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Abner N, Clarté G, Geraci C, Ryder RJ, Mertz J, Salgat A, Yu S. Computational phylogenetics reveal histories of sign languages. Science 2024; 383:519-523. [PMID: 38301028 DOI: 10.1126/science.add7766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Sign languages are naturally occurring languages. As such, their emergence and spread reflect the histories of their communities. However, limitations in historical recordkeeping and linguistic documentation have hindered the diachronic analysis of sign languages. In this work, we used computational phylogenetic methods to study family structure among 19 sign languages from deaf communities worldwide. We used phonologically coded lexical data from contemporary languages to infer relatedness and suggest that these methods can help study regular form changes in sign languages. The inferred trees are consistent in key respects with known historical information but challenge certain assumed groupings and surpass analyses made available by traditional methods. Moreover, the phylogenetic inferences are not reducible to geographic distribution but do affirm the importance of geopolitical forces in the histories of human languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Abner
- Department of Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Grégoire Clarté
- Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Centre de Recherche en Mathématiques de la Décision (CEREMADE), CNRS, UMR 7534, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Carlo Geraci
- Département d'Études Cognitives, Institut Jean-Nicod (ENS-EHESS-CNRS), PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Robin J Ryder
- Centre de Recherche en Mathématiques de la Décision (CEREMADE), CNRS, UMR 7534, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Justine Mertz
- Département d'Études Cognitives, Institut Jean-Nicod (ENS-EHESS-CNRS), PSL University, Paris, France
- Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle, CNRS, UMR 7110, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Anah Salgat
- Department of Linguistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Shi Yu
- Département d'Études Cognitives, Institut Jean-Nicod (ENS-EHESS-CNRS), PSL University, Paris, France
- Laboratoire de Phonétique et Phonologie, UMR 7018, CNRS, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3, Paris, France
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2
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Stanbrook E, Fitzpatrick JL, Balshine S, Shultz S. The evolution of monogamy in cichlids and marine reef fishes. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1045383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the emergence of social monogamy, its origin is still intensely debated. Monogamy has many potential drivers, but evolutionary causality among them remains unclear. Using phylogenetic comparative methods within a Bayesian framework we explored the evolution of monogamy in cichlids and in marine reef fishes because, while both groups are characterised by unusually high incidence of social monogamy, they face very different ecological challenges. For each group, we examined four classic hypotheses that explain the evolution of monogamy: female dispersal, male mate guarding, female–female intolerance, and the biparental care hypotheses. We also explored whether the ecological traits of diet and shelter use are evolutionarily coupled with these hypotheses or with monogamy. First, we found that the evolution of monogamy was predicted by male territoriality in cichlids and simultaneous male and female territoriality in marine reef fishes. We suggest that these results provide support for the male mate guarding hypothesis in cichlids and female–female intolerance hypothesis in marine reef fishes. Second, we demonstrate clear evidence against the biparental care hypothesis, as biparental care was a consequence, not a cause, of monogamy in our analyses. Third, as female dispersal drove the loss of monogamy in both cichlids and marine reef fishes, this suggests the female dispersal hypothesis is not driving the evolution of monogamy in either group. These findings in two highly-monogamous fish taxa largely support prior findings from primate and bird comparative studies and provide novel large-scale evidence for a link between mate guarding and the evolution of monogamy.
