000			02980cam a2200217 a 4500
001			002217
005			20231009192009.0
008			190109s1996 nyua b 001 0 eng
010			_a96010803
020			_a9780553096941
050	0	0	_aGN484.3 _b.T39 1996
082	0	0	_a306.7 TAY
100	1		_aTaylor, Timothy, 1960-
245	1	4	_aThe prehistory of sex _b: four million years of human sexual culture _c/ Timothy Taylor
260			_aNew York _b: Bantam Books _c, 1996.
300			_axi, 353 p. _b: ill. _c; 25 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [301]-341) and index.
520			_aThis lively and provocative book leaves no stone unturned and no taboo untouched as it pieces together evidence from highly controversial artifacts and human remains to decipher the mysteries of Stone Age sex. Archaeologist Timothy Taylor paints a dramatic and startling picture of our sexual evolution as he follows human sexuality from its origins four million years ago to modern times to answer our most titillating questions about this endlessly fascinating and powerful subject. Taylor draws on recent archaeological discoveries such as skeletons of Amazon women, golden penis sheaths, the charred remains of aphrodisiac herbs, and a wealth of prehistoric erotic art to trace practices such as contraception, homosexuality, transsexuality, prostitution, sadomasochism, and bestiality back to their ancient origins. He makes the startling claim that although humans have used contraceptives from the very earliest times to separate sex from reproduction, techniques to maximize population growth were developed only when farming began--a revolution involving control of animals' sex lives, widespread oppression of women, and an attitude to nature that continues to have devastating ecological consequences. He draws the radical conclusion that the evolution of our species has been shaped not only by the survival of the fittest but by the very sexual choices our ancestors made. And he links ancient sexuality with our own in a contemporary survey of artificial insemination, surrogate pregnancies, drag queens, brothels, pornography, and the spectre of racial dominance. How has human sexuality changed--and how has it remained the same--over the span of millions of years? How did the ideas of eroticism, ecstasy, immortality, and beauty become linked to sex? Taylor explores these questions and sets out to prove that our sexual behavior is and has always been a matter of choice rather than something genetically determined. He eloquently and accessibly explains how our sexual politics--issues of gender and power, control and exploitation--are not new but are deeply rooted in our prehistory. Surely one of the most illuminating and controversial books on human sexuality ever written, The Prehistory of Sex invites readers to become voyeurs into the bizarre--and so far hidden--prehistoric sexual world.
650		4	_aSex customs _x-History
942			_cMO
999			_c223196 _d223196