing out a lack of support for the opponent's essential allegat...more A popularizer's polemic against evolutionary psychology vis-a-vis the doctrine and institution of monogamy. The book is well-humored, and the prose reads well.

The broad strokes of the argument are difficult to dispute, and I wouldn't want to dispute them. Monogamy earned this ass-kicking--and it is an ass-kicking, a true shellacking, considering the data marshalled in support, as well as the motion-for-summary-judgment style of pointing out a lack of support for the opponent's essential allegations. Those who support the proposition that monogamy is mandated by "human nature" are revealed to be conclusively philistine--the only determination for us to make is whether the philistinism is willful theatre or involuntary imposition. As Kuhn might describe them, they deploy a different paradigm on this question, and likely recognize these arguments and evidence only as nonesense and errors; the only remedy is that they die out as time goes on, taking their bad ideas with them.

Many good historical anecdotes (the anti-masturbation campaign, say, or the sale by physicians of orgasm therapy to "hysterical" women). Lotsa good up-yours moments to the rightwing. And plenty of fists in the face of evopsych overreachers, who deserve every beating they get. It was especially pleasant to see Pinker exposed as intellectually dishonest.

All that said, the second and third sections, refuting neo-hobbesianism in general, seems like an unnecessary excursus. Not ontologically unnecssary (quite the contrary), and interesting on its own merits--but unnecessary to the argument of this volume.

At times the argument veers into gender essentialism; at other times there's a bit of ultra vires crypto-mccarthyism (marxism apparently did get something wrong about "human nature" after all, despite the critique otherwise presented of evopsych's sophomoric economics 101 assumptions); and at still others, toward the end, the tone shifts to relationship advice, which might've been necessary to sell the volume to certain audiences--but the desires of those audiences detract from the text.

I could've also used more detailed and thorough review of the relevant scientific literature--this is my main complaint. The text is polemical, sure--but, as a layperson on this matter, I do require a bit of handholding. Yeah, I know, quit being lazy and read the literature yourself. I get it. But it'd be nice for a popularizing volume to fill that role, so that I can carry on without cluttering my brains with the technicalities of the sciences. The text therefore could've been twice the length, and i'd've loved it.

Those complaints made, it's difficult not to see the insights in this volume arise from the marriages to which I have been associated. My own conception of jealousy, for instance, is that it is a property ideology applied to persons, particularly to the right of exclusive sexual access. It's a nasty thing, and remains residual as affect despite being abolished in intellect by critique. The text confirms this conception to the extent that jealousy and its antecedent property forms are not dominant throughout the long prehistory of human sexuality. If I were to give marxist sexual relationship advice, it'd be simple: your sexual relationships are not property relationships, you reactionary fuckers. Once that basic principle of progressive humanitarianism is understood, the necessity of tolerance for and encouragement of non-monogamous praxis by one's spouse becomes a proposition of universal rights and basic decency. Understanding it may be difficult, sure--and abolishing it in intellect still leaves the affective residue--one will disagree with oneself, knowing the wrongness of jealousy even while feeling it--but the sting goes away before long, unless you're a teenager or not very worldly, I suppose.

Recommended for masturbators, disinfatuated married persons, evopsych epigones, and people who think that they own their spouses.(less)

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Aug 25, 2010 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book makes one depressed about the human race from agriculture on. However, it kind of awesomely doesn't make me feel like a slut, proving (through science!) how our anatomy developed and how we, as humans, were made to have sex with many different people. Sometimes all at once. With chocolate sauce. Kidding about the chocolate sauce.

