The Baby Makers: How Knowing That Sex Leads to Babies Changed Human Evolutionary History

A single idea radically changed our species' biology and culture--reproductive consciousness (i.e., understanding that sex leads to babies) was the real "big bang" in our evolutionary past. No other species knowingly has sex for procreation except for humans and our prehistoric hominin predecessors. Reproductive consciousness truly sets human sex apart and had perhaps a bigger impact on human culture than any other idea or discovery. That is the theme of this lively, entertainingly written examination of how our understanding of sex and its consequences has profoundly shaped nearly every aspect of civilization. Examining evidence from both primatology and paleolithic anthropology, anthropologist Holly Dunsworth convincingly argues that humans are the only species with the insight that sex leads to children. In terms of human culture, she shows that the byproducts of knowing about the birds and the bees are marriage rites, adultery laws, inheritance, engagement rings, chaperones, and our flair for flirting, just to name a few. Human reproductive consciousness has also greatly influenced other species through the ingenious ways that humans have controlled the reproduction, and guided the evolution, of animals, plants, and even fungi and bacteria. Finally, she explores how romantic love, fatherhood, and the choice not to have children are all gifts of reproductive consciousness. While everyone knows that sex is important, The Baby Makers will make you realize just how profoundly influential and sweeping our understanding of sex really has been.