Abstract
It has been suggested that the human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI). But there is disagreement about how to apply the ETI framework to our species, and whether culture is implicated as either cause or consequence. Long-term gene-culture coevolution (GCC) is also poorly understood. Some have argued that culture steers human evolution, while others proposed that genes hold culture on a leash. We review the literature and evidence on long-term GCC in humans and find a set of common themes. First, culture appears to hold greater adaptive potential than genetic inheritance and is probably driving human evolution. The evolutionary impact of culture occurs mainly through culturally organized groups, which have come to dominate human affairs in recent millennia. Second, the role of culture appears to be growing, increasingly bypassing genetic evolution and weakening genetic adaptive potential. Taken together, these findings suggest that human long-term GCC is characterized by an evolutionary transition in inheritance (from genes to culture) which entails a transition in individuality (from genetic individual to cultural group). Thus, research on GCC should focus on the possibility of an ongoing transition in the human inheritance system.
Highlights
The human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) [1,2,3,4,5,6]
We review research and evidence on the human ETI to clarify the roles of culture and genes in a human evolutionary transition
The evidence from the types of gene–culture coevolution (GCC) we have considered suggests that the greater adaptive capacity of culture typically determines the outcome of GCC, whether the trait is cultural and the system genetic or whether the trait is genetic and the system cultural
Summary
The human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI) [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Powers et al [4] argue that society has experienced multiple evolutionary transitions in the emergence of large, complex, cooperative societies facilitated by the human ability to create institutions, which make cooperation individually beneficial and facilitate division of labour From this perspective, cultural ETIs may occur quite readily, but the implications for genetic and biological organization are unclear and under-developed. Patterns in long-term GCC point to an evolutionary transition in both inheritance and individuality (ETII) from genetic individuals to cultural groups
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