ABSTRACT
The institution of marriage has undergone such rapid and far-reaching changes in recent times that reliable information about modern marriage is sparse. The age of marriage has been moving upward while the age of puberty has been moving downward, thus lengthening the period of life in which people are sexually mature yet unmarried. Strong marriage systems of the past have been accompanied by a high degree of sexual restriction, especially of women's sexuality. The historical record indicates that if women are economically able to raise children without men they will often do so; and that, without marriage, men will stray from their children. Marriages of the past typically were held together by strong bonds of economic dependency between husbands and wives, religious meaning, extended family solidarity, and societal approval, all based around the importance of reproduction and childrearing. In every society throughout history, except under abnormal circumstances, husbands have been the primary breadwinners and wives have been the primary childrearers.