Really, the book goes over our closest relatives, and then discusses common beliefs about the human race, and proves or disproves some of those beliefs. It's p...more

13 likes · like · see review

May 20, 2012 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Controversial. Probably a number of correct points concerning the real evolution of human sexuality from the hunter gatherer society and the failures of current models of human sexuality to recognize we are more like bonobos than chimpanzees or gibbons. Its main conclusion, however, that marital monogamy is losing proposition, with evolutionary biology and genetic disposition pushing against it may have some merit. But the books solution seems out of touch with the reality of contemporary Wester...more

1 like · like · see review

May 31, 2012 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pomo Feminists and queer theorists beware! You might not like this. This book makes a strong and rather compelling case that there is a biological functionalism to our sexuality: namely sex for bonding and social harmony first and procreation second. The vast majority of the book is outlining the "essence" of male and female sexuality, making this a dissonance-causing book for anyone advocating criticism of gender essentialism and nonmonogamy simultaneously. Also it is about as snarky as Vice Ma...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 17, 2012 Juliana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: socialscience, poly

Note: this would be a much better review if I hadn't read the book months ago. Mixed feelings. I think they present some credible evidence that humans may be rather more like bonobos than like our other primate cousins, and that monogamy is far from the only possibility (or even the norm) for many animals, and that it's not the norm in many human cultures. And they do pick apart some of the more heinously implausible evolutionary psychology theories about human sexuality. That being said, they c...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Flint rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthropology, animals, nonfiction, science, relationships, primatology, sex

The right mix of popular science and snark. It's like mix of Frans De Waal's "Our Inner Ape", Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel"(but for sex) and "The Third Chimpanzee", Frederich Engels "Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State", Dan Savage's "Savage Love", Laura Kipnis' "Against Love", Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt's "Ethical Slut" (but without the hippie vibe).

It combines many studies and articles I've been reading and taking note of for years, such as:

"What Do Women...more

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Tiffany I wonder if this book covers aleut and alutiiq sexuality/gender-perspective, and how this was expressed in family-units (or tribe-units) as well as ho...more
02 août 14:10

Flint Tiffany, it touch briefly on alutiiq/aleut 'marriage' customs. Extremely briefly; mostly about the confusion European explorers had in encountering th...more
25 août 20:56

Jan 04, 2011 Gavin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a topic that modern society has been wrestling with for ages. Well packaged in an easy to read book, Christopher Ryan presents a large amount of experimental, anatomical, and anthropological studies with a logical narrative of the evolution of human sexuality. He deals rather fairly with monogamy (remarking that the alternatives are not for everyone), even though it is clear that the bulk of the data is pointing toward a different human nature.

Although the topic is relevant to modern so...more This is a topic that modern society has been wrestling with for ages. Well packaged in an easy to read book, Christopher Ryan presents a large amount of experimental, anatomical, and anthropological studies with a logical narrative of the evolution of human sexuality. He deals rather fairly with monogamy (remarking that the alternatives are not for everyone), even though it is clear that the bulk of the data is pointing toward a different human nature.

Although the topic is relevant to modern society and I commend him (and Cacilda Jethá) for addressing the possible antiquation of monogamy, I think that this work is far from academic in quality. He seems to discredit many of the original evolutionary theorists for failing to parse science from their culture. In fact, he consistently remarks on the socially restrictive Victorian culture and the effects it has on those scholars. Ryan then appeals to the pathos of the reader by accusing current theorist of evolutionary psychologist of calling your mother (or daughter or any female you know) a whore. In this sever bout of hypocrisy, he fails to see that it is our culture that would consider a woman a whore for taking resources, i.e. money, for sexual favor.

Furthermore, the section of the book that argues prehistoric hunter-gathers are better off than modern man seems to be one sided and although he said it himself, overly nostalgic. He fails to see the paradox in his discussion of food and infanticide. Also, he seems to be making the argument that ignorance is bliss, but if that is true then North Koreans are some of the happiest people on earth. I wish that he had dealt with this portion of the book with the same agnostic approach as he did with monogamy and its alternatives.

Even with the lack of rigor expected from books on science, the subject addressed in this book is important and might be life saving for some individuals. It is easy to read with an MTV like flow and punch, but do not expect anything remotely academic in quality.

