Cultural Evolution from Minimal Principles

Origins, Mechanisms, and Consequences
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-1-009-53693-6
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 340 Seiten

This comprehensive and integrative guide to the evolution of human culture offers a unified introduction to one of today's most dynamic interdisciplinary fields. Drawing on research from the Stockholm School of Cultural Evolution, it explains how complex human cultures arise from simple learning mechanisms and social interactions. Across eleven accessible chapters, leading scholars trace the deep origins of culture in animal behavior, explore the evolution of language and technology, model the spread of ideas and norms, and examine how large-scale cultural systems emerge and transform. Bridging biology, psychology, archaeology, linguistics, intellectual history, and complex-systems science, this volume demonstrates how minimalist, domain-general principles can account for the extraordinary diversity of human cultures. Written for students and researchers across the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, it provides a coherent, up-to-date framework for understanding what culture is and how it changes.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lind, Johan

Jon-And, Anna

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I. Introduction: 1. A unifying view on cultural evolution? Johan Lind and Anna Jon-And; 2. Cultural evolutionary thinking: from past to present Fredrik Jansson, Sara Ekström and Johan Lind; Part II. Origins and Biological Foundations of Culture: 3. Similarities and differences between humans and other animals Vera Vinken, Tina Sundelin and Johan Lind; 4. The age of culture Johan Lind; 5. Evolution of stone-tool making Jan Apel; 6. The evolution of language Anna Jon-And; Part III. Mechanisms and Drivers of Cultural Change: 7. Modelling cultural evolution Fredrik Jansson; 8. Population change and cultural evolution Martin Kolk; 9. Emergence and change of norms Fredrik Jansson and Tina Sundelin; Part IV. Emergence and Large-scale Phenomena: 10. A complex systems perspective on cultural evolution Jérôme Michaud and Magnus Enquist; 11. The dynamics of cultural systems Fredrik Jansson; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Jon-And, Anna
Anna Jon-And is Director of the Centre for Cultural Evolution and Senior Lecturer of Portuguese Linguistics at Stockholm University, Sweden. She combines modeling and empirical data to explore cognitive prerequisites for language and the dynamics of variation and change.

Lind, Johan
Johan Lind is Senior Curator at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and Deputy Director at the Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Sweden. His research field includes mechanisms and evolution of behavior and culture.