The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes.
Human populations show rich cultural diversity. Underpinning this diversity of tools, rituals, and cultural norms are complex interactions between cultural evolutionary and demographic processes. Most models of cultural change assume that individuals use the same learning modes and methods throughou...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2019-04-01
|
| Series: | PLoS Computational Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006821 |
| _version_ | 1818716792509431808 |
|---|---|
| author | Laurel Fogarty Nicole Creanza Marcus W Feldman |
| author_facet | Laurel Fogarty Nicole Creanza Marcus W Feldman |
| author_sort | Laurel Fogarty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human populations show rich cultural diversity. Underpinning this diversity of tools, rituals, and cultural norms are complex interactions between cultural evolutionary and demographic processes. Most models of cultural change assume that individuals use the same learning modes and methods throughout their lives. However, empirical data on 'learning life histories'-the balance of dominant modes of learning (for example, learning from parents, peers, or unrelated elders) throughout an individual's lifetime-suggest that age structure may play a crucial role in determining learning modes and cultural evolutionary trajectories. Thus, studied in isolation, demographic and cultural evolutionary models show only part of the picture. This paper describes a mathematical and computational framework that combines demographic and cultural evolutionary methods. Using this general framework, we examine interactions between the ways in which culture is spread throughout an individual's lifetime and cultural change across generations. We show that including demographic structure alongside cultural dynamics can help to explain domain-specific patterns of cultural evolution that are a persistent feature of cultural data, and can shed new light on rare but significant demographic events. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:24:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a80e2b6f539b4258a9c71570b5b602a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-734X 1553-7358 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T19:24:53Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Computational Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a80e2b6f539b4258a9c71570b5b602a42022-12-21T21:35:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582019-04-01154e100682110.1371/journal.pcbi.1006821The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes.Laurel FogartyNicole CreanzaMarcus W FeldmanHuman populations show rich cultural diversity. Underpinning this diversity of tools, rituals, and cultural norms are complex interactions between cultural evolutionary and demographic processes. Most models of cultural change assume that individuals use the same learning modes and methods throughout their lives. However, empirical data on 'learning life histories'-the balance of dominant modes of learning (for example, learning from parents, peers, or unrelated elders) throughout an individual's lifetime-suggest that age structure may play a crucial role in determining learning modes and cultural evolutionary trajectories. Thus, studied in isolation, demographic and cultural evolutionary models show only part of the picture. This paper describes a mathematical and computational framework that combines demographic and cultural evolutionary methods. Using this general framework, we examine interactions between the ways in which culture is spread throughout an individual's lifetime and cultural change across generations. We show that including demographic structure alongside cultural dynamics can help to explain domain-specific patterns of cultural evolution that are a persistent feature of cultural data, and can shed new light on rare but significant demographic events.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006821 |
| spellingShingle | Laurel Fogarty Nicole Creanza Marcus W Feldman The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. PLoS Computational Biology |
| title | The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. |
| title_full | The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. |
| title_fullStr | The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. |
| title_short | The life history of learning: Demographic structure changes cultural outcomes. |
| title_sort | life history of learning demographic structure changes cultural outcomes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006821 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurelfogarty thelifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes AT nicolecreanza thelifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes AT marcuswfeldman thelifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes AT laurelfogarty lifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes AT nicolecreanza lifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes AT marcuswfeldman lifehistoryoflearningdemographicstructurechangesculturaloutcomes |