This book examines sexuality in the past, and explores how it helps explain sexuality in the present. The subject of sexuality is often a controversial one, and exploring it through a world history perspective emphasises the extent to which societies, including our own, are still reacting to historical change through contemporary sexual behaviours, values, and debates.The study uses a clear chronological structure to focus on major patterns and changes in sexuality - both sexual culture and sexual behaviours - in the main periods of world history, with comparison and discussion across cultures and societies. Topics covered in this title include: issues involved in studying the history of sexuality; the sexual implications of the transition from hunting and gathering economies to agricultural economies; sexuality in Classical societies, The post- Classical period, and the spread of the world religions Sex in an age of trade and colonies; and, changes in sexual behaviours and sexual attitudes between 1750 and 1950 Sex in contemporary world history. The book is a vital contribution to the study of world history, and is the perfect companion for all students of the history of sexuality.