Source: Yuri Arcurs / Getty
These days we think of marriage as a special bond between two people, but a new study reveals it was originally thought up as a practical way to avoid contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
According to The Daily Mail,
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada used a computer simulation to find when agriculture facilitated a population boom it meant outbreaks of STIs would be more prolonged, harming women’s fertility and giving monogamy an evolutionary advantage over what was previously a polygamous lifestyle. Researcher and mathematician Professor Chris Bauch and his colleagues believe this encouraged prehistoric humans to remain in stable, faithful relationships which in turn lead to the institution of marriage. Bauch adds, “This research shows how events in natural systems, such as the spread of contagious diseases, can strongly influence the development of social norms and in particular our group oriented judgments.”
Well, that makes sense.
