Gene-culture Coevolution Research Articles

Ritual Ecology and Sirigu Mural Paintings: Interrogating the Intersection of Art and Culture

This theoretical research study utilizes qualitative case study research methods to explore the intersection of art and culture in the context of Sirigu mural paintings, a unique art form found in the Upper East region of Ghana. Drawing on the concept of ritual ecology, the study investigates the cultural significance of these paintings and their role in local ritual practices. Through in-depth interviews with artists, community members, and cultural experts, as well as participant observation and visual analysis, the study examines the ways in which Sirigu mural paintings embody and reflect local cultural traditions. The study also analyzes the artistic techniques and materials used in creating the paintings, highlighting the importance of artistic skill and innovation in the production of cultural artifacts. Drawing on theories of cultural identity and cultural transmission, the study examines the ways in which Sirigu mural paintings are passed down through generations and how they contribute to the maintenance and preservation of local cultural practices. Again, the study explores the challenges and opportunities for sustaining cultural heritage in the face of globalization and modernization. The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between art and culture, and the ways in which cultural practices and traditions are embodied and expressed through artistic forms. Lastly, the study provides insights into the role of artistic innovation and intergenerational transmission in preserving cultural heritage, and the challenges and opportunities for sustaining cultural traditions in a rapidly changing world.

Diversity of MIS 3 Levallois technology from Motravulapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India‐implications of MIS 3 cultural diversity in South Asia

The chronology and hominin association of the South Asian Middle Palaeolithic have attracted much attention in the last few decades. The emergence of Middle Palaeolithic culture in the region has been debated between the local origins (behavioural change) model based on an early date around 380 ka and the diffusion (biological change) model based on Homo sapiens dispersals from Africa around 120–80 ka. The latter has more consensus, whereas the former requires a more robust chronological framework to attribute the emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic to behavioural changes. In the absence of hominin remains, the presence of Middle Palaeolithic technological trajectories are frequently used as behavioural markers of Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens fossil remains from the regions between Africa and South Asia dated to ∼ 200 ka presents more convincing support for the latter model. Here we present contextual, chronological and technological analysis of Middle Palaeolithic assemblages dated to 52 ka from Motravulapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India. Morphometrical analysis of the lithic assemblage indicates diverse Levallois core reductions were practised at the site at the onset of MIS 3. Further this evidence highlights the significance of MIS 3 cultural diversity in South Asia, likely related to changing population dynamics, cultural drift, and the highly variable climatic context of MIS 3.

FC39: The influence of social constructivism on children and young adults perspectives of parental young onset dementia: A thematic analysis of the narratives

Background:Western countries have a significant cohort of children (≤ 18) and young adults who live with a parent with a life limiting condition. Children and young adults’ perspectives of certain parental illnesses have been well documented. However, the perspectives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia tend to be absent from the academic literature. Older adult children have reported on the impact parental young onset dementia, however, there is a necessity for research with younger adult children and children under the age of eighteen in relation to their perspectives of the condition.Objectives:Utilizing cultural transmission theory, the current research explored if the social and cultural perspective influences the narratives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia.Methods:One-to-one interviews were held with children and younger adults (n = 17: 29·41% male) who currently live with (or have lived with) a parent with a formal diagnosis of young onset dementia (with various subtypes). The participants ranged in age from 14 to 33 years old (x̅ = 21·18 years) with n = 6 eighteen years of age or younger (x̅ = 16·17 years). Participant narratives were analyzed using inductive qualitative thematic analysis.Results:Detailed thematic analysis of the participant narratives uncovered five main themes (with related subthemes); making sense; lack of representation; threat to the family system; life has completely changed; systemic psycho-social support and education.Conclusion:It is clear from the current data that the social and cultural perspective can significantly influence the narratives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia. Children are faced with more responsibility, shifting roles, changing relationships, and may be forced to postpone educational or employment plans. Furthermore, the social perception of dementia as can act as a barrier to children and young adults accessing and using health and social care providers.

Multilevel Bayesian analysis of monk parakeet contact calls shows dialects between European cities.

