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Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits

Publication ,  Journal Article
Borgerhoff Mulder, M; Nunn, CL; Towner, MC
Published in: Evolutionary Anthropology
March 1, 2006

Cultural traits are distributed across human societies in a patterned way. Study of the mechanisms whereby cultural traits persist and change over time is key to understanding human cultural diversity. For more than a century, a central question has engaged anthropologists interested in the study of cultural trait variation: What is the source of cultural variation? More precisely, are cultural traits transmitted primarily from ancestral to descendant populations (vertical transmission) or between contemporary, typically neighboring populations (horizontal transmission), or do they emerge as independent innovations? While debates among unilineal evolutionists and diffusionists have long since faded, there is still much uncertainty about how traits are transmitted at this macroevolutionary level, as well as about the implications of these transmission patterns for testing hypotheses regarding the adaptive function of particular cultural traits across human populations.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Evolutionary Anthropology

DOI

ISSN

1060-1538

Publication Date

March 1, 2006

Volume

15

Issue

2

Start / End Page

52 / 64

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4409 Social work
  • 4404 Development studies
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 4301 Archaeology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 2101 Archaeology
  • 1607 Social Work
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology
 

Citation

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Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Nunn, C. L., & Towner, M. C. (2006). Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits. Evolutionary Anthropology, 15(2), 52–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.20088
Borgerhoff Mulder, M., C. L. Nunn, and M. C. Towner. “Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits.” Evolutionary Anthropology 15, no. 2 (March 1, 2006): 52–64. https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.20088.
Borgerhoff Mulder M, Nunn CL, Towner MC. Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits. Evolutionary Anthropology. 2006 Mar 1;15(2):52–64.
Borgerhoff Mulder, M., et al. “Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits.” Evolutionary Anthropology, vol. 15, no. 2, Mar. 2006, pp. 52–64. Scopus, doi:10.1002/evan.20088.
Borgerhoff Mulder M, Nunn CL, Towner MC. Cultural macroevolution and the transmission of traits. Evolutionary Anthropology. 2006 Mar 1;15(2):52–64.
Journal cover image

Published In

Evolutionary Anthropology

DOI

ISSN

1060-1538

Publication Date

March 1, 2006

Volume

15

Issue

2

Start / End Page

52 / 64

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4409 Social work
  • 4404 Development studies
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 4301 Archaeology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 2101 Archaeology
  • 1607 Social Work
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0603 Evolutionary Biology