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Jun 09, 2012 Robin Filipczak rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sexuality, science, social-science

If homo sapiens are biologically wired for monogamy, why are we so bad at it? Authors Ryan and Jethá explore this question with intelligence, rigor, and wit. Through a critical review of social science research over the past 150 years, they argue our standard cultural narrative about pair bonding, sexual response, and female empowerment has at times clouded rigorous scientific inquiry and often contradicts prehistoric biological evidence. This book is eminently readable, and especially poignant...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Craroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've already had an a-ha! moment on every other page. This is exactly what I was missing in all of those evolutionary psychology classes where the rule was the following:

"Men are jealous, deceitful pigs who want to nail as many women as possible. Women put out only to manipulate men into supporting their children, and cuckold their partners with men with square jaws every time they ovulate, because they magically know when that is, and they aren't jealous of their men cheating on them as long a...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 29, 2013 Lucas rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel completely cheated...

This review is directed more towards people who have already read Sex at Dawn, and to the authors. But hopefully this will be of use to new readers as well.

I'll start by saying that when I first read Sex at Dawn I was blown away. This book completely changed my view of monogamy, sex, and relationships. It sparked this new openness and acceptance in me, and I will say had a very positive impact on my relationship. I thought here was the book that everyone NEEDS to read...more I feel completely cheated...

This review is directed more towards people who have already read Sex at Dawn, and to the authors. But hopefully this will be of use to new readers as well.

I'll start by saying that when I first read Sex at Dawn I was blown away. This book completely changed my view of monogamy, sex, and relationships. It sparked this new openness and acceptance in me, and I will say had a very positive impact on my relationship. I thought here was the book that everyone NEEDS to read. I recommended it to everyone, talked about it with everyone, even called it my new bible (not that I put any stock in the old bible – being an Atheist, but you get my meaning).

Then I came across a book called Sex at DUSK, by Lynn Saxon, a sort of counter-argument to Sex at Dawn. So, being a 'seeker of truth', I figured I owed it to myself to read this book as well. I really expected (i.e. wanted) Sex at Dusk to be a bad book in that it made a poor case, being full of religious and/or political bias, and couldn't really negate Sex at Dawn. But what I found instead was a very objective, concise argument that pretty much laid waste to everything presented in Sex at Dawn.

Lynn Saxon drew on the exact same research that Sex at Dawn used as evidence. However she showed a much more complete view of the research, she removed the apparent cherry-picking and candy-coating that Ryan and Jetha used, and showed that almost every bit of 'evidence' they used has been taken out of context, and presented in a way that is completely misleading.

I am no expert in this field so I took the authors of Sex at Dawn for their word. I believed that the evidence they showed was honest and complete. Unfortunately it would seem that it isn't. I am truly disappointed by their dishonesty.

The other possibility is that the author of Sex at Dusk is being dishonest, but being that she is only showing more of the same research I would find it hard to make that argument, and I think anyone who reads it will also have a hard time making that argument. I highly recommend that any and all fans of Sex at Dawn read Sex at Dusk, and please if you come to a different conclusion than I did by all means comment here and explain.

I honestly feel like I was cheated or scammed by Ryan and Jetha. I sincerely hope that they read this review and read Sex at Dusk to address the issues it brings up.
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Dudeinhammock Hi Lucas. Chris Ryan here. Just saw this review and thought I'd take a moment to respond. I don't normally do this, but the very personal way you've r...more Hi Lucas. Chris Ryan here. Just saw this review and thought I'd take a moment to respond. I don't normally do this, but the very personal way you've responded to this makes me feel I owe you a response (even in this tiny little window).

Yes, I've seen this and other lines of criticism before. Sex at Dusk is a book written by someone who refuses to even acknowledge authorship, so frankly, it's hard for me to take seriously. I don't understand why he/she/they use a false name, but "Lynn Saxon" doesn't exist. I tried to engage with this person when they were just trolling on Amazon.com, but it quickly became apparent to me that there was a strong emotional need to see me as being both incredibly stupid and dishonest as well, so I dropped it. I haven't read the book, but from what I've heard from those who have, it follows the same basic approach as a recent correspondent who accuses us of cherry-picking and ignoring unsavory aspects of some of the societies we cite as evidence of wide-spread non-monogamy in humans. The technique is to choose a particular society we cited as an example of a society in which paternity certainty clearly isn't a central concern, then find some aspect of that society that disputes the straw-man argument we never make that all non-monogamous people everywhere are/were free-loving hippies. It's an intellectually vacuous approach.

