This is another example of the futility of using current cultural frames of
reference to theorize about the distant past.
In many HG groups the one male one female sexual exclusivity does not exist.
There is usually some form of family pairing, however, it is the female that
frequently seeks out other partners (many times covertly).  This is seen in
Chimpanzee groups.  Chimpanzee females will seek out males from other groups
when the are in heat.  There different theories as to why this happens,
however, it can be assumed that there is an evolutionary benefit to the
practice.
If a male is brutal, a female can hurt him when he is sleeping (As Ms. Bobbit
knows).
Humans are group creatures, we don't survive well on our own.  It doesn't
make evolutionary sense to assume that people would be very violent and
brutal within their own groups.
In an agricultural society there is a focus on possessions (women being one
of then).  This focus on possessions will create violence to aquire and
protect them.
The men also wanted their property to be transferred to their children. A
woman knows who her children are and a man has to create situations to ensure
it. In the hunter-gatherer groups too much property is a burden.  There is
also no overwhelming need to know who fathered who.  The group had to sustain
and protect itself.



<< Yes but from what I can gather the authors are explicitly challenging the
 conventional wisdom that rape is primarily about violence (or a result of
 chaotic or overcrowded conditions). In their view rape is primarily about
 males forcing women to have sex because they are driven to have sex, at
 least in the prehistoric world. This is one of the reasons the theory is so
 controversial.

 The authors point out that most rape victims are young women of childbearing
 age, and hypothesize that rape is therefore a genetic adaptation for bearing
 children. I see nothing implausible about the theory that strong successful
 serial rapists will have more children than weak unsuccessful rapists and
 non-rapists. >>