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3
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Ellis S, Johnstone RA, Cant MA, Franks DW, Weiss MN, Alberts SC, Balcomb KC, Benton CH, Brent LJN, Crockford C, Davidian E, Delahay RJ, Ellifrit DK, Höner OP, Meniri M, McDonald RA, Nichols HJ, Thompson FJ, Vigilant L, Wittig RM, Croft DP. Patterns and consequences of age-linked change in local relatedness in animal societies. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1766-1776. [PMID: 36163259 PMCID: PMC10423498 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01872-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ultimate payoff of behaviours depends not only on their direct impact on an individual, but also on the impact on their relatives. Local relatedness-the average relatedness of an individual to their social environment-therefore has profound effects on social and life history evolution. Recent work has begun to show that local relatedness has the potential to change systematically over an individual's lifetime, a process called kinship dynamics. However, it is unclear how general these kinship dynamics are, whether they are predictable in real systems and their effects on behaviour and life history evolution. In this study, we combine modelling with data from real systems to explore the extent and impact of kinship dynamics. We use data from seven group-living mammals with diverse social and mating systems to demonstrate not only that kinship dynamics occur in animal systems, but also that the direction and magnitude of kinship dynamics can be accurately predicted using a simple model. We use a theoretical model to demonstrate that kinship dynamics can profoundly affect lifetime patterns of behaviour and can drive sex differences in helping and harming behaviour across the lifespan in social species. Taken together, this work demonstrates that kinship dynamics are likely to be a fundamental dimension of social evolution, especially when considering age-linked changes and sex differences in behaviour and life history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Ellis
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | | | - Michael A Cant
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Michael N Weiss
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
- Center for Whale Research, Friday Harbor, WA, USA
| | - Susan C Alberts
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Claire H Benton
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, Lyon, France
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Eve Davidian
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Richard J Delahay
- National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Sand Hutton, York, UK
| | | | - Oliver P Höner
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
- Ngorongoro Hyena Project, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Magali Meniri
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Robbie A McDonald
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | | | - Faye J Thompson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Linda Vigilant
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifique, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Darren P Croft
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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4
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Kyritsis T, Matthews LJ, Welch D, Atkinson QD. Shared cultural ancestry predicts the global diffusion of democracy. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e42. [PMID: 37588939 PMCID: PMC10426017 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding global variation in democratic outcomes is critical to efforts to promote and sustain democracy today. Here, we use data on the democratic status of 221 modern and historical nations stretching back up to 200 years to show that, particularly over the last 50 years, nations with shared linguistic and, more recently, religious ancestry have more similar democratic outcomes. We also find evidence that for most of the last 50 years the democratic trajectory of a nation can be predicted by the democratic status of its linguistic and, less clearly, religious relatives, years and even decades earlier. These results are broadly consistent across three democracy indicators (Polity 5, Vanhanen's Index of Democracy, and Freedom in the World) and are not explained by geographical proximity or current shared language or religion. Our findings suggest that deep cultural ancestry remains an important force shaping the fortunes of modern nations, at least in part because democratic norms, institutions, and the factors that support them are more likely to diffuse between close cultural relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Luke J. Matthews
- RAND Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Faculty, Pardee RAND Graduate School, Santa Monica, California, USA
| | - David Welch
- Centre for Computational Evolution, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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5
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Ji T, Zhang H, Pagel M, Mace R. A phylogenetic analysis of dispersal norms, descent and subsistence in Sino-Tibetans. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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6
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Bentley RA, Moritz WR, Ruck DJ, O’Brien MJ. Evolution of initiation rites during the Austronesian dispersal. Sci Prog 2021; 104:368504211031364. [PMID: 34236926 PMCID: PMC10450758 DOI: 10.1177/00368504211031364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
As adaptive systems, kinship and its accompanying rules have co-evolved with elements of complex societies, including wealth inheritance, subsistence, and power relations. Here we consider an aspect of kinship evolution in the Austronesian dispersal that began from about 5500 BP in Taiwan, reaching Melanesia about 3200 BP, and dispersing into Micronesia by 1500 BP. Previous, foundational work has used phylogenetic comparative methods and ethnolinguistic information to infer matrilocal residence in proto-Austronesian societies. Here we apply Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to a data set on Austronesian societies that combines existing data on marital residence systems with a new set of ethnographic data, introduced here, on initiation rites. Transition likelihoods between cultural-trait combinations were modeled on an ensemble of 1000 possible Austronesian language trees, using Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (RJ-MCMC) simulations. Compared against a baseline phylogenetic model of independent evolution, a phylogenetic model of correlated evolution between female and male initiation rites is substantially more likely (log Bayes factor: 17.9). This indicates, over the generations of Austronesian dispersal, initiation rites were culturally stable when both female and male rites were in the same state (both present or both absent), yet relatively unstable for female-only rites. The results indicate correlated phylogeographic evolution of cultural initiation rites in the prehistoric dispersal of Austronesian societies across the Pacific. Once acquired, male initiation rites were more resilient than female-only rites among Austronesian societies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Damian J Ruck
