Learning Strategies and Cultural Evolution during the Palaeolithic (Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series)

This volume is motivated by the desire to explain why Neanderthals were replaced by modern humans, in terms of cultural differences between the two (sub-) species. It provides up-to-date coverage on the theory of cultural evolution as is being used by anthropologists, archaeologists, biologists and psychologists to decipher hominin cultural change and diversity during the Palaeolithic. The contributing authors are directly involved in this effort and the material presented includes novel approaches and findings. Chapters explain how learning strategies in combination with social and demographic factors (e.g., population size and mobility patterns) predict cultural evolution in a world without the printing press, television or the Internet. Also addressed is the inverse problem of how learning strategies may be inferred from actual trajectories of cultural change, for example as seen in the North American Palaeolithic. Mathematics and statistics, a sometimes necessary part of theory, are explained in elementary terms where they appear, with details relegated to appendices. Full citations of the relevant literature will help the reader to further pursue any topic of interest. Alex Mesoudi is Reader in Anthropology at Durham University, UK. He conducts research into human cultural evolution and social learning. He uses a combination of lab experiments and theoretical models to explore the individual-level processes who copies what, from whom and when that underlie broad patterns of cultural change. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and one previous book entitled Cultural Evolution: How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture and Synthesize the Social Sciences (University of Chicago Press, 2011). Kenichi Aoki is Visiting Professor at Meiji University and Emeritus Professor at the University of Tokyo. He currently conducts theoretical research on cultural evolution and on the genetic evolution of learning strategies. He has also authored theoretical articles on group selection, gene-culture coevolution and mate choice. He is coeditor of two volumes focusing on the Neanderthal-modern human problem, Neanderthals and Modern Humans in Western Asia (Plenum Press, 1998) and Dynamics of Learning in Neanderthals and Modern Humans Volume 1 Cultural Perspectives (Springer 2013). Preface 6 Contents 8 Contributors 10 1 Introduction to “Learning Strategies and Cultural Evolution During the Palaeolithic” 12 1.1 Learning Strategies 12 1.2 Social and Demographic Factors 13 1.3 Summary of the Chapters 14 1.4 Concluding Remarks 17 References 17 2 Factors Limiting the Number of Independent Cultural Traits That Can Be Maintained in a Population 20 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Model 21 2.3 An Analytical Result 23 2.4 Monte Carlo Individual-Based Simulations 24 2.5 Results for Random Oblique Social Learning 24 2.6 Results for Best-of-2 Social Learning 25 2.7 Results for Success Bias Social Learning with K = 2 26 2.8 Results for One-to-Many Social Learning 26 2.9 Discussion 27 Appendix 1: Partial Proof of Eq. (2.2) 30 Appendix 2: Proof of Eq. (2.6) 31 References 31 3 The Evolution of Culturally Transmitted Teaching Behavior 33 3.1 Introduction 33 3.2 Model 34 3.2.1 Basic Model of Nakahashi (2010) 34 3.2.2 Including Teaching Behavior 36 3.3 Discussion 37 Appendix 1 40 Appendix 2 41 Appendix 3 41 References 42 4 A Population-Genetics Based Model for Explaining Apparent Cultural Continuity from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia 44 4.1 Introduction 44 4.2 Mathematical Model 46 4.2.1 Description 46 4.2.2 Population Dynamics 47 4.2.3 Patterns of Cultural Dynamics 48 4.2.4 Fixation Probability of CA 48 4.2.5 Expected Time Until CA Is Lost 50 4.2.6 Expected Time Until CM Is Lost 50 4.3 Discussion 51 References 52 5 Mobility and Cultural Diversity in Central-Place Foragers: Implications for the Emergence of Modern Human Behavior 54 5.1 Introduction 54 5.1.1 The Emergence of Modern Human Behavior: Individual- vs. Population-Level Explanations 55 5.1.2 Hunter-Gatherer Mobility and Cultural Diversity 58 5.1.3 Summary 60 5.2 The Model 60 5.3 Results 62 5.3.1 Time to Fixation 63 5.3.2 Number of Variants Remaining and Teachers Gained per Unit Time 63 5.4 Discussion 65 5.4.1 How Does Increased Logistical Mobility Increase the Effective Size of a Subdivided Population? 65 5.4.2 What Are the Implications for Our Understanding of the Emergence of Modern Behavior? 