Human beings are not descended from apes. We are apes.So says Christopher Ryan, co-author of the book 'Sex at Dawn', at this funtime TED talk.
Turns out our sexual antics are closely related to those of our closest relatives -- chimps and notorious lust monsters the bonobos (gorillas barely have sex at all). Why? We all have big hanging balls.
Stay with me.
Says Ryan, having testicles hanging out there means we are built for 'frequent and spontaneous ejaculation'. And we do this primarily for social reasons, not reproduction.
Ryan also argues that our human societies were once collectivist, back in the hunter-gatherer days, and this included sexual sharing. Once we settled down to farm and invented the idea of property, and exclusivity, we twisted that nature -- but it is still there.
Watch Ryan's talk after the jump:
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