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Advai Ltd, London, UK
| | - Michael J O’Brien
- Office of the Provost, Texas A&M University–San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
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7
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Sheard C, Bowern C, Dockum R, Jordan FM. Pama-Nyungan grandparent systems change with grandchildren, but not cross-cousin terms or social norms. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e30. [PMID: 35663513 PMCID: PMC7612801 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Kinship is a fundamental and universal aspect of the structure of human society. The kinship category of 'grandparents' is socially salient, due to grandparents' investment in the care of the grandchildren as well as to older generations' control of wealth and cultural knowledge, but the evolutionary dynamics of grandparent terms has yet to be studied in a phylogenetically explicit context. Here, we present the first phylogenetic comparative study of grandparent terms by investigating 134 languages in Pama-Nyungan, an Australian family of hunter-gatherer languages. We infer that proto-Pama-Nyungan had, with high certainty, four separate terms for grandparents. This state then shifted into either a two-term system that distinguishes the genders of the grandparents or a three-term system that merges the 'parallel' grandparents, which could then transition into a different three-term system that merges the 'cross' grandparents. We find no support for the co-evolution of these systems with either community marriage organisation or post-marital residence. We find some evidence for the correlation of grandparent and grandchild terms, but no support for the correlation of grandparent and cross-cousin terms, suggesting that grandparents and grandchildren potentially form a single lexical category but that the entire kinship system does not necessarily change synchronously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Sheard
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1TQ, UK
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1UU, UK
| | - Claire Bowern
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven. CT06520, USA
| | - Rikker Dockum
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven. CT06520, USA
| | - Fiona M. Jordan
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, BristolBS8 1UU, UK
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8
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Hrnčíř V, Duda P, Šaffa G, Květina P, Zrzavý J. Identifying post-marital residence patterns in prehistory: A phylogenetic comparative analysis of dwelling size. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229363. [PMID: 32092129 PMCID: PMC7039508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-marital residence patterns are an important aspect of human social organization. However, identifying such patterns in prehistoric societies is challenging since they leave almost no direct traces in archaeological records. Cross-cultural researchers have attempted to identify correlates of post-marital residence through the statistical analysis of ethnographic data. Several studies have demonstrated that, in agricultural societies, large dwellings (over ca. 65 m2) are associated with matrilocality (spouse resides with or near the wife’s family), whereas smaller dwellings are associated with patrilocality (spouse resides with or near the husband’s family). In the present study, we tested the association between post-marital residence and dwelling size (average house floor area) using phylogenetic comparative methods and a global sample of 86 pre-industrial societies, 22 of which were matrilocal. Our analysis included the presence of agriculture, sedentism, and durability of house construction material as additional explanatory variables. The results confirm a strong association between matrilocality and dwelling size, although very large dwellings (over ca. 200 m2) were found to be associated with all types of post-marital residence. The best model combined dwelling size, post-marital residence pattern, and sedentism, the latter being the single best predictor of house size. The effect of agriculture on dwelling size becomes insignificant once the fixity of settlement is taken into account. Our results indicate that post-marital residence and house size evolve in a correlated fashion, namely that matrilocality is a predictable response to an increase in dwelling size. As such, we suggest that reliable inferences about the social organization of prehistoric societies can be made from archaeological records.
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Affiliation(s)
- Václav Hrnčíř
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
- * E-mail:
| | - Pavel Duda
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Gabriel Šaffa
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
| | - Petr Květina
- Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Jan Zrzavý
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czechia
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9
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Micheletti AJC, Ruxton GD, Gardner A. The demography of human warfare can drive sex differences in altruism. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e7. [PMID: 37588371 PMCID: PMC10427324 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent years have seen great interest in the suggestion that between-group aggression and within-group altruism have coevolved. However, these efforts have neglected the possibility that warfare - via its impact on demography - might influence human social behaviours more widely, not just those directly connected to success in war. Moreover, the potential for sex differences in the demography of warfare to translate into sex differences in social behaviour more generally has remained unexplored. Here, we develop a kin-selection model of altruism performed by men and women for the benefit of their groupmates in a population experiencing intergroup conflict. We find that warfare can promote altruistic, helping behaviours as the additional reproductive opportunities winners obtain in defeated groups decrease harmful competition between kin. Furthermore, we find that sex can be a crucial modulator of altruism, with there being a tendency for the sex that competes more intensely with relatives to behave more altruistically and for the sex that competes more intensely with non-relatives in defeated groups to receive more altruism. In addition, there is also a tendency for the less-dispersing sex to both give and receive more altruism. We discuss implications for our understanding of observed sex differences in cooperation in human societies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto J. C. Micheletti
