FAITHFUL APES
Desmond Morris has fun with a consistent evolutionary view of the pair-bond development of males and females and our inconsistent attempts to maintain our “evolutionary progress” — Male and female hunting apes had to fall in love and remain faithful to one another. It meant that the females remained bonded to their individual males and faithful to them while they were away on the hunt. Rivalries between males were reduced which aided in developing co- operativeness. One-male-one-female breeding unit meant that the offspring also benefited. In this way, the females were sure of their males’ support and were able to devote themselves to their maternal duties. The males were sure of their females’ loyalty, were prepared to leave them for hunting, and avoided fighting over them. And the offspring were provided with the maximum of care and attention. This certainly sounds like an ideal solution, but it involved a major change in primate socio- sexual behavior, and, as we shall see later,…
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