The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity

Rzeszutek, Tom; Savage, Patrick E.; Brown, Steven

doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1750

Cited by 64 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Instead, our approach tracks the cultural entities themselves, in effect treating individual folktale variants in ethnolinguistic groups like population geneticists treat genetically distinct haploid organisms in biological populations. Rzeszutek et al [38] used a similar approach in their analysis of Formosan song variants, although, interestingly, our estimate of between-population variation is closer to Bell et al's 8 per cent than Rzeszutek et al's 2 per cent (see §3d for a possible explanation for this).…”

Section: Results and Discussion (A) Population Structuresupporting

confidence: 57%

“…If so, cultural F ST or F ST values may be particularly sensitive to the geographical scale of the population being sampled. This may help to explain why the cultural F ST values from this study, drawn from large European language groups, and cultural F ST values from countries around the globe [28] are four times larger than the cultural F ST values from the considerably more localized Formosan-speaking groups [38]. Recently, empirical data on cultural and genetic F ST values have been applied to debates about the units of selection in human evolution [28].…”

Section: (C) Ethnolinguistic Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…They found that the average cultural F ST value between neighbouring countries (mean ¼ 0.080) was an order of magnitude larger than the average SNP genetic F ST value between the same countries (mean ¼ 0.0053), which they argued demonstrates a greater potential for group selection on culture than genes. Rzeszutek et al [38] examined cross-cultural variation in song characteristics across 16 Formosan-speaking ethnolinguistic groups and found an overall F ST of 0.02, indicating that approximately 2 per cent of variation was between populations. In addition, debates in experimental economics have begun to focus on within-versus between-population variation in strategies employed in economic games [39][40][41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Population structure and cultural geography of a folktale in Europe

2013

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Despite a burgeoning science of cultural evolution, relatively little work has focused on the population structure of human cultural variation. By contrast, studies in human population genetics use a suite of tools to quantify and analyse spatial and temporal patterns of genetic variation within and between populations. Human genetic diversity can be explained largely as a result of migration and drift giving rise to gradual genetic clines, together with some discontinuities arising from geographical and cultural barriers to gene flow. Here, we adapt theory and methods from population genetics to quantify the influence of geography and ethnolinguistic boundaries on the distribution of 700 variants of a folktale in 31 European ethnolinguistic populations. We find that geographical distance and ethnolinguistic affiliation exert significant independent effects on folktale diversity and that variation between populations supports a clustering concordant with European geography. This pattern of geographical clines and clusters parallels the pattern of human genetic diversity in Europe, although the effects of geographical distance and ethnolinguistic boundaries are stronger for folktales than genes. Our findings highlight the importance of geography and population boundaries in models of human cultural variation and point to key similarities and differences between evolutionary processes operating on human genes and culture.

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Section: Results and Discussion (A) Population Structuresupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: (C) Ethnolinguistic Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Population structure and cultural geography of a folktale in Europe

2013

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“…Intriguing patterns are emerging from the increasing numbers of studies using phylogenetic approaches to characterize cultural evolution [4,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. While many studies have identified cultural traits which are predominantly vertically or horizontally inherited, we develop a method able to elucidate the effects of the environment while acknowledging both of these evolutionary processes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of traditional knowledge: environment shapes medicinal plant use in Nepal

et al. 2014

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Traditional knowledge is influenced by ancestry, inter-cultural diffusion and interaction with the natural environment. It is problematic to assess the contributions of these influences independently because closely related ethnic groups may also be geographically close, exposed to similar environments and able to exchange knowledge readily. Medicinal plant use is one of the most important components of traditional knowledge, since plants provide healthcare for up to 80% of the world's population. Here, we assess the significance of ancestry, geographical proximity of cultures and the environment in determining medicinal plant use for 12 ethnic groups in Nepal. Incorporating phylogenetic information to account for plant evolutionary relatedness, we calculate pairwise distances that describe differences in the ethnic groups' medicinal floras and floristic environments. We also determine linguistic relatedness and geographical separation for all pairs of ethnic groups. We show that medicinal uses are most similar when cultures are found in similar floristic environments. The correlation between medicinal flora and floristic environment was positive and strongly significant, in contrast to the effects of shared ancestry and geographical proximity. These findings demonstrate the importance of adaptation to local environments, even at small spatial scale, in shaping traditional knowledge during human cultural evolution.

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“…They conclude that "the correlation between music and genes was statistically significant" and that "music -particularly polyphonic group singing -might serve as a useful marker to study human migrations and human origins more generally" (p. 4). In a related study, Rzeszutek et al (2012) argue that "many useful parallels have been drawn between cultural and biological evolution", but add that "the forces shaping cultural diversity can differ markedly from those that drive the structure of genetic diversity" (p. 1611). A similar note of caution is provided by Savage and Brown (2013).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Analysis and Ancestral Rhythmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Timeline Rhythms in Pygmy and Bushmen Music

Poole

2018

EMR

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Combining theories of African rhythm from ethno/musicology and findings from anthropological research and population genetics with musical analyses based on transcriptions and computational phylogenetic techniques, this article compares rhythms used in Pygmy and Bushmen music in an attempt to provide new perspectives on an old debate that these musical cultures may share a common heritage. To do this, the comparative analyses focus on timelines: foundational rhythmic features that provide the structural basis of the music. The findings suggest that Pygmy and Bushmen timelines are interrelated and that most are organised according to the principles of 'rhythmic oddity' and maximal evenness. Generative theory suggests that commonly used rhythmic cells, in particular the 3:2 pattern, form the structural basis of many Pygmy/Bushmen timelines as well as many other timelines featured in African and African-derived musics. Timelines are also multi-purpose musical devices used in various different social contexts and their structure appears to be resilient to radical change. Phylogenetic analysis of timelines provides no clear Pygmy/Bushmen ancestral timeline, although it is possible that foundational rhythms such as the 3:2 pattern may have featured in the music of a common ancestral group.

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The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity

Cited by 64 publications

References 35 publications

Population structure and cultural geography of a folktale in Europe

Population structure and cultural geography of a folktale in Europe

The evolution of traditional knowledge: environment shapes medicinal plant use in Nepal

Comparing Timeline Rhythms in Pygmy and Bushmen Music

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