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St AndrewsKY16 9TH, UK
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole, 1 esplanade de l'Université, 31080 Toulouse Cedex 06, France
| | - Graeme D. Ruxton
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St AndrewsKY16 9TH, UK
| | - Andy Gardner
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dyers Brae, St AndrewsKY16 9TH, UK
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10
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Yang Y, Arnot M, Mace R. Current ecology, not ancestral dispersal patterns, influences menopause symptom severity. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:12503-12514. [PMID: 31788193 PMCID: PMC6875564 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
All human females who reach midlife experience menopause, however, it is currently unclear why women experience this period of infertility, and why it is accompanied by many unpleasant symptoms. Using primary data from four ethnic groups in China, we test an existing theory that age of menopause and its symptoms are the result of intragenomic conflict between maternally and paternally inherited genes, with the outcome of such conflict predicted to be contingent on the ancestral postmarital residence pattern of the female (Úbeda, Ohtsuki, & Gardner, Ecology Letters, 17, 2014, 165). The model predicts that being ancestrally patrilocal results in less intragenomic conflict, causing a shorter, less symptomatic perimenopause that terminates in a later menopause. Our findings show no support for this hypothesis and suggest current, rather than ancestral, residence patterns better predict aspects of the menopausal transition. Furthermore, current patrilocality when compared to duolocality is associated with more severe menopause symptoms, which may be due to sexual, rather than intragenomic, conflict. OPEN RESEARCH BADGES This article has earned an Open Data Badge for making publicly available the digitally-shareable data necessary to reproduce the reported results. The data is available at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.27s8k0p.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Megan Arnot
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Life SciencesLanzhou UniversityLanzhouChina
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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11
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Scelza BA, Prall SP, Levine NE. The disequilibrium of double descent: changing inheritance norms among Himba pastoralists. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180072. [PMID: 31303169 PMCID: PMC6664134 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Matrilineal systems in sub-Saharan Africa tend to co-occur with horticulture and are rare among pastoralists, with the causal arrow pointing from the introduction of cattle to the loss of matriliny. However, most work on this topic stems from either phylogenetic analyses or historical data. To better understand the shift from matrilineal to patrilineal inheritance that occurred among Bantu populations after the adoption of pastoralism, data from societies that are currently in transition are needed. Himba pastoralists, who practice 'double descent', may represent one such society. Using multi-generational ethnography and structured survey data, we describe current norms and preferences about inheritance, as well as associated norms related to female autonomy. We find that preferences for patrilineal inheritance are strong, despite the current practice of matrilineal cattle inheritance. We also find that a preference for patriliny predicts greater acceptance of norm violating behaviour favouring sons over nephews. Finally, we show that there are important generational differences in how men view women's autonomy, which are probably attributable to both changing norms about inheritance and exposure to majority-culture views on women's roles. Our data shed light on how systemic change like the shifts in descent reckoning that occurred during the Bantu expansion can occur. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke A. Scelza
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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12
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Moravec JC, Marsland S, Cox MP. Warfare induces post-marital residence change. J Theor Biol 2019; 474:52-62. [PMID: 31059717 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Post-marital residence is a sex-biased dispersal defined by the place where a newly-wed couple lives after marriage. Common choices for this practice include patrilocal residence, where the couple lives with the man's family, and matrilocal residence, where they live with the woman's family. Deviations from accepted practice typically invoke strong sanctions, but despite this pressure to conform to post-marital residence norms, residence states are unexpectedly dynamic over time. Theories have been proposed to explain the pressures, both internal and external, that drive these changes in post-marital residence state. Two of the most popular emphasize the importance of warfare, but are largely restricted to qualitative statements. Here, we develop an agent-based model that captures key features of these theories, with a particular focus on warfare. We show that warfare can change post-marital residence practices, but such change only propagates through a wider network of communities under a narrow set of conditions. Additional factors, potentially including a strong sex-bias in the division of labor, are required to induce change more widely. While warfare thus serves as an important trigger for residence change, multiple interacting forces appear to be necessary to shift communities between different post-marital residence states under most conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří C Moravec
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Group, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand; Te Pūnaha Matatini, New Zealand Complex Systems Research Centre, Centre of Research Excellence, New Zealand
| | - Stephen Marsland
- Te Pūnaha Matatini, New Zealand Complex Systems Research Centre, Centre of Research Excellence, New Zealand; School of Mathematics and Statistics, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Murray P Cox
- Statistics and Bioinformatics Group, School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand; Te Pūnaha Matatini, New Zealand Complex Systems Research Centre, Centre of Research Excellence, New Zealand.
