is polyamory making a come back with humans?

According to a 2011 paper, early humans began to shift towards monogamy around 3.5 million years ago. However, the species never evolved to be 100% monogamous. 

Fossil evidence suggests that monogamy predates even Ardipithecus ramidus, a 4.4-million-year-old partial female skeleton. 

Recent anthropological data suggests that the modern concept of life-long monogamy has only been in place for the last 1,000 years. 

In Israel, the Second Temple period, from 515 B.C.E. to 70 C.E., brought about widespread monogamy. Men began to pledge their fidelity to their first wife and polygyny in the area was reduced. 

Scientists at University College London believe monogamy emerged so males could protect their infants from other males in ancestral groups who may kill them in order to mate with their mothers. 

Today's human population is descended from twice as many women as men. I think this difference is the single most underappreciated fact about gender. To get that kind of difference, you had to have something like, throughout the entire history of the human race, maybe 80% of women but only 40% of men reproduced.

According to a 2023 Gallup poll, nearly a quarter of Americans think it is morally acceptable for a married person to have more than one spouse at the same time. This is an increase from 5% in 2006. 

Polygamy is rare in the United States and Canada, especially in the West. However, it has recently made a comeback due to popular TV shows that show a positive side to it. 

Polygamy is illegal in most countries, and laws that allow it are primarily found in the Middle East and Africa. However, some cultures accept polygamy, such as some Islamic, Hindu, and even Christian countries.

According to a 2012 study, the X/A ratio for bonobos is 0.85, which means that on average, two females reproduce for each male. 

However, in bonobo communities, a few males monopolize reproduction. For example, one study found that the most sexually successful male fathered 60% of the next generation. Another study found that the most reproductively successful male in bonobos achieves 62% of paternities, which is higher than in 

chimpanzees

According to NCBI, male mountain gorillas who achieve alpha status have large reproductive payoffs. In one-male groups, the alpha male sires all offspring. In multimale groups, the alpha male sires about 85% of offspring.

According to Nature, only 52% of male savannah 

baboons ever father an infant. The number of infants sired by these males varies from 1 to 16. 

According to Psychology Today, hookup culture has been widely documented and is widely documented. Some say that hookup culture can do more harm than good. 

Here are some ways that hookup culture can hurt women: 

• Mental health
  

  Studies show that women are more likely than men to experience mental distress, low self-esteem, and regret after hookups. Research also shows that women associate hooking up with high regret and disgust.
  
• Emotional needs
  

  Health experts worry that hookups can negate young women's emotional needs.
  
• Sexually transmitted diseases
  

  Health experts worry that hookups can put young women at an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
  
• Unprepared for relationships
  

  Health experts worry that hookups can leave young women unprepared for lasting relationships.
  
• Unfulfilling script
  

  Some say that hookup culture has enslaved college-age women to a cultural script that is unfulfilling and leads to higher levels of anxiety and depression.
  
• Attitudes toward future relationships
  

  Hookup behavior may influence attitudes toward future romantic relationships.
  
• Gender inequality
  

  Sociology professor Elizabeth Armstrong asserts that the patriarchy plays a role in hookup culture. Armstrong says that men are often socialized to disrespect and even dislike women.