Ryan is one of the very few Psychologists who actually 'get it'. Not only does he impart so much about out 'kind' in 'Sex at Dawn', his latest 'Civilized to Death' (2019) is even better in the broader sense; offering a perspective on our self-destructive way of life that goes beyond sexuality.

He has made our place 'out of Nature' much more understandable with a writing style that keeps pages of his book turning instead of pages in dictionaries trying to 'keep up' with more detailed coverage by archaeologists, anthropologists and ancient historians.

Thanks for the post. It points the way for those who are truly seeking to trail blaze and discover causes of world-wide societal dilemmas.

One of the biggest differences between human females and other simian species, sexually speaking, is that ALL of the monkeys and apes have estrus cycles, and humans don't. Simian females mate only during their estrus cycles, so for them, pregnancy is always a likely outcome when they have sex. They didn't choose this; nature did. In humans alone, the female seeks sex for pleasure, rather than procreation; the absence of the estrus cycle, and the role of the clitoris (a pleasure organ) is proof of this. Again, she didn't choose it, but the evolutionary pressure for women to have sex for pleasure must have been very great. The idea that early female humans became multiorgasmic to increase their chances of pregnancy is ludicrous. Sex became a bonding activity, not just for couples but for whole tribes, and my guess is that females had much more choice around pregnancy and motherhood than most male authors surmise.

This link totally ignores the fact that in all likelihood, prehistoric culture was matrilineal and matrifocal, meaning that it was not patriarchal in any way. Men did not get to set the agenda, sexually speaking. Rape was probably unknown in ancient times, and if women chose their own lovers, it seems likely that the best lovers would be chosen the most often. In patriarchy, it is female sexuality that is policed and controlled, and allowances have always been made, throughout history, to cater to male promiscuousness (a vicious word), in the form of prostitution, concubines, and so forth, at least for the elite and powerful men. Yes, women are capable of multiple orgasms, and lots of men are lousy lovers in this day and age, and take no responsibility for women's pleasure. What is the evolutionary advantage of that situation, do you suppose? Monogamy is certainly cultural, but it disadvantages women far more than men, since there is such a double standard at play. I read Sex at Dawn and loved it, but it is not the whole story.

"Sex at Dawn." a great book. I have so many pages dog-eared and lots of highlighted parts. There is another author: Cacilda Jethá. They are an interesting couple and a eye opening book.
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What a load of rubbish. Sexual jealousy only started with agriculture, get real.

That's total nonsense... Women, in general, are not as promiscious as men... And to make such extrapolations from the days of the caveman is absurd and causes me to think this guy is delusional...

Yikes