Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution

Female human evolution and its role in human history are central to the book. Since the beginning of evolutionary science, people have tended to look at human evolution from a male perspective, focusing on how male hominins have evolved into male humans. However, Bohannon asserts that the female sex has been leading human evolution for millions of years, and she clarifies that it is critically important to understand the history of the female body in evolutionary terms to understand the evolutionary disaster to come if female individuals continue to face sexism and gender-based limitations. Human evolution has depended on humans’ female ancestors developing the traits and tools that allowed them and their descendants to have healthy babies and find food. The evolution of the female body has contributed to the growth of humanity and the continuing evolution of the race in seven major ways: the formation of breast milk and nipples; the development of the uterus and childbirth; the heightening of senses; bipedalism; toolmaking in the form of weapons, eating tools, and gynecology; language and communication; and menopause.

Mammals’ development of lactation and humans’ development of nipples and raised breasts were essential to the growth of the human species and the nurturing of young. Milk gives mammalians protection against harmful bacteria that various non-mammalian species do not have and treats “both the desiccation and the immunological problem in one go” (32). Milk feeds them and helps them grow strong while also strengthening their immune systems against pathogens. The importance of milk and nipples for humans also explains why even male humans have nipples. Though many might perceive male nipples as “an evolutionary leftover that no longer serves any purpose” (52), Bohannon disagrees with this and shows evidence that male individuals have the potential to breastfeed. She also states that “men have nipples largely because women have nipples” (54), rejecting the male-as-default model common in science and medicine. Female mammals also developed the womb to better protect their babies from bacteria by delivering them from a hole separate from the one(s) they use to remove waste. They also developed wombs to better protect their gestating offspring from predators and provide them with the warmth and moisture they need.

When humanity’s ancestors became primates, their senses developed so that females would have heightened senses of hearing, smell, and sight. This allowed them to better hear their babies, smell important scents, and detect good fruit and plants that they could eat. This has persisted in modern female humans, whose senses are still more astute than male humans as a rule. Bohannon even believes that tetrachromacy could be a promising evolutionary trait in female humans, saying that people with this trait have “eyes like birds” (161). She also credits female evolution with the development of bipedalism, stating that it is Ardi’s, and female individuals’, endurance that has allowed bipedalism in humans to thrive as a species trait. She states that the evolution of legs is about endurance and being able to “survive in the suck” (185).

Additionally, female hominins’, and the rest of the race’s, endurance has also allowed the development of tools. Female development of tools to prepare and cut food and hunt have been essential to hominins’ survival, but gynecology was perhaps the most important tool. Gynecology and female cooperation have allowed female hominins to manipulate their reproduction to best fit them and help them produce healthy babies. This allowed hominins to grow larger brains and develop into Homo sapiens. With these larger brains, female humans were able to use language and communication and share it with their babies. This allowed those babies to grow up with the same cognitive skills. The other important development was menopause, which allowed non-reproducing older female individuals to guide their communities and use their wisdom and life experiences to tackle problems such as famine, disease, and disputes.

Because female evolution shaped human development, the author asserts that science must not ignore the role female hominins and humans have in the species’ history. A core conclusion of Bohannon’s work is that because the Eves created humanity, neglecting female health, especially reproductive health, will have disastrous consequences for the species, stagnating or even having a negative effect on the progression of human evolution. Bohannon elevates the importance and relevance of the female body, and this educational information about female individuals’ historical significance plays a crucial role in her plan of action—to take back freedoms and societal roles that a patriarchal society has limited.