The history of human marriage

by Edward Westermarck

"The history of human marriage" by Edward Westermarck is a work published in 1891. This monumental anthropological study attempts a grand synthesis of marriage as a social institution across world history. Westermarck argues that marriage rests on biological foundations, evolving through human needs for companionship, economic cooperation, and child-rearing. The work also introduces what became known as the Westermarck effect—a theory explaining sexual desensitization among those raised in close proximity and the origins of incest taboos.