What's being missed is that we don't argue that each of these societies were a feminist paradise, merely that they serve as examples of societies in which paternity certainty was not a cornerstone of social organization. Critics like "Saxon" seem unable to follow this two-step argument, tripping over the first step every time. An obsessive, UNIVERSAL male concern with paternity certainty is a central premise of the Standard Narrative. We're arguing that this concern is not, in fact, universal in human societies. We offer dozens of examples of societies in which it's not a universal concern, in order to support this argument. THEN, we discuss how we might re-vision human sexual/social evolution in light of the now-established fact that paternity certainty is not a universal human obsession. The examples we use to establish that point are not necessarily ALSO examples of other points we make down the road, about egalitarianism, women's status, shared child-rearing, etc.

It's as if I were arguing against someone whose world view is that all Americans are stupid and therefore shouldn't be considered for Nobel Prizes. In disputing this ridiculous position, I list dozens of Americans who are clearly NOT stupid, from Benjamin Franklin to Bill Clinton, and the rejoinder is, "But you failed to mention that Bill Clinton got a blowjob from Monica Lewinski, so he shouldn't be considered." Fine, but who cares? I'm not arguing that every society I use as an example is a paradise on Earth, merely that it is one of many societies around the world in which paternity certainty is not important, thereby invalidating the central premise of the Standard Narrative.

And Bill Clinton may not qualify for a Nobel Prize, but he sure isn't stupid!(less)
14 mai 02:08

Lucas Dudeinhammock wrote: "Hi Lucas. Chris Ryan here. Just saw this review and thought I'd take a moment to respond. I don't normally do this, but the very...more
14 mai 13:37

Lucas For anyone who is interested, here is the link to the exchange between Lynn Saxon and Christopher Ryan that was on Amazon:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/10 ...more
22 mai 09:04

Mar 17, 2013 D.G. Chichester rated it 2 of 5 stars

Dan Savage kept making this sound like an epiphany of morals and sexual understanding. And while it is an interesting take on where our physical selves may have evolved from -- and may likely still have synergies with certain strains of primate -- it does what so many non-fiction books do, filling space with detours into interesting but not necessarily completely relevant factual material. The authors make a good case for the sexual issues our society may have developed from becoming agricultura...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Picking this up, I thought "ok, I get it: people are not designed, genetically, to be monogamous - the idea of for-life bonding with just one person is culturally created for a whole bunch of reasons. But how on earth are the authors going to hold my attention for 400 pages with this one idea?" - they do, and then some. Sure, the authors decimate the idea of monogamy being the natural order of things, but they also poke big holes in the idea of the superiority of agrarian society, showing up the...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Uwe Hook rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book really seems to elicit some strong opinions and have a sneaking suspicion that people are dividing up by whether the book validates or invalidates some strongly held belief. It's either "This is bad science, it's poorly researched and patently untrue" or "this book is scientifically brilliant and incredibly well researched". I am not a scientist nor do I play one on TV so I am probably not qualified to remark one way or another on the quality of the scientific research other than to sa...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Lage von Dissen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Evolutionary biology and sexual biology are fascinating topics, and when we look at the history of the human species, it's even more interesting to consider our human origins or more specifically our pre-human ancestors. This book goes into great depth discussing the most likely explanations for the sexual biology of our species based on other primates that are also our closest genetic neighbors (namely Bonobos). By looking at the sexual dimorphism of our species, male sperm production, male and...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Brendan rated it 1 of 5 stars

I rarely stop reading books before I'm done (and I've read a lot of pretty bad books as a result!), but I think I will with this one. The book has two serious problems: first, it misrepresents (or maybe misunderstands?) the standard model of human sexuality from ev. biology. Perhaps because they are so focused on the most extreme form of ev. psych, they repeatedly oversimplify things, and then accuse various authors (e.g., Darwin) of defending such oversimplified theories because of sexism. Seco...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Websterdavid3 rated it 2 of 5 stars

1) Cacilda Jetha is co-author, but not listed in Goodreads-- Goodreads didn't believe a [possibly] woman would embrace sex at dawn? what is that all about?