Geographic differences in vocalizations provide strong evidence for animal culture, with patterns likely arising from generations of social learning and transmission. Most studies on the evolution of avian vocal variation have predominantly focused on fixed repertoire, territorial song in passerine birds. The study of vocal communication in open-ended learners and in contexts where vocalizations serve other functions is therefore necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of vocal dialect evolution. Parrots are open-ended vocal production learners that use vocalizations for social contact and coordination. Geographic variation in parrot vocalizations typically take the form of either distinct regional variations known as dialects or graded variation based on geographic distance known as clinal variation. In this study, we recorded monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) across multiple spatial scales (i.e., parks and cities) in their European invasive range. We then compared calls using a multilevel Bayesian model and sensitivity analysis, with this novel approach allowing us to explicitly compare vocalizations at multiple spatial scales. We found support for founder effects and/or cultural drift at the city level, consistent with passive cultural processes leading to large-scale dialect differences. We did not find a strong signal for dialect or clinal differences between parks within cities, suggesting that birds did not actively converge on a group level signal, as expected under the group membership hypothesis. We demonstrate the robustness of our findings and offer an explanation that unifies the results of prior monk parakeet vocalization studies.

Punctuated equilibrium at 50: Anything there for evolutionary anthropology? Yes; definitely.

The theory of punctuated equilibrium (PE) was developed a little over 50 years ago to explain long-term, large-scale appearance and disappearance of species in the fossil record. A theory designed specifically for that purpose cannot be expected, out of the box, to be directly applicable to biocultural evolution, but in revised form, PE offers a promising approach to incorporating not only a wealth of recent empirical research on genetic, linguistic, and technological evolution but also large databases that document human biological and cultural diversity across time and space. Here we isolate the fundamental components of PE and propose which pieces, when reassembled or renamed, can be highly useful in evolutionary anthropology, especially as humanity faces abrupt ecological challenges on an increasingly larger scale.

Agentic processes in cultural evolution: relevance to Anthropocene sustainability

Humans have evolved culturally and perhaps genetically to be unsustainable. We exhibit a deep and consistent pattern of short-term resource exploitation behaviours and institutions. We distinguish agentic and naturally selective forces in cultural evolution. Agentic forces are quite important compared to the blind forces (random variation and natural selection) in cultural evolution and gene-culture coevolution. We need to use the agentic policy-making processes to evade the impact of blind natural selection. We argue that agentic forces became important during our Pleistocene history and into the Anthropocene present. Human creativity in the form of deliberate innovations and the deliberate selective diffusion of technical and social advances drove this process forward for a long time before planetary limits became a serious issue. We review models with multiple positive feedbacks that roughly fit this observed pattern. Policy changes in the case of large-scale existential threats like climate change are made by political and diplomatic agents grasping and moving levers of institutional power in order to avoid the operation of blind natural selection and agentic forces driven by narrow or short-term goals. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolution and sustainability: gathering the strands for an Anthropocene synthesis’.

303 The influence of social constructivism on children and young adults perspectives of parental young-onset dementia

Abstract Background Western countries have a significant cohort of children (≤ 18) and young adults who live with a parent with a life limiting condition. Children and young adults perspectives of certain parental illnesses have been well documented. However, the perspectives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia tend to be absent from the academic literature. Older adult children have reported on the impact parental young onset dementia, however, there is a necessity for research with younger adult children and children under the age of eighteen in relation to their perspectives of the condition. Utilising cultural transmission theory, the current research explored if the social and cultural perspective influences the narratives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia. Methods One-to-one semi-structured interviews were held with children and younger adults (n = 17) who currently live with (or have lived with) a parent with a formal diagnosis of young onset dementia (with various subtypes). The participants ranged in age from 14 to 33 years old (mean = 21·18 years old). Participant narratives were analysed using inductive qualitative thematic analysis. Results Five main themes (with related subthemes) emerged from the narratives: (1) Making sense, (2) Lack of representation, (3) Threat to the family system, (4) Life has completely changed, (5) Systemic psychosocial support and education. Conclusion It is clear from the current data that the social and cultural perspective can significantly influence the narratives of children and younger adults of parental young onset dementia. Children are faced with more responsibility, shifting roles, changing relationships, and may be forced to postpone educational or employment plans. Furthermore, the social perception of dementia as can act as a barrier to children and young adults accessing and using health and social care providers.

Are genetic drift and stem cell adherence in laboratory culture issues for cultivated meat production?

