| 1. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Group size and cultural complexity
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 511:7507, s. E1-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A decade ago, Henrich1 proposed group size as a driver of cultural complexity. Derex et al now present experimental results they say support this ‘group size hypothesis’ by seemingly showing that larger groups perform better than smaller groups under imitation-based cultural evolution. Our reanalysis of their experimental data, however, shows that larger groups actually perform worse than smaller groups. Thus, contrary to their claim, their data are consistent with empirical evidence discounting the group size hypothesis for non-food producing societies.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Claes, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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The evolution of cultural complexity: Not by the treadmill alone
- 2016
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Ingår i: Current Anthropology. - : University of Chicago Press. - 1537-5382 .- 0011-3204. ; 57:3, s. 261-286
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Among the drivers and constraints on the evolution of complex hominin culture that have been proposed throughout the years, demographic factors have been particularly persistent, and they have recently again come to gain traction in the literature in the shape of the so-called treadmill model. The treadmill model connects cultural complexity to group size via a need to constantly “outrun a treadmill of cultural loss,” whose backward motion is caused by errors in culture transmission. The entrenchment of the treadmill explanation of cultural complexity, however, takes place against a background of critiques of the model and the presence of other explanatory propositions. This creates a need for deentrenchment: wider integration, elaboration, and critique of the premises of the treadmill model and the evidence advanced to validate it. We begin by reviewing the treadmill model, making an assessment of its current status, and then moving on to a more synthetic proposition by placing the model into the context of other models addressing the elaboration of cultural complexity. We end by considering the broader implications for the study of the evolution of culture and of human behavior to be gained from more integrated modeling of the various factors affecting cultural complexity.
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| 3. |
- Read, Dwight, et al.
(författare)
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Cultural complexity and complexity evolution
- 2020
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Ingår i: Adaptive Behavior. - : SAGE Publications. - 1059-7123 .- 1741-2633. ; 28:5, s. 329-358
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review issues stemming from current models regarding the drivers of cultural complexity and cultural evolution. We disagree with the implication of the treadmill model, based on dual-inheritance theory, that population size is the driver of cultural complexity. The treadmill model reduces the evolution of artifact complexity, measured by the number of parts, to the statistical fact that individuals with high skills are more likely to be found in a larger population than in a smaller population. However, for the treadmill model to operate as claimed, implausibly high skill levels must be assumed. Contrary to the treadmill model, the risk hypothesis for the complexity of artifacts relates the number of parts to increased functional efficiency of implements. Empirically, all data on hunter-gatherer artifact complexity support the risk hypothesis and reject the treadmill model. Still, there are conditions under which increased technological complexity relates to increased population size, but the dependency does not occur in the manner expressed in the treadmill model. Instead, it relates to population size when the support system for the technology requires a large population size. If anything, anthropology and ecology suggest that cultural complexity generates high population density rather than the other way around.
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