Behavioral Specialization During the Neolithic—An Evolutionary Model

Vásárhelyi, Zsóka; Scheuring, István

doi:10.3389/fsoc.2018.00035

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The cultural repertoire of modern societies is vast, and even merely its aspects that are related to technology cannot be manifested by any single individual. DAs in the form of cultural specialization into professional guilds, in the sense that knowledge is partitioned among different subgroups within society, seems to have been common in societies after the Neolithic revolution [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]; importantly, and although often less obvious to an external observer, there are clear examples of such distribution of knowledge also in huntergatherer societies, even though many of them are overall fairly generalist in the sense that most individuals can carry out most technological tasks [39,[46][47][48][49][50]. An interesting example of distribution of crucially adaptive information developed among some groups of Aboriginal huntergatherers in Australia [51][52][53] regarding information about the lay of the land.…”

Section: Detailed Example 2: Songs and Oral Traditions For Navigation...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Human major transitions from the perspective of distributed adaptations

Lamm

Finkel

Kolodny

2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Distributed adaptations are cases in which adaptation is dependent on the population as a whole: the adaptation is conferred by a structural or compositional aspect of the population; the adaptively relevant information cannot be reduced to information possessed by a single individual. Possible examples of human-distributed adaptations are song lines, traditions, trail systems, game drive lanes and systems of water collection and irrigation. Here we discuss the possible role of distributed adaptations in human cultural macro-evolution. Several kinds of human-distributed adaptations are presented, and their evolutionary implications are highlighted. In particular, we discuss the implications of population size, density and bottlenecks on the distributed adaptations that a population may possess and how they in turn would affect the population's resilience to ecological change. We discuss the implications that distributed adaptations may have for human collective action and the possibility that they played a role in colonization of new areas and niches, in seasonal migration, and in setting constraints for minimal inter-population connectivity. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions’.

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Section: Detailed Example 2: Songs and Oral Traditions For Navigation...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Human major transitions from the perspective of distributed adaptations

Lamm

Finkel

Kolodny

2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…With the rise of more complex societies, there emerged a division of labor and role specialization. This development drove the evolution of a diverse range of cognitive skills (Vásárhelyi & Scheuring, 2018). Knowledge transmission .…”

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confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Trends of Polygenic Scores in European Populations From the Paleolithic to Modern Times

Piffer,

Kirkegaard

2024

Twin Res Hum Genet

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This study examines the temporal and geographical evolution of polygenic scores (PGSs) across cognitive measures (Educational Attainment [EA], Intelligence Quotient [IQ]), Socioeconomic Status (SES), and psychiatric conditions (Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD], schizophrenia [SCZ]) in various populations. Our findings indicate positive directional selection for EA, IQ, and SES traits over the past 12,000 years. Schizophrenia and autism, while similar, showed different temporal patterns, aligning with theories suggesting they are psychological opposites. We observed a decline in PGS for neuroticism and depression, likely due to their genetic correlations and pleiotropic effects on intelligence. Significant PGS shifts from the Upper Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods suggest lifestyle and cognitive demand changes, particularly during the Neolithic Revolution. The study supports a mild hypothesis of Gregory Clark’s model, showing a noticeable rise in genetic propensities for intelligence, academic achievement and professional status across Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. While latitude strongly influenced height, its impact on schizophrenia and autism was smaller and varied. Contrary to the cold winters theory, the study found no significant correlation between latitude and intelligence.

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Behavioral Specialization During the Neolithic—An Evolutionary Model

Cited by 2 publications

References 43 publications

Human major transitions from the perspective of distributed adaptations

Human major transitions from the perspective of distributed adaptations

Evolutionary Trends of Polygenic Scores in European Populations From the Paleolithic to Modern Times

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