Population size predicts technological complexity in Oceania
| Abstract | Much human adaptation depends on the gradual accumulation of culturally transmitted knowledge and technology. Recent models of this process predict that large, well-connected populations will have more diverse and complex tool kits than small, isolated populations. While several examples of the loss of technology in small populations are consistent with this prediction, it found no support in two systematic quantitative tests. Both studies were based on data from continental populations in which contact rates were not available, and therefore these studies do not provide a test of the models. Here, we show that in Oceania, around the time of early European contact, islands with small populations had less complicated marine foraging technology. This finding suggests that explanations of existing cultural variation based on optimality models alone are incomplete because demography plays an important role in generating cumulative cultural adaptation. It also indicates that hominin populations with similar cognitive abilities may leave very different archaeological records, a conclusion that has important implications for our understanding of the origin of anatomically modern humans and their evolved psychology. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | No categories specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,709 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Only published papers are available at libraries |
Similar books and articlesManfred A. Pfeifer, Klaus Henle & Josef Settele (2007). Populations with Explicit Borders in Space and Time: Concept, Terminology, and Estimation of Characteristic Parameters. Acta Biotheoretica 55 (4).
Robert C. Richardson (2006). Chance and the Patterns of Drift: A Natural Experiment. Philosophy of Science 73 (5):642-654.
A. Lasotal, K. Loskot & M. C. Mackey (1991). Stability Properties of Proliferatively Coupled Cell Replication Models. Acta Biotheoretica 39 (1).
Eva Sanchez, Pierre Auger & Rafael Bravo de la Parra (1997). Influence of Individual Aggressiveness on the Dynamics of Competitive Populations. Acta Biotheoretica 45 (3-4).
Luis Sanz & Rafael Bravo de la Parra (2002). The Reliability of Approximate Reduction Techniques in Population Models with Two Time Scales. Acta Biotheoretica 50 (4).
Jack P. Gibbs (2001). Deviant Cases in Tests of the Status Integration Theory. Sociological Theory 19 (3):271-291.
C. Pertoldi & S. Faurby (forthcoming). Consequences of Environmental Fluctuations on Taylor's Power Law and Implications for the Dynamics and Persistence of Populations. Acta Biotheoretica.
William Irons (2009). The Intertwined Roles of Genes and Culture in Human Evolution. Zygon 44 (2):347-354.
G. H. Walter (2008). Individuals, Populations and the Balance of Nature: The Question of Persistence in Ecology. Biology and Philosophy 23 (3):417-438.
Peter Gildenhuys (2009). An Explication of the Causal Dimension of Drift. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 60 (3):521-555.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2010-12-22Total downloads1 ( #275,053 of 549,701 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
