Biological Theory 3 (1):63-72 (2008)
Authors | |
Abstract |
Archaeologists have proposed that behavioral knowledge of a tool can be conceptualized as a “recipe”—a unit of cultural transmission that combines the preparation of raw materials, construction, and use of the tool, and contingency plans for repair and maintenance. This parallels theories in cognitive psychology that behavioral knowledge is hierarchically structured—sequences of actions are divided into higher level, partially independent subunits. Here we use an agent-based simulation model to explore the costs and benefits of hierarchical learning relative to holistic learning, where entire behavioral sequences are learned in an all-or-nothing fashion, and diffusionist learning, where actions are completely independent. Hierarchical learning is favored under the reasonable assumptions that learning is associated with some degree of both error and cost, and that behavior can be grouped into subunits that repeat in one or more tool recipes. These general predictions can be tested in the archaeological and ethnographic record. Recent advances in evolutionary developmental biology have revealed a number of parallels between the hierarchically structured, recipe-like organization of behavioral knowledge that we examine here and the manner in which biological organisms develop
|
Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
ISBN(s) | |
DOI | 10.1162/biot.2008.3.1.63 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
The Architecture of Complexity.Herbert A. Simon - 1962 - Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 106.
Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems.Werner Callebaut & Diego Rasskin-Gutman (eds.) - 2005 - MIT Press.
Towards a Unified Science of Cultural Evolution.Alex Mesoudi, Andrew Whiten & Kevin N. Laland - 2006 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 29 (4):329-347.
View all 9 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Typology and Natural Kinds in Evo-Devo.Ingo Brigandt - 2021 - In Laura Nuño De La Rosa & Gerd Müller (eds.), Evolutionary Developmental Biology: A Reference Guide. Cham: Springer. pp. 483-493.
Cumulative Culture and Complex Cultural Traditions.Andrew Buskell - 2022 - Mind and Language 37 (3):284-303.
Mapping Complex Social Transmission: Technical Constraints on the Evolution of Cultures.Mathieu Charbonneau - 2015 - Biology and Philosophy 30 (4):527-546.
All Innovations Are Equal, but Some More Than Others: (Re)Integrating Modification Processes to the Origins of Cumulative Culture.Mathieu Charbonneau - 2015 - Biological Theory 10 (4):322-335.
Modularity and Recombination in Technological Evolution.Mathieu Charbonneau - 2016 - Philosophy and Technology 29 (4):373-392.
View all 6 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Cultural Traits and Cultural Integration.R. Lee Lyman - 2006 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 29 (4):357-358.
Hominid Cultural Transmission and the Evolution of Language.Laureano Castro, Alfonso Medina & Miguel A. Toro - 2004 - Biology and Philosophy 19 (5):721-737.
Can Sociobiology Adapt to Cultural Selection?Sandra D. Mitchell - 1986 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1986:87 - 96.
On Modeling Cognition and Culture: Why Cultural Evolution Does Not Require Replication of Representations.Robert Boyd - 2002 - Journal of Cognition and Culture 2 (2):87-112.
What Makes Cultural Heredity Unique? On Action-Types, Intentionality and Cooperation in Imitation.Frank Kannetzky - 2007 - Mind and Language 22 (5):592–623.
Cultural Transmission with an Evolved Intuitive Ontology: Domain-Specific Cognitive Tracks of Inheritance.Pascal Boyer - 1998 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21 (4):570-571.
Transmission Coupling Mechanisms: Cultural Group Selection.Robert Boyd & Peter J. Richerson - unknown
Is Culture Inherited Through Social Learning?Kenneth Reisman - 2007 - Biological Theory 2 (3):300-306.
Towards a Unified Science of Cultural Evolution.Alex Mesoudi, Andrew Whiten & Kevin N. Laland - 2006 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 29 (4):329-347.
Learning and Learning Theory From a Cultural-Historical Point of View.Bert van Oers - 2008 - In B. van Oers (ed.), The Transformation of Learning: Advances in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. Cambridge University Press.
Hoist by Their Own Petard: The Constraints of Hierarchical Models.B. Vereijken & H. T. A. Whiting - 1998 - Behavioral and Brain Sciences 21 (5):705-705.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2010-08-24
Total views
22 ( #512,690 of 2,504,832 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #417,030 of 2,504,832 )
2010-08-24
Total views
22 ( #512,690 of 2,504,832 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #417,030 of 2,504,832 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads