Sex at Dawn
The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jethá · first published 2010
56% recommend32% neutral12% critical
Why HN recommends it
Anthropological argument that humans evolved in communal, non-monogamous societies, drawing on bonobos and pre-agricultural life. Suits readers questioning monogamy and traditional ideas about gender roles and mating.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"A controversial, idea-driven book that challenges everything you know about sex, marriage, family, and society"--Provided by publisher. Since Darwin's day, we've been told that sexual monogamy comes naturally to our species. But this narrative is collapsing. Here, renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, while debunking almost everything we "know" about sex, offer a bold alternative explanation. 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, frequentl
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While the nuclear family most common for most of recorded history, since reading Sex at Dawn and a few related books, I've come to believe that for most of human history -- that is, hundreds of thousands of years before agriculture -- we lived in communities where all adults helped raise all…
on “U.S. has world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households” ↗…Kudos to you for your decision. A book was written about marriage, long term monogamy, and (at least for me) showed that maybe sex shouldn't be this huge deal we currently make it out to be. It's called Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha.
on “Ask HN: what was the best life/programming choice you ever made?” ↗I highly encourage reading Sex at Dawn [1]. It's an amazing paradigm-shifter regarding human sexuality. In a nutshell, it (convincingly, IMHO) argues that the modern story society tells itself about mating and family is dead wrong, and that…
on “Could the Nuclear Family Be the Reason We’re All Miserable?” ↗Cannibals and Kings - Marvin Harris Warriors and Worriers - Joyce Bennenson Sex at Dawn - Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá
True. Bonobos are more closely related to humans. There's some incredibly fascinating information about how humans are related to bonobos in sexual behavior (and overall communal behavior) in the book Sex at Dawn. Highly recommended.
on “Wild chimpanzees use at least 66 gestures to communicate with each other” ↗…Donnie Brasco - FBI guy infiltrated to one of five Mafia families and bring many people to justice, worth reading. 3. Oppenheimer by Kai Brid - didn't watch movie yet, prefer to start with book. 4. Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jethá - interesting stuff about our sexuality and how we became who we are.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗Sex at Dawn and Civilized to Death by Christopher Ryan
on “Ask HN: What are the best unknown books you have read?” ↗…exceptions )that female primates, including humans, respond sexually favorably toward high status behavior on the part of males. The Red Queen is a good book, but there are countless others. Sperm Wars, Sex At Dawn, The Evolution of Desire, and myriad academic papers that these books reference, paint a very clear picture of female sexuality that few will ever want to believe. n=1 is irrelevant in this discussion.…
on “The Secret to a Happy Marriage: Do the Dishes, Put Out, Don’t Talk So Much” ↗…it. People do, of course. And that's not to say that that's wrong or something, either. But the expectation of total 'fidelity' for life is unreasonable. For more on this subject I recommend the book "Sex at Dawn."
on “Why Happy People Cheat” ↗…tribal lifestyle. However on the basis of suffering/misery it is actually the agriculturalists who are worse off. A great book that details this phenomenon was recently released for the public called Sex At Dawn.
on “Aerial footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe” ↗Proof that humans are not actually monogamous creatures. We are much more inline with open relationships than we think. Further reading: Sex at Dawn Further watching: Polyamory (HBO)
on “Hacked Adult FriendFinder database reveals extramarital affairs of millions” ↗> Most other cultures were the same way. Everyone having sex with everyone made for a pretty bad society. The opposite of true. I recommend "Sex at Dawn" for a good treatment of this topic https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Dawn-Stray-Modern-Relationships-e... TL;DR "Everyone having sex with everyone" pretty much maintained social cohesion in small societies…
on “Should Prostitution Be a Crime?” ↗Interesting. I've just finished reading Sex At Dawn which explores human sexuality from an evo-psych point of view, particularly the link between us and Bonobos. I have a healthy amount of skepticism about most evo-psych but the book made a very well…
on “One wife for 2-3 brothers: Polyandry custom fading in India” ↗The shortness of tribal people's lives has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, it's pure myth. The book Sex at Dawn demonstrates this using the latest anthropology and archaeology if you want to know more. Until recently, it was normal for tribal societies to live longer on average than agricultural societies. All…
on “Aerial footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe” ↗…objective and can be observed in the brain and well as inferred from other criteria. >No, they do not. Yes, they do. We can go back and forth like this all day or you can make a real argument. Read SEX AT DAWN and get back to me with your criticism of their anthropology. Based on your statements regarding happiness I'm going to tentatively conclude that you're one of the ignorant engineers who has little contact…
on “Aerial footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe” ↗