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Hunter-gatherer multilevel sociality accelerates cumulative cultural evolution
Andrea B Migliano1,2, Federico Battiston3, Sylvain Viguier2
1Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Science Advances
|March 12, 2020
Summary
Multilevel sociality, seen in human groups, speeds up cultural evolution. This social structure in hunter-gatherer bands may explain human adaptability and global expansion.
Area of Science:
- Human evolutionary biology
- Social network analysis
- Cultural evolution
Background:
- Multilevel sociality is common in human societies, but its impact on cultural evolution is not well understood.
- Understanding social structures is key to explaining human adaptability and expansion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how multilevel sociality influences cumulative cultural evolution.
- To analyze the role of social networks in cultural transmission among Agta hunter-gatherers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized wireless sensing technology to map social networks within and between Agta hunter-gatherer camps.
- Simulated the accumulation of cultural innovations on real-world Agta social network data.
Main Results:
- Multilevel sociality significantly accelerates cultural differentiation.
- The study demonstrates that complex social structures enhance cumulative cultural evolution.
Conclusions:
- Hunter-gatherer social structures, characterized by family clustering, kinship-based transmission, and intercamp mobility, facilitate cultural adaptation.
- These social dynamics may have been crucial for the global expansion of Homo sapiens, even in low-density populations.
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