With the domestication of animals and agriculture, as well as denser societies, specialised groups emerged. ‘For the first time you had a critical mass of men who could exclude women.’ Systems of male control – patriarchies – emerged that exist to this day. And as they accumulated land, property and wealth, it would have become even more important for men to be sure their wives were unswervingly faithful. A man who couldn’t guarantee his babies were his own wasn’t just being cuckolded, but also risked losing what he owned. Mate-guarding intensified.