Mesenchymal stem cell-based cultivated meat is a promising solution to the ecological and ethical problems posed by traditional meat production, since it exhibits a protein content and composition that is more comparable to original meat proteins than any other source of cultivated meat products, including plants, bacteria, and fungi. Nonetheless, the nature and laboratory behavior of mesenchymal stem cells pose two significant challenges for large-scale production: genetic drift and adherent growth in culture. Culture conditions used in the laboratory expose the cells to a selective pressure that causes genetic drift, which may give rise to oncogene activation and the loss of "stemness." This is why genetic and functional analysis of the cells during culture is required to determine the maximum number of passages within the laboratory where no significant mutations or loss of function are detected. Moreover, the adherent growth of mesenchymal stem cells can be an obstacle for their large-scale production since volume to surface ratio is limited for high volume containers. Multi-tray systems, roller bottles, and microcarriers have been proposed as potential solutions to scale-up the production of adherent cells required for cultivated meat. The most promising solutions for the safety problems and large-scale obstacles for cultivated meat production are the determination of a limit number of passages based on a genetic analysis and the use of microcarriers from edible materials to maximize the volume to surface proportion and decrease the downstream operations needed for cultivated meat production.

Fast cultural evolution of Crossbill (Loxia spp.) calls in the Palaearctic

Learned vocal signals of birds provide one of the most comprehensive sources of evidence for culture in animals. Such vocal signals often vary spatially and temporally. Signal variation can be driven by direct factors such as cultural drift and selection or by indirect factors such as changes in the environment, which may affect morphology and therefore acoustic capability. In this study we analysed flight and excitement calls of several call types of the Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra and other crossbill species. Calls were recorded between 1962 and 2019 across the Palaearctic region. We measured acoustic similarity within flight and excitement calls and modelled the size of the effect attributed to temporal and geographical distance. Geographical distance between different sampling locations explained less call variation compared with temporal distance, and temporal variation within the excitement calls was smaller than in the flight calls. We conclude that calls of most call types of Red, Scottish and Parrot Crossbill are an example of cultural evolution. We suggest that excitement calls are less modifiable because they can serve better in dangerous situations when they are stable in time and space. In addition, we found no clear support for increasing or decreasing flight call similarity of call types while or after being in contact, as found in another study from North America. The reasons for the cultural evolution in calls of Palaearctic crossbills remain unclear.

Agent-based models of the cultural evolution of occupational gender roles.

The causes of sex differences in human behaviour are contested, with 'evolutionary' and 'social' explanations often being pitted against each other in the literature. Recent work showing positive correlations between indices of gender equality and the size of sex differences in behaviour has been argued to show support for 'evolutionary' over 'social' approaches. This argument, however, neglects the potential for social learning to generate arbitrary gender segregation. In the current paper we simulate, using agent-based models, a population where agents exist as one of two 'types' and can use social information about which types of agents are performing which 'roles' within their environment. We find that agents self-segregate into different roles even where real differences in performance do not exist, if there is a common belief (modelled as priors) that group differences may exist in 'innate' competence. Facilitating role changes such that agents should move without cost to the predicted highest-rewards for their skills (i.e. fluidity of the labour market) reduced segregation, while forcing extended exploration of different roles eradicated gender segregation. These models are interpreted in terms of bio-cultural evolution, and the impact of social learning on the expression of gender roles.

Quantum Leaps in Human Biocultural Evolution and the Relationship to Cranial Capacity.

The evolution of the genus Homo can only be understood by considering both of the inheritance systems that interact to shape human nature: biology and culture. While growing intellectual abilities are a key factor of human evolution, they are rarely contrasted with cultural progress. Cranial capacity data of 193 hominin fossils from the last seven million years and artefacts of increasing number and complexity in the archaeological record are used to demonstrate the concordant progression of brain-size increase and cultural development, starting approximately two million years ago. Our biocultural evolution shows a number of quantum leaps along the time axis applying to both domains. At first, humans left the canonical evolutionary pathway, which pertains to all other organisms, by enhancing their fitness using sophisticated tools and fire; secondly, they turned into a symbolic species; and finally, humanity now faces a new challenge: "intentional evolution". Chronologically, these quantum leaps correspond to cranial capacity data used here as a proxy for cognitive performance. This contribution tries to demonstrate this parallel development and argues for a simple and generalized model of human biocultural evolution. An extrapolation of the model into the future shows that humans, as biological entities, will not necessarily persist.

Advances in the Economic Theory of Cultural Transmission

In this article we survey recent advances in the economic theory of cultural transmission. We highlight three main themes on which the literature has made great progress in the last 10 years: the domain of traits subject to cultural transmission; the microfoundations for the technology of transmission; and feedback effects between culture, institutions, and various socioeconomic environments. We conclude by suggesting interesting areas for future research.