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13
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Mattison SM, Quinlan RJ, Hare D. The expendable male hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180080. [PMID: 31303164 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Matriliny is a system of kinship in which descent and inheritance are conferred along the female line. The theoretically influential concept of the matrilineal puzzle posits that matriliny poses special problems for understanding men's roles in matrilineal societies. Ethnographic work describes the puzzle as the tension experienced by men between the desire to exert control over their natal kin (i.e. the lineage to which they belong) and over their affinal kin (i.e. their spouses and their biological children). Evolutionary work frames the paradox as one resulting from a man investing in his nieces and nephews at the expense of his own biological offspring. In both cases, the rationale for the puzzle rests on two fundamental assumptions: (i) that men are in positions of authority over women and over resources; and (ii) that men are interested in the outcomes of parenting. In this paper, we posit a novel hypothesis that suggests that certain ecological conditions render men expendable within local kinship configurations, nullifying the above assumptions. This arises when (i) women, without significant assistance from men, are capable of meeting the subsistence needs of their families; and (ii) men have little to gain from parental investment in children. We conclude that the expendable male hypothesis may explain the evolution of matriliny in numerous cases, and by noting that female-centred approaches that call into doubt assumptions inherent to male-centred models of kinship are justified in evolutionary perspective. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siobhán M Mattison
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
| | - Robert J Quinlan
- 2 Department of Anthropology, Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99163 , USA
| | - Darragh Hare
- 1 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 , USA
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14
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Shenk MK, Begley RO, Nolin DA, Swiatek A. When does matriliny fail? The frequencies and causes of transitions to and from matriliny estimated from a de novo coding of a cross-cultural sample. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20190006. [PMID: 31303165 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The question of when and why societies have transitioned away from matriliny to other types of kinship systems-and when and why they transition towards matriliny-has a long history in anthropology, one that is heavily engaged with both evolutionary theory and cross-cultural research methods. This article presents tabulations from a new coding of ethnographic documents from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), tallying claims of transitions in kinship systems both away from and to matriliny using various levels of stringency. We then use our counts as the outcome variables in a set of Bayesian analyses that simultaneously estimate the probability of a transition occurring given societal covariates alongside the conditional probability of detecting a transition given the volume of ethnographic data available to code. Our goal is to estimate the cross-cultural and comparative frequency of transitions away from and to matriliny, as well as to explore potential causes underlying these patterns. We find that transitions away from matriliny have been significantly more common than 'reverse transitions' to matriliny. Our evidence suggests that both rates may be, in part, an artefact of the colonial and globalizing period during which the data comprising much of the current ethnographic record were recorded. Analyses of the correlates of transitions away from matriliny are consistent with several of the key causal arguments made by anthropologists over the past century, especially with respect to subsistence transition (to pastoralism, intensive agriculture and market economies), social complexity and colonialism, highlighting the importance of ecological factors in such transitions. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary K Shenk
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - Ryan O Begley
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - David A Nolin
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
| | - Andrew Swiatek
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , 410 Carpenter Building , University Park , PA 16802 USA
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15
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Surowiec A, Snyder KT, Creanza N. A worldwide view of matriliny: using cross-cultural analyses to shed light on human kinship systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180077. [PMID: 31303161 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although matriliny and matrilocality are relatively rare in contemporary human populations, these female-based descent and residence systems are present in different cultural contexts and across the globe. Previous research has generated numerous hypotheses about which cultural traits are associated with the stability or loss of matrilineal descent. In addition, several studies have examined matrilineal descent with phylogenetic analyses; however, the use of language phylogenies has restricted these analyses to comparisons within a single language family, often confined to a single continent. Cross-cultural comparisons are particularly informative when they account for the relationships between widely distributed populations, as opposed to treating each population as an independent sample or focusing on a single region. Here, we study the evolution of descent systems on a worldwide scale. First, we test for significant associations between matriliny and numerous cultural traits that have been theoretically associated with its stability or loss, such as subsistence strategy, animal domestication, mating system, residence pattern, wealth transfer and property succession. In addition, by combining genetic and linguistic information to build a global supertree that includes 16 matrilineal populations, we also perform phylogenetically controlled analyses to assess the patterns of correlated evolution between descent and other traits: for example, does a change in subsistence strategy generally predict a shift in the rules of descent, or do these transitions happen independently? These analyses enable a worldwide perspective on the pattern and process of the evolution of matriliny and matrilocality. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Surowiec
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, TN 37240 , USA
| | - Kate T Snyder
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, TN 37240 , USA
| | - Nicole Creanza
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, TN 37240 , USA
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16
