Communication networks and dispersal patterns in human evolution: A simple simulation model

Steele, James

doi:10.1080/00438243.1994.9980268

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…In the archaeological record, Kohn and Mithen (1999) have argued that Lower Palaeolithic handaxes -the rst clearly elaborated and standardized stone artefact tradition -served to advertise the tness of their makers in a context of intense male-male competition. However, Steele (1994) has suggested, on the basis of simulations of cultural diffusion, that stability of artefact form in space and time of the order seen in the Acheulean handaxe tradition implies functional adaptiveness in their design. Shennan and Steele (1999) have proposed that the cultural transmission of complex craft skills is a form of parental investment in the extractive foraging capability of offspring, such that the handaxe tradition -if it gives functional advantages to its practitioners in food processing -should be seen not as a sign of runaway sexual selection of a non-adaptive cultural display, but as a sign of increased parenting effort.…”

Section: The Evolution Of Hominin Social Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary ecology of spoken language: Co-evolutionary hypotheses are testable

Buckley¹,

Steele²

2002

World Archaeology

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Evolutionary ecological frameworks can give us new insights into the emergence of human adaptations such as language and cultural learning. There now exist several well-speci ed models of the social and ecological conditions in which the human capacity for language came under strong positive selection pressure. We critically review them, and ask how we can test them using archaeological evidence. We identify a series of critical archaeological and palaeontological parameters whose values we must know if we are to discriminate among competing hypotheses of the evolutionary ecology of language.

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Section: The Evolution Of Hominin Social Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary ecology of spoken language: Co-evolutionary hypotheses are testable

Buckley¹,

Steele²

2002

World Archaeology

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“…Dispersal patterns in animals involve either both sexes dispersing or one sex exhibiting philopatry while the other disperses (Ghiglieri 1987;Shields 1989;Steele 1994). This allows gene flow to occur and prevents inbreeding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dispersal Patterns of Orang-utans (Pongo spp.) in a Bornean Peat-swamp Forest

et al. 2010

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Knowledge regarding dispersal patterns in great apes may help in understanding the evolution of dispersal patterns and social grouping in early hominoids, as well as in our own species. However, the social structure and dispersal system of orang-utans (Pongo spp.) remains little understood despite past research. We addressed this question by conducting genetic analyses on a wild orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) population from the Sabangau peat-swamp in Borneo. We estimated pairwise relatedness among 16 adult individuals using 19 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Mean relatedness among females was significantly higher than in males, irrespective of the relatedness estimator used, following the pattern predicted for male dispersal. Our results support field observations that average dispersal distance for females is less than for males, suggesting that female orangutans are philopatric, whereas males disperse. This contrasts with previous findings from other sites where anthropogenic influences were present. Based on qualitative mitochondrial DNA analyses, it appears that unflanged adult males show some degree of site fidelity compared to flanged males. Thus, male orang-utans may disperse permanently from their natal range once they are fully flanged. Male-biased dispersal and female philopatry in orang-utans differ from those of extant African apes and are more similar to many Old World monkey species. Hence we hypothesize that this system may represent the ancestral state of early hominoids.

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“…Others attempt to explain the interaction of variables, and so are more functional. Others are simulations which can be put to work as computer programs (eg., Wobst 1974, Potts 1988, Steele 1994, Lake 1996.…”

Section: Models Of Human Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather, there occurred random variations in tool forms, within functionally-determined limits. Steele (1994) has developed these ideas and tested them through simulations of communication networks and dispersal patterns. Gamble (1993, 1996a) has also studied the spatial dimensions, and contributed his 'Local Hominid Networks' -the LHN models.…”

Section: Archaeological Models (2): the Middle Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why the Muddle in the Middle Matters: the Language of Comparative and Direct in Human Evolution

Gowlett

1997

Archaeological Papers of the American

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The two fundamental approaches to studying human evolution are those of using data relating to the past itself (i.e., archaeology, palaeontology), and those of establishing comparative frameworks, usually based on the study of extant related species. Work with primates has been important in establishing comparisons of social structure, frameworks of subsistence, and base levels of intelligence, and has recently been used to generate ideas about the origins of language. This chapter examines how archaeology can be used to address critically the application of comparative ideas, especially those which are based on the concept of 'Machiavellian intelligence', linking group size and neocortex ratio. Archaeology is able to map out the communication of cultural information in a number of ways. Its direct evidence establishes that early Homo had far greater ranges than those of living apes. Technology used across these ranges had to pay for itself in energetic terms. It is argued that such factors may be as important as group size in accounting for evolutionary change.

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Communication networks and dispersal patterns in human evolution: A simple simulation model

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Evolutionary ecology of spoken language: Co-evolutionary hypotheses are testable

Evolutionary ecology of spoken language: Co-evolutionary hypotheses are testable

Dispersal Patterns of Orang-utans (Pongo spp.) in a Bornean Peat-swamp Forest

Why the Muddle in the Middle Matters: the Language of Comparative and Direct in Human Evolution

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