Time alters urban singing strategies in a North American songbird

AbstractLocal habitats shape animal vocalizations through selection to improve transmission of signals to receivers. This process can be variable, however, when landscapes are changing continuously due to urbanization or other factors. Studies have shown that some birds alter the frequency, amplitude and structure of their songs in urban habitats. Because songbirds learn their songs from other individuals, this cultural transmission can result in substantial change over time. Urban bird populations may therefore show rapid shifts in song form and variation may result from the combined or interacting effects of time and anthropogenic habitat change. In this study, we used historic and recent song recordings to investigate changes in spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus) songs over 45 years across an urban-to-rural gradient in northern California. We found that pre-trill and trilled song parts covaried differently with urban development at the two time-points, with more change occurring in trill phrases than pre-trills. Additionally, we found that birds in 1970 adjusted trills in urban areas by raising maximum frequencies and broadening bandwidths, while birds in 2015 narrowed song bandwidths by decreasing maximum frequencies in more urban areas. These results did not fit our prediction that urbanization would have a consistent effect on song at two time-points. We suggest that habitat, cultural evolution and cultural drift can act on song elements in complicated ways that vary over time.

Towards the Multistage Ecosocial Theory of Glottogenesis: Modern Evolutionary Concepts, Principles, and Extension of the Nomological Approach

In recent decades, studies of the origin of language have seen shifts toward multistage concepts, explanations based on social and ecological patterns, and the integration of different levels of analysis (from behavioral practices to gene structures). The article develops these ideas. It aims to streamline and integrate evolutionary concepts and principles, suggest a special explanatory methodology. The models of gene-culture coevolution (Wilson et al.) and cultural drive (Laland et al.) are connected with the functionalist model of homeostatic dynamics and development (A. Stinchcombe). The conceptual core of the theory consists of the “zone of nearest evolutionary development,” “concern (need),” “providing structure,” “magic wand.” The formulated fundamental principles — a kind of "universal laws" of glottogenesis — draw on a rich intellectual tradition in biology and macrosociology. A priori rules fix the conditions of each new complexity stage of glottogenesis emergence. The main difficulty lies in justifying and explaining these stages. Moreover, the data obtained in archaeology, paleoanthropology, paleoclimatology, and paleogenetics are indirect. The extended variant of nomological explanation (C. Hempel) allows “on the industrial basis” to construct theoretical hypotheses and check them with the help of modern observations, comparisons, and experiments. Justified by this way, regularities connected logically with various indirect paleoscientific data can explain the main stages of early language evolution.

The Science of Emotion: Mind, Body, and Culture

In this paper, I give readers an idea of what some scholars are interested in, what I found interesting, and what may be of future interest in the philosophy of emotion. I begin with a brief overview of the general topics of interests in the philosophy of emotion. I then discuss what I believe to be some of the most interesting topics in the contemporary discourse, including questions about how philosophy can inform the science of emotion, responses to aspects of the mind–body problem, and concerns about perception, cognition, and emotion, along with questions about the place of 4E approaches and meta-semantic pluraliste approaches in the embodied cognitive tradition. I also discuss the natural kind–social construction debate in the philosophy of emotion, the emerging field of cultural evolution, the import of a dual-inheritance theory in this emerging field, and I propose a possible way to integrate the frameworks of dual-inheritance theory and meta-semantic pluralisme to demonstrate at least one way in which the philosophy of emotion can contribute to the emerging field of cultural evolution. I conclude with a brief summary of this paper and note at least one significant implication of my proposal for the natural kind–social construction debate in the philosophy of emotion.

Reflections of manual labor in the hand entheses of early industrial women workers with extensively documented life histories

AbstractObjectivesSex‐based occupational variability constitutes a fundamental component of human behavior and a major focus of research focusing on biocultural evolution. However, the reliability of reconstructing physical activity in past women is often compromised by the lack of female skeletal collections with adequately documented lifetime occupations, domestic living conditions, medical records, and socioeconomic status. Here, we attempt to reconstruct habitual manual activity in a skeletal sample of early industrial women with uniquely archived life histories.Materials and MethodsWe rely on the application of our “Validated Entheses‐based Reconstruction of Activity” method on the hand skeletons of 38 extensively documented individuals from the Basel‐Spitalfriedhof collection. Our comparisons also include 40 documented males from the same collection.ResultsAs expected, we found evidence of increased entheseal variability among women sharing the same unspecialized occupation (maids and factory workers). Moreover, certain entheseal patterns were almost exclusive to the men involved in occupations not associated with the female sex (mainly construction workers). Importantly, all six women known to have practiced more specific occupational activities (e.g., seamstresses) showed distinctive entheseal patterns, seemingly associated with more demanding physical practices. This within‐sex variation was not correlated with differences in biological age, estimated body size, socioeconomic status, relatedness, or the presence of reported children.DiscussionOur findings directly reflect the rich historical sources on the working lives of low‐status women in early industrial Basel. These results highlight the high potential value of our documented sample as a reference basis for reconstructing the division of labor in bioarchaeological contexts.

