History of Human Marriage

Edward Westermarck, a Finnish sociologist, philosopher, and anthropologist, challenged the prevailing view of early human society. Instead of promiscuity, he theorized that the original form of human sexual attachment was monogamy. His influential work, The History of Human Marriage (1891), posited that primitive marriage was rooted in the needs of the nuclear family, which he considered the fundamental unit of society.1

Westermarck's ideas contrasted with earlier anthropological theories that suggested group marriage was common in early human development, evolving through stages from sexual license to monogamy. However, later anthropologists largely discarded these evolutionary theories, viewing group marriage as a rare phenomenon.2