Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality

Author:   Cacilda Jetha ,  Christopher Ryan
Publisher:   HarperCollins Publishers Inc
ISBN:  

9780061707803


Pages:   400
Publication Date:   29 June 2010
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Our Price $68.61 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality


Add your own review!

Overview

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 JethA. While debunking almost everything we know about sex, they offer a bold alternative explanation in this provocative and brilliant book.

Ryan and JethA'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 JethA 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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Cacilda Jetha ,  Christopher Ryan
Publisher:   HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Imprint:   HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.544kg
ISBN:  

9780061707803


ISBN 10:   0061707805
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   29 June 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Unknown
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Turns everything you thought you knew about sex on its head. A bold and unashamed assessment of the plentiful scientific data that illuminate the true origins and nature of human sexuality. Funny, engaging, and superbly written... -- Julie Holland, M.D., author of Weekends at Bellevue


Author Information

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List