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Simulating trait evolution for cross-cultural comparison.

Charles L Nunn1, Christian Arnold, Luke Matthews

  • 1Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. cnunn@oeb.harvard.edu

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Phylogenetic methods, used in cultural anthropology, may be unreliable due to horizontal trait transmission. Simulation models show horizontal transmission can inflate errors and obscure evolutionary signals, highlighting the need for method validation in cross-cultural studies.

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Area of Science:

  • Anthropology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Computational Social Science

Background:

  • Cross-cultural anthropologists increasingly employ phylogenetic methods to analyze cultural variation.
  • Phylogenetic methods were originally developed for vertically transmitted biological traits, raising questions about their applicability to horizontally transmitted cultural behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the appropriateness of phylogeny-based methods for studying group-level cultural variation.
  • To investigate the impact of horizontal transmission on phylogenetic analyses of cultural traits.

Main Methods:

  • Development and utilization of a spatially explicit simulation model to generate cultural data with controlled horizontal transmission.
  • Review of previous findings on the effects of horizontal transmission on phylogenetically independent contrasts.
  • Investigation of homology measures (consistency and retention indices) for detecting horizontal cultural transmission.

Main Results:

  • Horizontal transmission increases the Type I error rate of phylogenetically independent contrasts, particularly when traits are linked.
  • Horizontal transmission may be less problematic for unlinked traits.
  • High evolutionary rates impact homology measures more than high horizontal transmission rates, meaning low indices do not solely indicate 'ethnogenesis'.

Conclusions:

  • Phylogenetic methods require careful validation when applied to cultural data exhibiting horizontal transmission.
  • Simulation studies are crucial for understanding the limitations and appropriate application of phylogenetic tools in cross-cultural research.
  • Homology measures should be interpreted cautiously in the context of potential horizontal cultural transmission.