How did people work out that sex can = baby???

[TweeBee]

Just pondering this with DH and thought some wise MNers might know.
So presumably in early human history, not everyone who had unprotected sex became pregnant, like now. However the earliest sign of pregnancy is missing a period which would be maybe 2 weeks after sex during a fertile period and how aware were early humans of the regularities of the menstrual cycle? I'm guessing it was perhaps less regular due to variable nutritional intake etc.
And then it's say 8-9 months after sex you may have a baby.
So how did people work out that you can't have a baby without sex but you don't always get a baby from sex?
Does anyone know?

I would have thought working out you can't have a baby without sex would have been one of the easier ones given they effectively come out the same way they went in, IYSWIM!

Eggs and wheat. That's a whole other level. And recipes, e.g. sponge cake and baking.

There is a great book called Sapiens if you haven't already read it. It talks about evolution and how fire was the biggest discovery (cooking potatoes)

When baking I often wonder how it was discovered that eggs, flour, sugar and butter make a delicious combination when cooked.

I read something similar about gay men having a specific role during evolution as men who were physically strong enough to defend women left at home (in caves?) but would pose no threat to the alpha males by trying to have sex with them, and that’s how homosapiens the dominant species above Neanderthals

i have a gay friend who is adamant it’s true!

Puff pastry. Who the hell worked that out?

Mine was how did we go from picking cotton in a field, to making clothes

I'm glad it's not just me who ponders about these things. Who was the first person to see a fire and think it might be a good idea to put their food near it. Or was it and accident and they ate it anyway and realised how much better it tasted.

Science innit.

Certain foods would be because other animals ate them.

Then people just experimented. Eat something in one form get ill, don't eat it again. Eat it don't get ill, eat again and try it in a different form.

I just think that people must have been curuous and very intelligent.

The whole sex thing, I would imagine it's because other animals did the same and had young. Same with milk. Women would know they bleed regularly, linked to the moons phrase, and didn't when pregnant.

why would you get ill and then think 'oh I'll try it another way'

Desperation I assume?

don’t forget these people didn’t have MN or a smartphone slowing them down 😄

Or killing a silk worm larvae (I think it is) and working out that in boiling water the bits become strands and you can spin those into something and weave it and make clothing

How on earth?

I always thought the wheel was the greatest invention?

I suspect I may have got that from the film Shirley Valentine 🙈

I’m not sure how people worked it out, but I think some historians believe that it wasn’t known for a long time and that’s why so many early images of goddesses have been found… people thought they made babies alone.

Then, once people clicked that men play a part in the process, more images of male gods were made and became more important.

But there are so many variations, some women do bleed during pregnancy, some dont bleed when they're not pregnant, some babies are born early, others later, I suppose over many thousands of years the pattern is clearer

Fermented things always baffle me, kimchi, doenjang, miso, pickles etc how was someone like I will yeet these soybeans or this cabbage into a pot and not eat it for months and it's going to taste good and not kill us/wasted all our food.

My favourite book series of all time! Have read it many times and yes it is a bit ridiculous that on one hand you have a series of books that is obviously extensively researched for historical accuracy of land type, animal life, preservation techniques, medicine....

On the other hand the one central character basically invented or discovered every major invention/discovery to progress civilisation 😂

Lying on your straw bale in your home cave, racked with stomach cramps, barely moving and think 'I might give them a soak next time'!!!!

Some of favourite books, those! Might have to re-read!

Well no not whilst you were feeling off.

but a few days later if you/the kids are hungry. Right, I’m not doing x again, but how about if I soak them first?

it’s plausible.

also, they would be used to much greater degrees of pain and discomfort than we are. No dentistry, no paracetamol, no health and safety etc..etc….

Yes. Least someone might, someone with a scientific brain.They reason the soaking might remove whatever made them ill.

There is actually evidence of th original Nomads to have a dominat gene that links with adhd.

I’ve read them all and skipped any thing in italics lol

i reckon I could have built a spear thrower myself by the end of the books

did quite fancy a baby lion as a pet too

Love the book sapiens.

🤦‍♀️

Really? That is so interesting. I thought my DC was being their usual lovable quirky self and thought it would be an interesting fiction story, but evidence would be really cool.

Why would early people need to know that sex can make babies though?

They would just follow their instincts to have sex and babies would eventually appear. But as long as the humans are having sex, pregnancies will occur whether they're planned for or not.

I should imagine family planning is a relatively modern concept, and I doubt early humans were having sex for the purpose of having babies - they did it because it felt good, and that's how the species continued, just like in the animal kingdom.