Review: Rubens in Repeat: The Logic of the Copy in Colonial Latin America, by Aaron M. Hyman; Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820, by Maya Stanfield-Mazzi

Review: <i>Rubens in Repeat: The Logic of the Copy in Colonial Latin America</i>, by Aaron M. Hyman; <i>Clothing the New World Church: Liturgical Textiles of Spanish America, 1520–1820</i>, by Maya Stanfield-Mazzi

How Gene–Culture Coevolution can—but Probably did not—Track Mind-Independent Moral Truth

AbstractI argue that our general disposition to make moral judgments and our core moral intuitions are likely the product of social selection—a kind of gene–culture coevolution driven by the enforcement of collectively agreed-upon rules. Social selection could potentially track mind-independent moral truth by a process that I term realist social selection: our ancestors could have acquired moral knowledge via reason and enforced rules based on that knowledge, thereby creating selection pressures that drove the evolution of our moral psychology. Given anthropological evidence that early humans designed rules with the conscious aim of preserving individual autonomy and advancing their collective interests, the theory of realist social selection appears to be attractive for moral realists. The goal of evolutionary debunking arguments should be to show not that our moral beliefs are the product of natural selection, but that realist social selection did not occur.

Coastal adaptations on the eastern seaboard of South Africa during the Pleistocene and Holocene? Current evidence and future perspectives from archaeology and marine geology

The use of marine resources and the settlement of coastal settlements may have influenced the bio-cultural evolution and dispersal of PleistoceneHomo sapiensin Africa. In order to test such scenarios, however, we require evidence for these behaviours deriving from an expanded spatio-temporal archaeological record. The Stone Age of South Africa documents the richest and longest record of coastal adaptations. In contrast to abundant evidence of coastal sites on the western and southern seaboard, the eastern Indian Ocean coast has not played a role in recent discussions. Considering the important and well-known Middle and Later Stone Age (MSA/LSA) record from inland sites of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), this region may be an underappreciated area for further study. Here we provide a systematic overview of marine resource use and the settlement of coastal landscapes during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in KZN. For the first time, we contextualize these archaeological findings with a review and new data on the changing marine and coastal geomorphology in the context of GIS modelling and offshore marine geophysical investigations. Our review finds evidence for long-term dietary and non-dietary use of marine resources during the MSA and LSA from a few stratified sites, with many more surface occurrences particularly for the MSA along the modern KZN coastline indicating human habitation. Comparisons to other areas of South Africa, GIS modelling and geological considerations suggest that current data on the eastern seaboard are not reflective of the original extent and nature of the consumption of marine foods and settlement of coastal landscapes. By contextualizing the biased and patchy MSA and LSA record with results on the dynamic marine and coastal geomorphology of KZN, we develop productive lines of future studies to assess open questions on potential coastal adaptations in this region. These research strategies include the identification of areas with high potential for finding new sites within a 10 km transect along the current coastline as well as dedicated off-shore projects including underwater archaeology aided by new marine geological work in the southwest Indian Ocean.

Ortholog genes from cactophilic Drosophila provide insight into human adaptation to hallucinogenic cacti

Cultural transformations of lifestyles and dietary practices have been key drivers of human evolution. However, while most of the evidence of genomic adaptations is related to the hunter-gatherer transition to agricultural societies, little is known on the influence of other major cultural manifestations. Shamanism is considered the oldest religion that predominated throughout most of human prehistory and still prevails in many indigenous populations. Several lines of evidence from ethno-archeological studies have demonstrated the continuity and importance of psychoactive plants in South American cultures. However, despite the well-known importance of secondary metabolites in human health, little is known about its role in the evolution of ethnic differences. Herein, we identified candidate genes of adaptation to hallucinogenic cactus in Native Andean populations with a long history of shamanic practices. We used genome-wide expression data from the cactophilic fly Drosophila buzzatii exposed to a hallucinogenic columnar cactus, also consumed by humans, to identify ortholog genes exhibiting adaptive footprints of alkaloid tolerance. Genomic analyses in human populations revealed a suite of ortholog genes evolving under recent positive selection in indigenous populations of the Central Andes. Our results provide evidence of selection in genetic variants related to alkaloids toxicity, xenobiotic metabolism, and neuronal plasticity in Aymara and Quechua populations, suggesting a possible process of gene-culture coevolution driven by religious practices.