Local biologist asserts rape is innate.

Byline: Lawrence Spohn lspohn@abqtrib.com / 823-3611

UNM professor claims this behavior has deep roots in human evolution

Rape is not typically the crime of male domination as it has been portrayed by sociologists and feminists in recent years, says a University of New Mexico biology professor.

Instead, UNM's Randy Thornhill and Colorado anthropologist Craig T. Palmer have developed a new theory that rape is a complex sexual crime with strong roots in human evolution.

Moreover, contend Thornhill and Palmer, rape "prevention efforts will founder until they are based on the understanding that rape evolved as a form of male reproductive behavior."

"We have to get real about rape," Thornhill said in an interview earlier this week.

The two scientists have co-authored an article entitled "Why Men Rape" in the current issue of the journal "The Sciences."

The journal is published by the New York Academy of …