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Cultural macroevolution matters.

Russell D Gray1,2,3, Joseph Watts4,5

  • 1Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena D-07745, Germany; gray@shh.mpg.de.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|July 26, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary biology methods can analyze large datasets to understand human social evolution. Ritual human sacrifice, not "Big Gods," causally promoted stratified societies.

Keywords:
Big Godscultural evolutionmacroevolutionphylogeneticsreligion

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary anthropology
  • Computational social science
  • Cultural macroevolution

Background:

  • Current research on cultural evolution primarily focuses on microevolutionary processes.
  • Large cross-cultural datasets are increasingly available, enabling macroevolutionary studies.
  • Biological evolutionary methods can be adapted for analyzing cultural change.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate how computational methods from evolutionary biology can address macroevolutionary questions in human social organization.
  • To investigate the roles of supernatural beliefs and ritual practices in the development of complex societies.
  • To address objections regarding the application of phylogenetic modeling to cultural evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing computational methods derived from evolutionary biology.
  • Analyzing large-scale cross-cultural datasets.
  • Applying phylogenetic modeling to cultural traits and social structures.

Main Results:

  • The presence of 'Big Gods' correlates with political complexity but does not causally drive it in Austronesian societies.
  • Ritual human sacrifice causally promotes and sustains the evolution of stratified societies by reinforcing elite power.
  • Phylogenetic modeling of cultural evolution does not necessitate assumptions of gene-like inheritance or species-like cultures.

Conclusions:

  • Computational evolutionary biology offers powerful tools for understanding major transitions in human social history.
  • Ritual human sacrifice played a significant role in the development of social stratification.
  • Careful application of phylogenetic methods enhances the evolutionary science of human history.