Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture
Abstract It is widely believed that human culture originated in the appearance of Oldowan stone-tool production (circa 2.9 Mya) and a primitive but effective ability to copy detailed know-how. Cumulative cultural evolution is then believed to have led to modern humans and human culture via self-rein...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01878-6 |
| _version_ | 1797774311498448896 |
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| author | Claes Andersson Claudio Tennie |
| author_facet | Claes Andersson Claudio Tennie |
| author_sort | Claes Andersson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract It is widely believed that human culture originated in the appearance of Oldowan stone-tool production (circa 2.9 Mya) and a primitive but effective ability to copy detailed know-how. Cumulative cultural evolution is then believed to have led to modern humans and human culture via self-reinforcing gene-culture co-evolution. This outline evolutionary trajectory has come to be seen as all but self-evident, but dilemmas have appeared as it has been explored in increasing detail. Can we attribute even a minimally effective know-how copying capability to Oldowan hominins? Do Oldowan tools really demand know-how copying? Is there any other evidence that know-how copying was present? We here argue that this account, which we refer to as “Trajectory A”, may be a red herring, and formulate an alternative “Trajectory B” that resolves these dilemmas. Trajectory B invokes an overlooked group-level channel of cultural inheritance (the Social Protocell) whereby networks of cultural traits can be faithfully inherited and potentially undergo cumulative evolution, also when the underpinning cultural traits are apelike in not being transmitted via know-how copying (Latent Solutions). Since most preconditions of Trajectory B are present in modern-day Pan, Trajectory B may even have its roots considerably before Oldowan toolmaking. The cumulative build-up of networks of non-cumulative cultural traits is then argued to have produced conditions that both called for and afforded a gradual appearance of the ability to copy know-how, but considerably later than the Oldowan. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:19:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ccc149f4df5648b392b027fafd2d24f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:19:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-ccc149f4df5648b392b027fafd2d24f02023-07-23T11:09:28ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922023-07-0110112010.1057/s41599-023-01878-6Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human cultureClaes Andersson0Claudio Tennie1Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Division for Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of TechnologyFaculty of Science, Department of Geosciences, Working Group Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of TübingenAbstract It is widely believed that human culture originated in the appearance of Oldowan stone-tool production (circa 2.9 Mya) and a primitive but effective ability to copy detailed know-how. Cumulative cultural evolution is then believed to have led to modern humans and human culture via self-reinforcing gene-culture co-evolution. This outline evolutionary trajectory has come to be seen as all but self-evident, but dilemmas have appeared as it has been explored in increasing detail. Can we attribute even a minimally effective know-how copying capability to Oldowan hominins? Do Oldowan tools really demand know-how copying? Is there any other evidence that know-how copying was present? We here argue that this account, which we refer to as “Trajectory A”, may be a red herring, and formulate an alternative “Trajectory B” that resolves these dilemmas. Trajectory B invokes an overlooked group-level channel of cultural inheritance (the Social Protocell) whereby networks of cultural traits can be faithfully inherited and potentially undergo cumulative evolution, also when the underpinning cultural traits are apelike in not being transmitted via know-how copying (Latent Solutions). Since most preconditions of Trajectory B are present in modern-day Pan, Trajectory B may even have its roots considerably before Oldowan toolmaking. The cumulative build-up of networks of non-cumulative cultural traits is then argued to have produced conditions that both called for and afforded a gradual appearance of the ability to copy know-how, but considerably later than the Oldowan.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01878-6 |
| spellingShingle | Claes Andersson Claudio Tennie Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture Humanities & Social Sciences Communications |
| title | Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture |
| title_full | Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture |
| title_fullStr | Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture |
| title_short | Zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution: ‘Trajectory B’ from animal to human culture |
| title_sort | zooming out the microscope on cumulative cultural evolution trajectory b from animal to human culture |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01878-6 |
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