How Did Marriage Develop in the West

Another ancient institution with us today is marriage. While many think marriage is a natural state in human societies, the reality is its history is complex in its early development and the fact we see multiple types of marriage systems, including monogamous and polygamous marriages, indicates different developments around the world. Marriage systems have often been related to the development of land, property, and other assets, as marriage also relates to inheritance and establishing the future for households. In Western regions, this is no different, although over time, for most of our history over the last two thousand years, marriage had become more narrowly defined than it initially was.

Origins of Marriage

It is not clear when exactly marriage became part of normal human social behavior. In early evolution of modern humans, it is likely, although not certain, that bands formed revolved around family relationships where there was one dominant male and one or more females that were partners with the male. What is clear is that marriage today is universal in every type of society, including hunter-gatherers. This suggests that it is something that developed long ago in our history. However, it is also clear that its evolution is complex. Studies do not always agree, but early marriage may have included polygamous, usually polygyny relationships often conducted by a more dominant male, and monogamous for most other relationships. Using modern hunter-gatherer groups, arranged marriages are among the most common, where the bride and groom are exchanged. Marriage serves to regulate not only sexual behaviour, in a socially acceptable format, but it also seems to serve as a way for bands and groups to introduce new wives and males and thus allow small groups to more diversify their genetic makeup.