Eve's Seed

Robert S. McElvaine, a historian, combines evolutionary biology with history in this book, introducing a method he calls "biohistory." His central argument is that mistaken beliefs about the difference between the sexes and the power to reproduce, together with misleading sexual metaphors, have been among the most powerful forces shaping the past.

Rather than relying only on the conventional tools of historians, McElvaine draws on biology, anthropology, archaeology, mythology, religion, and popular culture. He traces how the interaction between humanity's evolutionary inheritance and shifting environments has influenced events from the era of hunter-gatherers up to the present day.

The approach is controversial on two fronts, both in its method and in its claim that developments in prehistory lowered the standing of men, placed women in a subordinate position, and still distort modern life. The book is likely to prompt debate.