Reading the book, it seemed that the authors, a la Lionel Tiger, and the aggression guy who claims we were born with our dukes up [?], were very eager to find good evidence for un-regulated sex in pre-history; further were enjoying being provocative and shibboleth-lancing.

Reading a review of "Sex at Dusk" [that's THE book to read], sounds li...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Thecat3786 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Thought-provoking and funny, what I appreciated most is how this book challenges the dominant narratives in evolutionary psychology about male dominance, warfare and sex. I'm not an expert nor am I well-read in evolutionary psychology so I can't attest to how accurate this book is in its research, but it does capture several cultural notions well, especially that sexuality is a destructive force that must be controlled on both sides (but particularly for women). It presents evidence to the contr...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Anthony rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha

This book was recommended on a list server I subscribe to, by someone whose intelligence I held in high esteem.

Upon receiving my hard bound book from Amazon, I could not wait to get into the premise of this book, namely the study of our evolutionary biological ancestors and their untempered behaviors. Let me preface my comments by stating that I am a Christian but a believer in the evolutionary appearance of man on...more A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha

This book was recommended on a list server I subscribe to, by someone whose intelligence I held in high esteem.

Upon receiving my hard bound book from Amazon, I could not wait to get into the premise of this book, namely the study of our evolutionary biological ancestors and their untempered behaviors. Let me preface my comments by stating that I am a Christian but a believer in the evolutionary appearance of man on this planet. I do believe that we as primates are related biologically to all the primate species sited in this book. With the authors' examples of Chimpanzees, Bonobos, Baboons and other lesser primates and how some of their social interactions including sexual practices are precursors of human social behavior is somewhat difficult to relate to. That these primates demonstrate practices that may help us to understand the mores and practices of humans, especially regarding sexual activities, I find difficult to accept. That their polygamous and polyamorous behavior could provide answers to present day dysfunctions in human interactions is truly an academic reasoning of the lowest order.

Through out the book, there is no real analysis of what makes us humans. It certainly is not our primate antecedents nor the size of our penis'. The authors would like to convince us that evolution is inexorably tied to our social/sexual development. That our current day sexual difficulties relating to life long marriage failures is related to our failure to carry on similar activities of the lesser primate antecedents. The authors, slam monogamy and promote promiscuity as the possible solutions to all of our social evils. What pure nonsense. Testosterone and other human hormones are lost due to failure to find excitement in a monogamous relationship and therefore one answer may lie in finding other sexual outlets to re-stimulate us to our former selves. I am sure, the authors of this book are not believers in God and that the idea of man's original sin is hogwash.

Many today would argue that our current social mores are fraught with too much sex and that perhaps it is for man to truly look past this obsession that drove our lesser primate antecedents to their primal social behaviors. The authors suggestion that more sex and sex with others would rejuvenate our hormonal deficiencies which occur as a consequence of "boredom" with our mates is not acceptable. Man like most living things has a definitive sexual life cycle and when we reach the nadir of this cycle, the author suggests it is the fault of our monogamous relationships.

God did make man and woman to be one and the authors try so hard to intellectualize their hypothesis which only exacerbates our social and community problems. I am hopeful the younger people among us will not read this book, though the authors made sure they would pander to them by the mere title of this book.

