Prentiss / Kuijt / Chatters Macroevolution in Human Prehistory

Evolutionary Theory and Processual Archaeology
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4419-0682-3
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 324 Seiten

Cultural evolution, much like general evolution, works from the assumption that cultures are descendent from much earlier ancestors. Human culture manifests itself in forms ranging from the small bands of hunters, through intermediate scale complex hunter-gatherers and farmers, to the high density urban settlements and complex polities that characterize much of today's world. The chapters in the volume examine the dynamic interaction between the micro- and macro-scales of cultural evolution, developing a theoretical approach to the archaeological record that has been termed evolutionary processual archaeology. The contributions in this volume integrate positive elements of both evolutionary and processualist schools of thought. The approach, as explicated by the contributors in this work, offers novel insights into topics that include the emergence, stasis, collapse and extinction of cultural patterns, and development of social inequalities. Consequently, these contributions form a stepping off point for a significant new range of cultural evolutionary studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Prentiss, Anna

Kuijt, Ian

Chatters, James C.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;4
2;Contents;6
3;Contributors;8
4;Introduction;9
4.1; Macroevolution and Archaeology;10
4.1.1; Taxic Macroevolution;11
4.1.2; Evolutionary Anthropology;12
4.1.3; Units, Boundaries, and Heritability;13
4.1.4; Explanation and Evolutionary Process;15
4.2; Macroevolution and Human Prehistory;19
4.2.1; Issues in Cultural Macroevolution;19
4.2.2; Emergence of Cultural Variants;20
4.2.3; Cultural Expansion, Stasis, and Extinction as Macroevolutionary Processes;20
4.2.4; Closing Reflections: Archaeological Approaches to Macroevolution;21
5;References;22
6;Part I Issues in Macroevolutionary Theory;28
6.1;1 Proximate Causation, Group Selection, and the Evolution of Hierarchical Human Societies: System, Process, and Pattern;29
6.1.1; Introduction;29
6.1.2; Evolution and Multilevel Selection;31
6.1.3; Reductionism and Social Complexity;32
6.1.4; Process, Culture, and Constraint;36
6.1.5; Social Complexity and Group Selection;38
6.1.6; Proximate Causation and Exaptation;41
6.1.7; Conflict, Conflict Resolution, and Proximate Causation;43
6.1.8; Structural Variability, Structural Similarity, and Selection;47
6.1.9; Discussion;49
6.1.10; Notes;50
6.2;References;51
6.3;2 Landscape Learning in Relation to Evolutionary Theory;56
6.3.1; Introduction;56
6.3.2; Gathering Environmental Information;57
6.3.3; Landscape Learning and Colonization;59
6.3.4; Landscape Learning at the Macroscale;61
6.3.4.1; Holons and Adaptive Landscape;64
6.3.5; Case Studies;66
6.3.5.1; Early Hominids;66
6.3.5.2; Recolonization of Britain at the End of the Last Ice Age;68
6.3.5.3; South Pass City, Wyoming 1867--1872;69
6.3.6; Conclusions;70
6.4;References;72
6.5;3 The Multiplication of Forms: Bering Strait Harpoon Heads as a Demic and Macroevolutionary Proxy;77
6.5.1; Introduction;77
6.5.2; The Conundrum of Style and Function in Arctic Archaeology;85
6.5.3; Regional or Ethnic Differences in Aesthetic Overlays;87
6.5.4; The Utility of Harpoon Heads in Defining Cultural Blue Prints;90
6.5.5; Resolving the Classificatory Mire and Defining Macroevolutionary Trends;93
6.5.6; The Winged Object as an Ethnic Denominator;94
6.5.7; Defining Cultural and Ethnic Units in Bering Strait: Old Bering Sea, Punuk and Birnirk/Thule;96
6.5.8; Ethnicity in Burial Assemblages;96
6.5.9; Mutual Exclusivity of Birnirk and Punuk Across Bering Strait;99
6.5.10; The Timing of the Shifts in Bering Strait Adaptive Strategies;101
6.5.11; Causation of the Shifts in Bering Strait Adaptive Strategies;101
6.5.12; Aesthetics, Mobility, and Subsistence Production;103
6.5.13; Conclusions;104
6.5.14; Notes;105
6.6;References;105
7;Part II Macroevolutionary Approaches to Cultural Change;112
7.1;4 The Emergence of New Socioeconomic Strategies in theMiddle and Late Holocene Pacific Northwest Regionof North America;113
7.1.1; Introduction;113
7.1.2; Emergence in Paleobiology;114
7.1.3; Emergence in Archaeology;115