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Borgerhoff Mulder M, Towner MC, Baldini R, Beheim BA, Bowles S, Colleran H, Gurven M, Kramer KL, Mattison SM, Nolin DA, Scelza BA, Schniter E, Sear R, Shenk MK, Voland E, Ziker J. Differences between sons and daughters in the intergenerational transmission of wealth. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180076. [PMID: 31303159 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent interest lies in gender inequality, especially with regard to the favouring of sons over daughters. Economists are concerned with how privilege is transmitted across generations, and anthropologists have long studied sex-biased inheritance norms. There has, however, been no focused cross-cultural investigation of how parent-offspring correlations in wealth vary by offspring sex. We estimate these correlations for 38 wealth measures, including somatic and relational wealth, from 15 populations ranging from hunter-gatherers to small-scale farmers. Although small sample sizes limit our statistical power, we find no evidence of ubiquitous male bias, at least as inferred from comparing parent-son and parent-daughter correlations. Rather we find wide variation in signatures of sex bias, with evidence of both son and daughter-biased transmission. Further, we introduce a model that helps pinpoint the conditions under which simple mid-point parent-offspring wealth correlations can reveal information about sex-biased parental investment. Our findings are relevant to the study of female-biased kinship by revealing just how little normative descriptors of kinship systems, such as patrilineal inheritance, capture intergenerational correlations in wealth, and how variable parent-son and parent-daughter correlations can be. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of female-biased kinship in humans and other mammals'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mary C Towner
- 3 Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University Stillwater , Stillwater, OK , USA
| | - Ryan Baldini
- 2 Graduate Group in Ecology, University of California Davis , Davis, CA , USA
| | - Bret A Beheim
- 4 Department of Human Behavior, Ecology, and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology , Leipzig, Sachsen , Germany
| | | | - Heidi Colleran
- 6 Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History , Jena, Thüringen , Germany
| | - Michael Gurven
- 7 Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara, CA , USA
| | - Karen L Kramer
- 8 Department of Anthropology, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, UT , USA
| | - Siobhán M Mattison
- 9 Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM , USA
| | - David A Nolin
- 10 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA , USA
| | - Brooke A Scelza
- 11 Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles , Los Angeles, CA , USA
| | - Eric Schniter
- 12 Economic Science Institute Chapman University , CA 92866
| | - Rebecca Sear
- 13 Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine , London , UK
| | - Mary K Shenk
- 10 Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA , USA
| | - Eckart Voland
- 14 Institut fur Philosophie, Justus Liebig Universitat Giessen , Giessen, Hessen , Germany
| | - John Ziker
- 15 Department of Anthropology, Boise State University , Boise, ID , USA
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17
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Whiteley PM, Xue M, Wheeler WC. Revising the Bantu tree. Cladistics 2019; 35:329-348. [PMID: 34633697 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic methods offer a promising advance for the historical study of language and cultural relationships. Applications to date, however, have been hampered by traditional approaches dependent on unfalsifiable authority statements: in this regard, historical linguistics remains in a similar position to evolutionary biology prior to the cladistic revolution. Influential phylogenetic studies of Bantu languages over the last two decades, which provide the foundation for multiple analyses of Bantu sociocultural histories, are a major case in point. Comparative analyses of basic lexica, instead of directly treating written words, use only numerical symbols that express non-replicable authority opinion about underlying relationships. Building on a previous study of Uto-Aztecan, here we analyse Bantu language relationships with methods deriving from DNA sequence optimization algorithms, treating basic vocabulary as sequences of sounds. This yields finer-grained results that indicate major revisions to the Bantu tree, and enables more robust inferences about the history of Bantu language expansion and/or migration throughout sub-Saharan Africa. "Early-split" versus "late-split" hypotheses for East and West Bantu are tested, and overall results are compared to trees based on numerical reductions of vocabulary data. Reconstruction of language histories is more empirically based and robust than with previous methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Whiteley
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024-5192, USA
| | - Ming Xue
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024-5192, USA
| | - Ward C Wheeler
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, 200 Central Park West, New York, NY, 10024-5192, USA
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18
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Cronk L, Steklis D, Steklis N, van den Akker OR, Aktipis A. Kin terms and fitness interdependence. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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19
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Minocher R, Duda P, Jaeggi AV. Explaining marriage patterns in a globally representative sample through socio-ecology and population history: A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis using a new supertree. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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20
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Moravec JC, Atkinson Q, Bowern C, Greenhill SJ, Jordan FM, Ross RM, Gray R, Marsland S, Cox MP. Post-marital residence patterns show lineage-specific evolution. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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21
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Sookias RB, Passmore S, Atkinson QD. Deep cultural ancestry and human development indicators across nation states. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171411. [PMID: 29765628 PMCID: PMC5936893 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
How historical connections, events and cultural proximity can influence human development is being increasingly recognized. One aspect of history that has only recently begun to be examined is deep cultural ancestry, i.e. the vertical relationships of descent between cultures, which can be represented by a phylogenetic tree of descent. Here, we test whether deep cultural ancestry predicts the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) for 44 Eurasian countries, using language ancestry as a proxy for cultural relatedness and controlling for three additional factors-geographical proximity, religion and former communism. While cultural ancestry alone predicts HDI and its subcomponents (income, health and education indices), when geographical proximity is included only income and health indices remain significant and the effect is small. When communism and religion variables are included, cultural ancestry is no longer a significant predictor; communism significantly negatively predicts HDI, income and health indices, and Muslim percentage of the population significantly negatively predicts education index, although the latter result may not be robust. These findings indicate that geographical proximity and recent cultural history-especially communism-are more important than deep cultural factors in current human development and suggest the efficacy of modern policy initiatives is not tightly constrained by cultural ancestry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roland B. Sookias
