Monogamy

"The history of monogamy is rooted in the major human shift from hunter-gatherer societies to the agricultural revolution around 10,000 years ago. With settled farming, male labor became essential, and land inheritance gained importance, leading to the rise of patriarchy. As communities grew more established, the focus on inheritance and property rights created a need to control lineage to ensure resources stayed within a family. This marked a shift from more communal, flexible relationships—where paternity was less relevant, as children were raised collectively—to stricter, monogamous unions where men’s lineage and control over women’s sexuality became central. 

As societies grew larger and more hierarchical, lineage became critical for stable governance, with power transferring from ruler to offspring. Too many heirs often led to conflict, so a controlled family structure became essential. With the expansion of empires like Rome, and later through European colonization, the importance of regulating family structures only intensified. Religion then reinforced these ideas, framing monogamy as the “moral” standard and embedding it deeply into social expectations. Today, nearly every culture has adopted monogamy as the norm, often forgetting its origins in controlling resources and power rather than any inherent truth about relationships."