Final answer:
The statement that most marriages worldwide have been polygamous is false. Polygamy is culturally accepted in certain regions but is not the dominant practice globally, with monogamy being more widespread.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is false that around the world, most marriages have been polygamous. While polygamy is accepted in a majority of cultures, especially in regions such as northern Africa and east Asia, it is not the predominant marital practice globally. In societies where polygamy is accepted, polygynous marriages — where a man has multiple wives — are much more common than polyandrous ones, where a woman has multiple husbands. However, in many polygamous societies, only a small percentage of men actually have more than one wife, often due to issues of status, wealth, and resource availability.
Polygamy tends to be more common in societies with certain social, religious, or economic structures that favor the practice. For instance, the Negev Bedouins in Israel might have up to four wives, though two is more typical. Urbanization tends to lead to a decrease in the practice of polygamy due to increased access to mass media, technology, and education. Overall, while polygamy exists and is important to understand in a cultural context, monogamy remains the most widely practiced form of marriage worldwide.