Where did monogamy come from?

Question

What made humans believe that they should be monogamous? With the divorce rate as high as it is and such, it is hard to believe that we are supposedly born to be monogamists. Did religion push this belief or what?

Also, can anyone recommend me some books about Monogamy? Something informative about its role and such. Thanks.

Answer 1

Monogamy is a result of our own culture.  It has alot to do with religion and our own rise of social complexity.

Answer 2

It was invented by divorce lawyers so they could be rich.

Answer 3

Human females are one of the only mammals that don’t undergo specific periods of "heat" where they are receptive towards males. Generally human females can have s*x at any time of the year. There are consequences to having s*x and that is bearing and caring for children. For males this consequence is much lower as one male has to use very little energy to impregnate a female. Females have evolved in turn to attract males to help them care for their offspring. A male however would not invest time and energy in a female he thought was having s*x with many other males because he could no be sure that those children were his own. Females in turn have evolved and adapted to being sexually receptive at all times to better secure a mate and to be monogamous so that that male could be sure those children were his own, this would ensure that he would help care for them.

Answer 4

I looked up history of marriage ceremonies before and it had to do with the Catholic church wanting to keep track of people and solve social conflict. The church enforced the ceremony because women were being stolen causing many problems. With a ceremony, the marriage was made public and anyone that objected with the marriage could speak up beforehand.  It was done to simplify society.

"Many modern cultures have passed laws making social monogamy the only legal form of marriage. The passage of such laws in many cases reflects the spread of Christianity. Christianity itself picked its value from Greco-Roman culture[citation needed], though it's not clear why they had it ."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_o...

Answer 5

Well I'm not that familiar in detail with monogamy but I just gonna guess that it came from human nature when man deemed themselves as superior over woman. I guess it comes from man's primitive need to posses

The most known monogamy in U.S. would obviously be the ranches owned by Warren Jeffs, I know the Mormons use to practice it, and ancient Chinese emperors would have many wives.

I don't really think monogamy has that much to do with infidelity and inability to stay in a marriage, since many people they see monogamy as very foreign and somewhat odd. So i doubt it's because they are attract to the idea of this life style that they seek to change mates. In my opinion if people compromise more they can stay together, after all it's not impossible (but it can be hard).

Answer 6

Monogamy arose with the advent of city-living, within the past ten thousand years. It was a way for many people to live in close-quarters, in a more civilized manner!

When we were exclusively nomadic hunter/gatherers, roaming the earth, in search of better natural resources, human tribes were led by an "Alpha" male & female, much like packs of wolves do!

The Alphas make all the decisions, and get first choice in mating, eating, etc...