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The cooperative breeding perspective helps in pinning down when uniquely human evolutionary processes are necessary
Judith Maria Burkart1, Carel P van Schaik2
1Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich. Judith.Burkart@aim.uzh.ch
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|August 27, 2016
Summary
Cultural group selection explains societal shifts, but not human hyper-cooperation. Cooperative breeding offers a complementary explanation, highlighting its role in fostering prosociality and communication in early humans.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Anthropology
- Human Origins
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Cultural group selection (CGS) explains recent human societal changes.
- CGS struggles to explain the evolution of human hyper-cooperativeness compared to other apes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To integrate the cooperative breeding hypothesis with CGS.
- To explain the evolutionary origins of human hyper-cooperation.
Main Methods:
- Comparative evidence analysis.
- Review of Pleistocene hominin behavioral traits.
Main Results:
- Cooperative breeding promotes proactive prosociality.
- Evidence suggests cooperative breeding enhanced social transmission and communication.
Conclusions:
- The cooperative breeding hypothesis complements CGS.
- Cooperative breeding may be key to understanding human hyper-cooperation's evolutionary roots.
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