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Home , Sociocultural evolution

Soci111 – Module 7 – of Human Societies

François Nielsen

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

September 18, 2016 Outline

Main Themes

Memes

Biological vs.

Outcomes of Socio- Main Themes

É Dawkins’ concept of as a cultural analogue of the

É how biological and sociocultural evolution are both based on the 3 fundamental processes of continuity, innovation, and selection

É how sociocultural selection operates both

É within societies (intra-societal selection) É between societies (inter-societal selection)

É meaning of The Great Paradox

É central role of in sociocultural evolution ’s Concept of Meme

É Robert Burns (1759-1796) É Today many people

É Original “Auld Lang Syne” sing É “For thesake of auld And here ’s a hand, my trusty lang syne. . . ” fiere, because of “piercing And gie’s a hand o’ thine; É power” of the s & k And we’ll tak a right guid-willie sounds waught For auld lang syne. É Dawkins: an example of a Full lyrics successful meme? Memes Richard Dawkins’s Concept of Meme

É Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene

É “An ‘idea-meme’ ... an entity that is capable of being transmitted from one brain to another” (p. 196) É “Imitation, in the broad sense, is how memes can replicate. But just as not all that can replicate do so successfully, so some memes are more successful in the meme-pool than others. This is the analogue of ” (p. 194) É “Cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give rise to a form of evolution” (p. 189)

É meme is a unit of imitation

É analogous to a gene

É a new kind of replicator Memes Richard Dawkins’s Concept of Meme

É Review questions

É Q – What is a meme? É Q – How is a meme transmitted? Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Continuity, Innovation & Selection

É Any kind of evolution (biological or social) requires all three mechanisms 1. continuity 2. innovation 3. selection

É A counterintuitive implication:

É continuity is an essential ingredient of evolution, not an obstacle! É (It may sound odd, like saying “change” requires “staying the same”!) Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Continuity

Mechanisms of continuity or inertia 1. In biological evolution

É nearly invariant reproduction of DNA 2. In sociocultural evolution

É conscious recognition of (e.g. recipe) É standardized behavior (e.g. driving on RHS of road) É cost of changing (e.g. metric system in US) É socialization & É systematic of opposition by affected groups → Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Innovation

Mechanisms of innovation 1. In biological evolution

É random (nonpurposive) mutations 2. In sociocultural evolution

É cultural innovations É often combinations of

É chance É purpose

É e.g., what did these people invent/discover?

É Alexander Fleming É Wilhelm Roentgen É Marie Harel Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Mechanisms of Innovation

É 1929 Fleming discovers penicilin in UK

É 1940s purification techniques developed in US

É 1943 Mary Hunt discovers Penecillium Chrysogenum strain on moldy cantaloupe É Alexander Fleming É used for Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Mechanisms of Innovation

É Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays in 1895 Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Mechanisms of Innovation

É 1761 Marie Harel born in Crouttes, Normandy

É 1790s modifies local cheese, invents Camembert

É daughter Marie (born 1787) develops cheese manufacture Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Innovation

Camembert cheese was invented at the time of the in the Auge region of Normandy. A certain Marie Harel, who had hidden a recalcitrant priest from Brie, developed a new cheese by combining the method used in Normandy with that used in Brie. Marie Harel disclosed her secret to her daughter, who set herself up in the village of Camembert near Vimoutiers (Orne) to sell the cheeses. [The Camenbert name] was never registered [...]. This is why Camembert is now mass-produced throughout and even in other countries. Towards the end of the 19th Century a certain M. Ridel invented the cylindrical wooden box that enables the cheese to be transported. The white mould with which Camembert is covered today was selected in 1910. (Originally, Camembert was covered with blue mould and wrapped in straw.) (Larousse Gastronomique) Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Innovation

É Mechanisms of cultural innovation É human needs

É e.g. plant cultivation (see later)

É environmental change

É e.g. cave dwelling

É diffusion by contact with other societies

É e.g. tobacco (fastest-diffusing item of )

É existing store of cultural

É larger number of items of information É larger number of combinations → Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Innovation

É (techies only) number of combinations = n!/(n r)!r! where n = number of units, r = number of elements in− combination, and n! = (n)(n 1)(n 2) ... (2)(1). − − Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Innovation

É Innovations often combinations of existing elements

É multiplier effect→ = accelerating rate of innovation over É occurrences of nearly→ simultaneous independent innovations Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution Sociocultural Selection

Mechanisms of selection 1. In biological evolution

É natural selection = differential reproduction 2. In sociocultural evolution, two levels of selection 2.1 intrasocietal selection = selection of cultural elements within society

É e.g. cars vs. horse-drawn carts É e.g. electronic calculators vs. slide-rules (next two slides) 2.2 intersocietal selection = destruction of entire society following contact with another (with or without physical elimination of members)

É e.g. disappearance of !Kung Bushmen lifestyle É e.g. population movements following emergence of farming Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution An Instance of Intrasocietal Selection: Calculator vs. Slide-Rule

É An instance of intrasocietal selection (selection of cultural elements within a society) is the complete replacement of slide-rules by electronic calculators over a few decades.

É Below, a Nestler 0292 Multimath-Duplex slide-rule such as the one I was using in college (ca. 1970). Biological vs. Sociocultural Evolution An Instance of Intrasocietal Selection: Calculator vs. Slide-Rule

É By the turn of the 21st century slide-rules had been replaced by electronic calculators.

É The Nestler company closed in the early 1990s.

É Left, a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphic calculator such as used by my children in high school (ca. 2010). Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Great Paradox Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Great Paradox

É the Great Paradox is that

É on one hand, tremendous changes have occurred during past 10,000 years É on the other, most societies have changed very little; they have experienced stasis (= absence of change)

É the Great Paradox is the result of intersocietal selection in the World System

É societies that have changed have grown and expanded É static societies have become extinct

É advances in subsistence technology played a crucial role in these processes Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Role of Technology in Socio-Cultural Evolution

É Within societies

É advance in subsistence technology is the precondition for increase in size & É technology “defines the limits of what is possible for a society” É there is a self-sustaining effect of development (positive feedback) Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Role of Technology in Socio-Cultural Evolution

É Between societies of the World-System

É more advanced technology confers a tremendous advantage to a society in the process of intersocietal selection Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Role of Technology in Socio-Cultural Evolution

É Model of socio-cultural evolution Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Comparison with Cavalli-Sforza et al. Model of Demic Expansions Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Comparison with Cavalli-Sforza et al. Model of Demic Expansions Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution Comparison with Model in Guns, Germs & Steel Outcomes of Socio-Cultural Evolution The Ecological-Evolutionary and Other Models Compared

Nolan and Lenski’s ecological-evolutionary model described in Human Societies, geneticist Cavalli-Sforza’s demic expansion model, and Jared Diamond’s discussion of the “factors underlying the broadest patterns of history” in Guns, Germs & Steel are in striking agreement concerning the central role of technology (as manifested in food production, transportation, and military ) in socio-cultural evolution. They further agree that technology affects socio-cultural evolution through mechanisms of both intrasocietal and intersocietal selection.