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Samuel Passmore
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU, UK
| | - Quentin D. Atkinson
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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22
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Abstract
One of the defining trends of the Holocene has been the emergence of complex societies. Two essential features of complex societies are intensive resource use and sociopolitical hierarchy. Although it is widely agreed that these two phenomena are associated cross-culturally and have both contributed to the rise of complex societies, the causality underlying their relationship has been the subject of longstanding debate. Materialist theories of cultural evolution tend to view resource intensification as driving the development of hierarchy, but the reverse order of causation has also been advocated, along with a range of intermediate views. Phylogenetic methods have the potential to test between these different causal models. Here we report the results of a phylogenetic study that modeled the coevolution of one type of resource intensification-the development of landesque capital intensive agriculture-with political complexity and social stratification in a sample of 155 Austronesian-speaking societies. We found support for the coevolution of landesque capital with both political complexity and social stratification, but the contingent and nondeterministic nature of both of these relationships was clear. There was no indication that intensification was the "prime mover" in either relationship. Instead, the relationship between intensification and social stratification was broadly reciprocal, whereas political complexity was more of a driver than a result of intensification. These results challenge the materialist view and emphasize the importance of both material and social factors in the evolution of complex societies, as well as the complex and multifactorial nature of cultural evolution.
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23
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Abstract
Recent studies of the evolution of religion have revealed the cognitive underpinnings of belief in supernatural agents, the role of ritual in promoting cooperation, and the contribution of morally punishing high gods to the growth and stabilization of human society. The universality of religion across human society points to a deep evolutionary past. However, specific traits of nascent religiosity, and the sequence in which they emerged, have remained unknown. Here we reconstruct the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors in early modern humans using a global sample of hunter-gatherers and seven traits describing hunter-gatherer religiosity: animism, belief in an afterlife, shamanism, ancestor worship, high gods, and worship of ancestors or high gods who are active in human affairs. We reconstruct ancestral character states using a time-calibrated supertree based on published phylogenetic trees and linguistic classification and then test for correlated evolution between the characters and for the direction of cultural change. Results indicate that the oldest trait of religion, present in the most recent common ancestor of present-day hunter-gatherers, was animism, in agreement with long-standing beliefs about the fundamental role of this trait. Belief in an afterlife emerged, followed by shamanism and ancestor worship. Ancestor spirits or high gods who are active in human affairs were absent in early humans, suggesting a deep history for the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. There is a significant positive relationship between most characters investigated, but the trait “high gods” stands apart, suggesting that belief in a single creator deity can emerge in a society regardless of other aspects of its religion.
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24
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Kirby KR, Gray RD, Greenhill SJ, Jordan FM, Gomes-Ng S, Bibiko HJ, Blasi DE, Botero CA, Bowern C, Ember CR, Leehr D, Low BS, McCarter J, Divale W, Gavin MC. D-PLACE: A Global Database of Cultural, Linguistic and Environmental Diversity. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158391. [PMID: 27391016 PMCID: PMC4938595 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
From the foods we eat and the houses we construct, to our religious practices and political organization, to who we can marry and the types of games we teach our children, the diversity of cultural practices in the world is astounding. Yet, our ability to visualize and understand this diversity is limited by the ways it has been documented and shared: on a culture-by-culture basis, in locally-told stories or difficult-to-access repositories. In this paper we introduce D-PLACE, the Database of Places, Language, Culture, and Environment. This expandable and open-access database (accessible at https://d-place.org) brings together a dispersed corpus of information on the geography, language, culture, and environment of over 1400 human societies. We aim to enable researchers to investigate the extent to which patterns in cultural diversity are shaped by different forces, including shared history, demographics, migration/diffusion, cultural innovations, and environmental and ecological conditions. We detail how D-PLACE helps to overcome four common barriers to understanding these forces: i) location of relevant cultural data, (ii) linking data from distinct sources using diverse ethnonyms, (iii) variable time and place foci for data, and (iv) spatial and historical dependencies among cultural groups that present challenges for analysis. D-PLACE facilitates the visualisation of relationships among cultural groups and between people and their environments, with results downloadable as tables, on a map, or on a linguistic tree. We also describe how D-PLACE can be used for exploratory, predictive, and evolutionary analyses of cultural diversity by a range of users, from members of the worldwide public interested in contrasting their own cultural practices with those of other societies, to researchers using large-scale computational phylogenetic analyses to study cultural evolution. In summary, we hope that D-PLACE will enable new lines of investigation into the major drivers of cultural change and global patterns of cultural diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn R Kirby
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Geography & Planning, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Russell D Gray
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.,ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Simon J Greenhill
