More than the Sum of their Parts?

Abstract

Cognitive evolution is driven by network variables, including adaptive changes in group size, population density and effective population size, and the connectivity among individuals and groups. Concepts and methods developed to study networks offer enormous potential for studying cognitive evolution, providing practical analytical methods for handling the archaeological and anthropological data sets that comprise the only hard evidence for it. In addition, they also offer valuable tools for understanding key features of hominin cognition and the selective pressures driving its evolution. Accordingly, this chapter reviews the theoretical and practical bases for the application of network concepts and methods to the investigation of hominin and human cognition.