The Prehistory of Sex: Four Million Years of Human Sexual Culture

by Timothy Taylor

Book Overview

This 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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055309694X
• ISBN13: 9780553096941
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Captures The Broad Scope Of Human Sexuality

In "The Prehistory of Sex" Timothy Taylor, a British archaeologist, offers readers a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight concerning human evolution and sexuality. He covers a large time period, ranging from the hominid australopithecines of 4 million BC to the farming societies of 10,000 BC and most everything in between. Far from being "politically correct," as he was accused of by a previous reviewer, I found Taylor to be an objective scholar in search of the truth. For example, he did suggest that hunter-gatherer societies were generally less restrictive and patriarchal than farming societies, a view that most other anthropologists and archaeologists would agree with. But he also disputed feminists claims for a "Great Earth Mother" worshipping matriarachy in the Neolitic period. In other words, Taylor strikes me a serious scholar in search of the facts rather than someone seeking only to justify his own subjective political opinions. However, the major focus of this book is really about human sexuality and Taylor offers substantial archaeological proof that human culture has always exhibited a tremendous diversity of sexual expression, including transvestism, homosexuality, ritual sex, group sex and even beastiality (including an ancient Siberian on skis attempting to copulate with a moose). For those interested in a serious study of the diversity of human sexuality and how it relates to human culture and human nature this book is an excellent reading selection.

You Need An Open Mind

Great read. Some radical ideas so you need an open mind. If you are stuborn (like the world is not round) then this book is not for you. I liked it.

fantastic book for encouraging interest in the subject!

I found this book very enjoyable. There were some arguments and theories that I found questionable, but overall the book was a fantastic read. The author's style made it very easy and enjoyable to read. As I attempt to make the move from reading archeological and anthropological books in the classroom, to reading for them for pleasure, I found this book to be a great place to start.

Enlightening arguments; very readable.

I've read a number of books on this subject, including Desmond Morris' various books from the '70's and Reay Tannahill's excellent _Sex in History._ This one really surprised me with a few revelations. It's also not bad for an introduction to prehistoric anthropology in general. Taylor is argumentative -- he refutes some earlier writers, including Morris -- but his challenges are thought-provoking.