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Fiona M Jordan
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | | | - Hans-Jörg Bibiko
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Damián E Blasi
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Psycholinguistics Laboratory, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Carlos A Botero
- Department of Biology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Claire Bowern
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.,Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Carol R Ember
- Human Relations Area Files, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Dan Leehr
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, United States of America
| | - Bobbi S Low
- University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America.,University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
| | - Joe McCarter
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, United States of America
| | - William Divale
- York College, City University of New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Michael C Gavin
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
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25
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Guillon M, Mace R. A Phylogenetic Comparative Study of Bantu Kinship Terminology Finds Limited Support for Its Co-Evolution with Social Organisation. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0147920. [PMID: 27008364 PMCID: PMC4805278 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The classification of kin into structured groups is a diverse phenomenon which is ubiquitous in human culture. For populations which are organized into large agropastoral groupings of sedentary residence but not governed within the context of a centralised state, such as our study sample of 83 historical Bantu-speaking groups of sub-Saharan Africa, cultural kinship norms guide all aspects of everyday life and social organization. Such rules operate in part through the use of differing terminological referential systems of familial organization. Although the cross-cultural study of kinship terminology was foundational in Anthropology, few modern studies have made use of statistical advances to further our sparse understanding of the structuring and diversification of terminological systems of kinship over time. In this study we use Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods of phylogenetic comparison to investigate the evolution of Bantu kinship terminology and reconstruct the ancestral state and diversification of cousin terminology in this family of sub-Saharan ethnolinguistic groups. Using a phylogenetic tree of Bantu languages, we then test the prominent hypothesis that structured variation in systems of cousin terminology has co-evolved alongside adaptive change in patterns of descent organization, as well as rules of residence. We find limited support for this hypothesis, and argue that the shaping of systems of kinship terminology is a multifactorial process, concluding with possible avenues of future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrtille Guillon
- Human Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Ruth Mace
- Human Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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26
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Ji T, Zheng XD, He QQ, Wu JJ, Mace R, Tao Y. Kinship as a frequency dependent strategy. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:150632. [PMID: 26998333 PMCID: PMC4785984 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.150632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 01/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Humans divide themselves up into separate cultures, which is a unique and ubiquitous characteristic of our species. Kinship norms are one of the defining features of such societies. Here we show how norms of marital residence can evolve as a frequency-dependent strategy, using real-world cases from southwestern China and an evolutionary game model. The process of kinship change has occurred in the past and is also occurring now in southwestern China. Our data and models show how transitions between residence types can occur both as response to changing costs and benefits of co-residence with kin, and also due to the initial frequency of the strategies adopted by others in the population: patrilocal societies can become matrilocal, and neolocal societies can become duolocal. This illustrates how frequency-dependent selection plays a role both in the maintenance of group-level cultural diversity and in cultural extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Ji
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Centre for Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Xiu-Deng Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Centre for Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qiao-Qiao He
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Centre for Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jia-Jia Wu
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Ruth Mace
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Yi Tao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Centre for Computational and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China
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27
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Ross RM, Atkinson QD. Folktale transmission in the Arctic provides evidence for high bandwidth social learning among hunter–gatherer groups. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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28
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29
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Abstract
Music has been called "the universal language of mankind." Although contemporary theories of music evolution often invoke various musical universals, the existence of such universals has been disputed for decades and has never been empirically demonstrated. Here we combine a music-classification scheme with statistical analyses, including phylogenetic comparative methods, to examine a well-sampled global set of 304 music recordings. Our analyses reveal no absolute universals but strong support for many statistical universals that are consistent across all nine geographic regions sampled. These universals include 18 musical features that are common individually as well as a network of 10 features that are commonly associated with one another. They span not only features related to pitch and rhythm that are often cited as putative universals but also rarely cited domains including performance style and social context. These cross-cultural structural regularities of human music may relate to roles in facilitating group coordination and cohesion, as exemplified by the universal tendency to sing, play percussion instruments, and dance to simple, repetitive music in groups. Our findings highlight the need for scientists studying music evolution to expand the range of musical cultures and musical features under consideration. The statistical universals we identified represent important candidates for future investigation.
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