What the book fails to recognize is that God breathed the fire of life into us humans at some point in our evolutionary history and as such had us create parameters for our behavior to honor and love our maker. That our world makes poor decisions is due in no small part to the over intellectualizing of science in a God void vacuum. (less)

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Dec 04, 2012 Sibyl rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book... UGH. It's starts off talking about bonobos bonobos bonobos! The forgotten cousin who boinks all the time in a free-loving society! And of which there seems to be little actual study! It's great to point out that our genetic closeness to this group has been overlooked, but I would like some more scientific evidence cited here, especially before their exclusion in accounts of human sexuality gets mentioned over and over and over again. Also, maybe all those studies that fail to mentio...more This book... UGH. It's starts off talking about bonobos bonobos bonobos! The forgotten cousin who boinks all the time in a free-loving society! And of which there seems to be little actual study! It's great to point out that our genetic closeness to this group has been overlooked, but I would like some more scientific evidence cited here, especially before their exclusion in accounts of human sexuality gets mentioned over and over and over again. Also, maybe all those studies that fail to mention the bonobo do so because of the fact that there's been such little study on the species?

After reading far too much about supposed bonobo sexuality, the authors then delve into using logical arguments to refute common assumptions about human sexuality and monogamy. Ambitious, much? If I hadn't read any Jared Diamond or been previously exposed to the loss-of-Eden-equaling-our-descent-into-agricultural-society school of thought, I would have had a much harder time stomaching this section. As it was, it seemed like a position paper I wrote for my freshman Ethics class, using words and logic to prove a point, no matter what the point was, and making sure to address every possible exception. Again, not enough science cited.

The last part is a kicker. Throughout the book, there's much talk of females being far more inherently sexual than Victorian scientists (Darwin) ever considered. Orly? But instead of focusing on female discontent in long-term monogamous relationships, they discuss only how it's hard on the man. Wait, isn't this already covered ground? Why bother refuting previous assumptions on this and that if you're just going to end up in the same place that reflects much of current thinking? They give a cop out that a woman's affairs are much more complex than a man's. ORLY? WTF? You're telling me that gals don't want to sometimes just get laid/experience someone new/be flattered by attention/feel the same rush of endorphins that guys get in affairs? Please. Suggesting that they are two vastly different things only obscures the fact that males and females are probably pretty similar in that they both want some variety. Even the examples cited - a polyamorous threesome of two men and one woman, don't support this strange focus on the man in the last few chapters of the book. And there are so many unanswered questions! Homosexuality? Long-term affairs? Japanese porn?

I found this book deeply unsatisfying, oftentimes annoying, and in bad need of a stronger feminine perspective (if there was any - I didn't pick up much on the female author's voice).

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Oct 09, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is much debate about the "scientific-ness" of this book, however, it's most important quality is that it asks the reader to question everything that was once held as truth (standard narrative). The authors provide an extensive list of notes and further reading at the end for those that wish to delve further into the topics addressed. Every social science study or theory will naturally be biased within its cultural context -- Darwin, Freud, and the authors of this book. The book does not at...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Umi Yum rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked the informal comedic writing style although at times the sarcasm is seething. I'm sure the writer became aware of how condescending he was towards some prominent people. The book seems very opinionated and not very informed until somewhere around the middle, where you find more factual backup to the arguments. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because you really have to hold on a little longer until he starts convincing you. The content itself is very informative, and eve...more

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“And yet, despite repeated assurances that women aren't particularly sexual creatures, in cultures around the world men have gone to extraordinary lengths to control female libido: female genital mutilation, head-to-toe chadors, medieval witch burnings, chastity belts, suffocating corsets, muttered insults about "insatiable" whores, pathologizing, paternalistic medical diagnoses of nymphomania or hysteria, the debilitating scorn heaped on any female who chooses to be generous with her sexuality...all parts of a worldwide campaign to keep the supposedly low-key female libido under control. Why the electrified high-security razor-wire fence to contain a kitty-cat?” — 19 people liked it

“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. The examples we've noted of rampant ritualized group sex, mate-swapping, unrestrained casual affairs, and socially sanctioned sequential sex were all reported in cultures that anthropologists insist are monogamous simply because they've determined that something they call "marriage" takes place there. No wonder so many insist that marriage, monogamy, and the nuclear family are human universals. With such all-encompassing interpretations of the concepts, even the prairie vole, who "sleeps with anyone," would qualify.” — 15 people liked it

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