69 5.5 Conclusion 71 References 72 6 Behavioral Modernity and the Cultural Transmission of Structured Information: The Semantic Axelrod Model 75 6.1 Introduction 75 6.2 The Semantic Axelrod Model for Trait Prerequisites 77 6.2.1 Representation of Traits and Their Prerequisites 78 6.2.2 The Axelrod Model of Social Learning and Differentiation 80 6.2.2.1 Axelrod's Original Model 80 6.2.2.2 Semantic Extensions to the Axelrod Model 80 6.3 Measuring Cultural Diversity and the Results of Structured Learning 82 6.4 Experiments 83 6.5 Results 84 6.5.1 Cultural Diversity 84 6.5.2 Trait Richness and Knowledge Depth 85 6.5.3 Population Size 87 6.5.4 Trait Tree Symmetries 87 6.6 Discussion 88 Appendices 89 Algorithm Description 89 Availability of Software and Analysis Code 90 References 90 7 Inferring Learning Strategies from Cultural Frequency Data 92 7.1 Introduction 92 7.2 Previous Research 93 7.2.1 Adoption Curve 93 7.2.2 Power-Law Distribution 94 7.2.3 Model Selection Framework 95 7.2.4 Formal Modelling 95 7.3 Generative Inference 96 7.3.1 Application in Population Genetics 97 7.3.2 Application to Cultural Evolution 98 7.3.2.1 Generative Model 98 7.3.2.2 Statistical Inference 100 7.3.2.3 Example 101 7.4 Conclusion 101 A.1 Appendix 104 References 106 8 Simulating Geographical Variation in Material Culture: Were Early Modern Humans in Europe Ethnically Structured? 109 8.1 Introduction 109 8.2 Case Study: Applying Simulation Modelling and ABC Methods 111 8.2.1 Introduction 111 8.2.2 Simulation Modelling 112 8.2.2.1 Simulation World 112 8.2.2.2 Demographic Processes 113 8.2.2.3 Cultural Processes: Modelling Ethnic Diversity 114 8.2.2.4 Null and Culture-Dependent Interaction Models 116 8.2.2.5 Models, Model Parameters and Prior Ranges 117 8.2.3 Analysis 117 8.2.4 Results 118 8.2.5 Discussion and Extensions of Simulated Model 119 8.3 General Discussion and Conclusions 121 Appendices 122 Appendix 1: Bayesian Inference and Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) 122 Appendix 2: Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) Algorithm 122 Appendix 3: Summary Statistics 123 Shared Information (SI) 123 Mutual Information (MI) 123 Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) 123 Spatial Distribution of Sites (DR) 124 Appendix 4: Bayes Factors for Model Comparison 124 References 125 9 Transmission of Cultural Variants in the North American Paleolithic 127 9.1 Introduction 127 9.2 Learning Models 128 9.2.1 Learning Models in Archaeology 129 9.3 The North American Paleolithic and Fluted Points 132 9.3.1 Studies of Variation in Clovis Points 135 9.3.1.1 Morrow and Morrow (1999) 135 9.3.1.2 Buchanan and Hamilton (2009) 135 9.3.1.3 Hamilton and Buchanan (2009) 135 9.3.1.4 Sholts et al. (2012) 136 9.3.1.5 Buchanan et al. (2014) 136 9.3.1.6 Explaining the Interstudy Differences 137 9.4 Conclusion 144 References 144 10 Experimental Studies of Cumulative Culture in Modern Humans: What Are the Requirements of the Ratchet? 150 10.1 Introduction 150 10.2 Laboratory Studies of Cumulative Culture in Humans 151 10.2.1 Study 1: Establishing the Methods for Studying Cumulative Culture in the Laboratory 152 10.2.2 Study 2: Comparing Learning Mechanisms 153 10.2.3 Study 3: High Fidelity Copying and Cumulative Cultural Evolution 155 10.3 Cognitive Requirements of Cumulative Culture? 156 10.3.1 Action Copying 156 10.3.2 High Fidelity Copying 157 10.3.3 Concluding Remarks 158 References 158 11 Learning in the Acheulean: Experimental Insights Using Handaxe Form as a `Model Organism' 160 11.1 Introduction 160 11.2 Experiment 1: Considering the Effects of Size Mutation in the Acheulean 162 11.3 Experiment 2: Considering the Effects of Shape Mutation in the Acheulean 164 11.4 Discussion 166 11.5 Conclusions 168 11.6 Final Remarks in the Context of the RNMH Project Objectives 169 References 169 Index 172 Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction to “Learning Strategies and Cultural Evolution During the Palaeolithic”....Pages 1-8 Factors Limiting the Number of Independent Cultural Traits That Can Be Maintained in a Population....Pages 9-21 The Evolution of Culturally Transmitted Teaching Behavior....Pages 23-33 A Population-Genetics Based Model for Explaining Apparent Cultural Continuity from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in Eurasia....Pages 35-44 Mobility and Cultural Diversity in Central-Place Foragers: Implications for the Emergence of Modern Human Behavior....Pages 45-65 Behavioral Modernity and the Cultural Transmission of Structured Information: The Semantic Axelrod Model....Pages 67-83 Inferring Learning Strategies from Cultural Frequency Data....Pages 85-101 Simulating Geographical Variation in Material Culture: Were Early Modern Humans in Europe Ethnically Structured?....Pages 103-120 Transmission of Cultural Variants in the North American Paleolithic....Pages 121-143 Experimental Studies of Cumulative Culture in Modern Humans: What Are the Requirements of the Ratchet?....Pages 145-154 Learning in the Acheulean: Experimental Insights Using Handaxe Form as a ‘Model Organism’....Pages 155-166 Back Matter....Pages 167-169