Cultural Diversification and Decimation in the Prehistoric Record

Prentiss, William C.; Chatters, James C.

doi:10.1086/344488

Cited by 46 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…This has been referred to as salmon intensification; the concept implicitly assumes both increases in absolute harvest levels and in the degree of specialization. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss1/art17/ More recent models treat social factors as equally or more important than either environmental or technological ones; these emphasize the development of labor organization to manage tasks involved with harvesting, processing, and stockpiling the resource (Matson 1992, Ames 1994, Prentiss and Chatters 2003. Social ranking is argued to result from social control of resource access (e.g., ownership of weirs or reef net locations) and control of storable commodities exchanged through feasting and trade.…”

Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss1/art17/ Still, a conclusion about resilience depends partly on the scale at which we can measure change and assess what is changing (cultural practices or actual human populations). Most of the models discussed above assume that changes occurred within the trajectory of a continuous population, a view that is challenged by Prentiss and Chatters (2003) in a recent regional synthesis. They emphasize the punctuated character of cultural systems, when examined at finer time scales, and interpret some changes as representing the failure of one social system and replacement by another.…”

Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4); except for DO-214, salmon representation is quite stable over time. Detailed site-specific study is needed to account for local variation in resource abundance, which could be due to natural changes in local river systems, or to change in season or purpose of human use rather than systemwide overuse or social system replacement (Prentiss and Chatters 2003).…”

Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years

Campbell¹,

Butler²

2010

E&S

132

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Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Past Ecological and Social Systems In The Pacific Northwestmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years

Campbell¹,

Butler²

2010

E&S

132

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“…Diversification is especially likely when, in a process analogous to allopatric speciation, there is either geographic or effective isolation from competing populations, conditions that reduce the risk of experimenting with new strategies that deviate from dominant cultural behaviors. Periods of cultural diversification are likely to be relatively short-lived and are usually followed by a period of ''culture sorting'' (often during periods of environmental downturn) in which new baupläne come into increasing competition with each other and with parent groups, resulting in the decimation (or abandonment) of less fit strategies and the proliferation and co-option of those that are better suited to their natural and social environment (Prentiss and Chatters 2003). Rosenberg (1994aRosenberg ( , 1998, on the other hand, sees cultures as more conservative and resistant to change, with stress (usually demographic) as the major precipitating factor behind culture change.…”

Section: Neo-darwinian Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture Change

Zeder

2008

J Archaeol Res

148

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The macroevolutionary approach in archaeology represents the most recent example in a long tradition of applying principles of biological evolution to the study of culture change. Archaeologists working within this paradigm see macroevolutionary theory as an effective response to the shortcomings of neoDarwinian biological evolution for studying cultural evolution. Rather than operating at the level of individual traits, macroevolutionary archaeologists emphasize the role of hierarchical processes in culture change. While neo-Darwinian archaeologists disavow any element of human intent in culture change, to macroevolutionary archaeologists human agency is a key component of cultural evolution that allows cultures to respond to pressures more quickly and with greater degree of flexibility and directedness than found in biological evolution. Major culture change, when it happens, is likely to be rapid, even revolutionary, with periods of rapid change separated by periods of relative stasis of actively maintained stability. The emergence of Neolithic cultures has long been recognized as one of two periods of major revolutionary culture change in human prehistory. Here I examine the record for the Near East, tracing the empirical record for the origin of agriculture in this region, as well as other demographic, social, and ideological components of Neolithic emergence. While the empirical record from the Near East subscribes in a general way to basic principles of macroevolutionary theory, cultural evolution cannot be understood through appeal to principles of biological evolution alone, whether based in macroevolutionary theory or neo-Darwinianism. Instead, the key role of human agency in culture change distinguishes cultural evolution from biological evolution and requires a more pluralistic and less doctrinaire appeal to multiple models of change based in both the biological and social sciences.

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“…First, we assess the pattern of evolution asking if, as observed by Weyland (2002), skateboards diversified early followed later by a sorting out of less effective or popular designs-a pattern widely recognized in paleobiology (e.g., Gould 1989) and archaeology (e.g., Prentiss and Chatters 2003). Second, we test for branching and blending in skateboard evolution with the expectation that given high degrees of social interactions between skateboard designers and skaters, blending should play a significant role in the evolutionary process.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Get Rad! The Evolution of the Skateboard Deck

et al. 2011

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Today there is growing interest in material culture studies among a wide range of social and biological scientists. Researchers recognize that some concepts drawn from biology can be useful in understanding aspects of material culture evolution. Indeed, recent research has demonstrated that material culture can evolve in a branching manner (vertical transmission) similar to that of biological species. However, there are many complicating factors as well, particularly the human penchant for borrowing and resurrecting old ideas resulting in extensive blending and hybridization (lateral transmission). But blending and hybridization occurs in biology as well depending upon the nature and scale of interacting organisms. There is far more lateral information transfer between populations within species than between species (although there are always exceptions). History can also be expected to play a role in the degree to which evolution is affected by vertical versus lateral transmission processes. All things equal, we should expect branching to be most important early in the history of a cultural system since blending could not become significant without the early development of distinct lineages. This is different from most biological systems in the sense that the development of distinct lineages would significantly reduce (or prevent) opportunities for blending. We explore these ideas with an analysis of skateboard decks spanning the history of professional skateboards since 1963. We apply cladistic and networking models in order to develop an understanding of the degree by which skateboard evolution was affected by branching and blending/hybridization processes. The study is enhanced by a historical record that provides significant insight into the actual innovation and borrowing processes associated with skateboard evolution. Results confirm that both branching and blending played important roles and that branching was most critical early in professional skateboard history. The study offers the important implication that while cultural systems will typically incorporate far more horizontal transmission in the evolutionary process (particularly in later stages) than many biological systems, general principles governing early stage branching and disparity may apply to both.By 1975 many choices faced the skateboard consumer….The number of choices went from minimal to maximum in a short period of time, something like the Cambrian explosion 540 million years ago with its evolutionary profusion of body types. And like the Cambrian explosion, this spurt of growth and divergent developments went on at a frantic pace for a while and then leveled off, with many species not making it (Weyland 2002:36-37).Skateboarders themselves were the first to recognize the potential evolutionary implications of skateboard history. As chronicled by Weyland (2002) and others (e.g., Brooke

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Cultural Diversification and Decimation in the Prehistoric Record

Cited by 46 publications

References 47 publications

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years

The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture Change

Get Rad! The Evolution of the Skateboard Deck

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Cultural Diversification and Decimation in the Prehistoric Record

Cited by 46 publications

References 47 publications

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last &#126;7,500 years

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last &#126;7,500 years

The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture Change

Get Rad! The Evolution of the Skateboard Deck

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years

Archaeological Evidence for Resilience of Pacific Northwest Salmon Populations and the Socioecological System over the last ~7,500 years