In its rawest form, the sexual marketplace of our early ancestors would’ve been one
where feminine hypergamy and Alpha dominance would’ve been more or less in balance.
Obviously men being the stronger sex would’ve forcibly put women into a weaker position in the earliest incarnations of the sexual marketplace, but also consider that men fought and killed each other for access to those breeding rights – short version; men were disposable.
As our species began to socialize, collectivize and cooperate, our earliest social conventions would’ve revolved around the environmental prompts and biological cues that were essential to the survival of their more feral ancestors.
The earliest form of proto Game would’ve been a sexual quid pro quo.
Can’t figure out how to seduce that hot, hunter-gatherer woman in the tribe? Save her ass from
being torn limb from limb by a saber tooth tiger and she’ll reciprocate her gratitude with open legs.
In other words, risk your life and women will reward you with sex in gratitude. Today that may not be a reality in practice, but it’s the deductive logic that’s led to the psychological internalization and the social doctrines that follow it.
It’s such a primal, male deductive-logic principle that’s worked so successfully, for so long, that social contingencies were evolved to both mitigate it and exploit it.
Don’t believe me?
Promise a young middle eastern girl 70 virgins in heaven and see if she’ll strap explosives to herself.