7.1.4; Pacific Northwest Prehistory;117
7.1.4.1; Emergent Collectors;119
7.1.4.2; Emergent Complex Collectors;122
7.1.5; Discussion;127
7.1.6; Notes;128
7.2;References;128
7.3;5 Testing the Morphogenesist Model of Primary State Formation: The Zapotec Case;134
7.3.1; Introduction;134
7.3.2; A Model of Primary State Formation;136
7.3.3; Empirical Application;141
7.3.4; Conclusion;152
7.4;References;152
7.5;6 Evolutionary Biology and the Emergence of Agriculture: The Value of Co-opted Models of Evolution in the Study of Culture Change;157
7.5.1; Introduction;157
7.5.2; Neo-Darwinian Selectionist Archaeology;158
7.5.3; Macroevolutionary Archaeology;160
7.5.4; Human Behavioral Ecology;165
7.5.5; Agricultural Origins in the Near East;170
7.5.5.1; Material Culture Attributes (Components 8--10);175
7.5.5.2; Sedentism and Storage (Components 3 and 4);175
7.5.5.3; Population Growth (Component 2);177
7.5.5.4; Mechanisms for Social Cohesion (Component 6);178
7.5.5.5; Magico-religious Traditions Emphasizing Fertility (Component 7);180
7.5.5.6; Trade Networks (Component 5);181
7.5.5.7; Agricultural Economy Based on Plant and Animal Domesticates (Component 1);181
7.5.6; The Utility of Co-opted Evolutionary Models in Explaining Agricultural Emergence in the Near East;187
7.5.6.1; Locus of Change (Macro vs. Micro);187
7.5.6.2; Tempo of Change (Punctuated vs. Gradual);190
7.5.6.3; Directedness of Change (Directed vs. Undirected);192
7.5.6.4; Human Intent in Culture Change (Lots vs. None);193
7.5.7; Conclusions;196
7.6;References;197
8;Part III Cultural Diversification, Stasis and Extinction as Macroevolutionary Processes;211
8.1;7 A Macroevolutionary Perspective on the Archaeological Record of North America;212
8.1.1; Introduction;212
8.1.2; The Evolving Entity;213
8.1.3; Selection and the Manifestation of Fitness;214
8.1.4; Stabilizing Selection and the Emergence of New Strategies;215
8.1.5; Cultural Macroevolution in North America;216
8.1.5.1; Technologies;216
8.1.5.1.1; Earth Ovens in Northwest America;216
8.1.5.1.2; The Bow-and-Arrow;218
8.1.6; Resource Management Strategies;221
8.1.6.1; The Mississippian Package;221
8.1.6.2; Mississippian Precursors;222
8.1.6.3; Emergence of the Mississippian;224
8.1.6.4; Mississippian Expansion;225
8.1.6.5; Macroevolution and the Mississippian;226
8.1.7; Conclusion;227
8.1.8; Notes;228
8.2;References;228
8.3;8 Cultural Stasis and Change in Northern North America: A Macroevolutionary Perspective;234
8.3.1; Introduction;234
8.3.2; Why Stasis in the Archaeological Record?;235
8.3.2.1; Macroevolutionary Units;235
8.3.2.2; Cultural Stasis on the Macroevolutionary Scale;236
8.3.3; Arctic Prehistory;238
8.3.3.1; Pre-Dorset;238
8.3.3.2; Dorset;240
8.3.3.3; Thule;242
8.3.3.4; Extinction of Dorset;244
8.3.4; Discussion;245
8.3.5; Conclusion;246
8.4;References;247
8.5;9 Niche Construction, Macroevolution, and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Near East;251
8.5.1; Introduction;251
8.5.2; Theoretical Perspectives;251
8.5.2.1; Macroevolution and Culture;251
8.5.2.2; Niche Construction and Culture;253
8.5.2.3; Integrating Evolutionary and Ecological Views of Culture;254
8.5.3; Tempo and Niche Construction in the Near East Late Epipaleolithic Period;255
8.5.3.1; Emerging and Coexisting Niches;256
8.5.3.2; Emergence Events: Developments During the Epipaleolithic;258
8.5.3.3; The Epipaleolithic of the Near East: Stasis and Tempos of Change;259
8.5.3.4; Cracked Niches and RMS Extinction;261
8.5.4; Discussion;263
8.5.4.1; Triggers to Niche Construction;263
8.5.4.2; Cultural Extinction and Cracked Niches;264
8.5.5; Notes;265
8.6;References;266
9;Part IV Macroevolutionary Theory in Archaeology;270
9.1;10 Macroevolutionary Theory and Archaeology: Is There a Big Picture?;271
9.1.1; Introduction;271
9.1.1.1; Discussion;273
9.1.2; Fitness Landscapes and Adaptive Peaks;274
9.1.3; History Matters;281
9.1.4; Macroevolution and Cultural Transmission;283
9.1.5; Implications;286
9.2;References;289
9.3;11 Material Cultural Macroevolution;292
9.3.1; Introduction;292
9.3.2; What is Evolution?;293
9.3.3; Information in Biological and Material Cultural Systems;295
9.3.4; Hierarchies and Patterns;299
9.3.5; Hierarchies in Material Cultural Systems;301
9.3.6; Material Cultural Evolution and the Sloshing Bucket;305
9.3.7; Conclusions;307
9.3.8; Notes;310
9.4;References;310
9.5;Index;312