Human Culture

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The Dawn of Human Culture

Richard G. Klein
The Dawn of Human Culture Book PDF

Author : Richard G. Klein
Publisher : Turner Publishing Company
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2007-08-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780470250716

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The Dawn of Human Culture by Richard G. Klein Pdf

A bold new theory on what sparked the "big bang" of human culture The abrupt emergence of human culture over a stunningly short period continues to be one of the great enigmas of human evolution. This compelling book introduces a bold new theory on this unsolved mystery. Author Richard Klein reexamines the archaeological evidence and brings in new discoveries in the study of the human brain. These studies detail the changes that enabled humans to think and behave in far more sophisticated ways than before, resulting in the incredibly rapid evolution of new skills. Richard Klein has been described as "the premier anthropologist in the country today" by Evolutionary Anthropology. Here, he and coauthor Blake Edgar shed new light on the full story of a truly fascinating period of evolution. Richard G. Klein, PhD (Palo Alto, CA), is a Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. He is the author of the definitive academic book on the subject of the origins of human culture, The Human Career. Blake Edgar (San Francisco, CA) is the coauthor of the very successful From Lucy to Language, with Dr. Donald Johanson. He has written extensively for Discover, GEO, and numerous other magazines.

Cultural Evolution

Alex Mesoudi
Cultural Evolution Book PDF

Author : Alex Mesoudi
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2011-07-30
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780226520452

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Cultural Evolution by Alex Mesoudi Pdf

Charles Darwin changed the course of scientific thinking by showing how evolution accounts for the stunning diversity and biological complexity of life on earth. Recently, there has also been increased interest in the social sciences in how Darwinian theory can explain human culture. Covering a wide range of topics, including fads, public policy, the spread of religion, and herd behavior in markets, Alex Mesoudi shows that human culture is itself an evolutionary process that exhibits the key Darwinian mechanisms of variation, competition, and inheritance. This cross-disciplinary volume focuses on the ways cultural phenomena can be studied scientifically—from theoretical modeling to lab experiments, archaeological fieldwork to ethnographic studies—and shows how apparently disparate methods can complement one another to the mutual benefit of the various social science disciplines. Along the way, the book reveals how new insights arise from looking at culture from an evolutionary angle. Cultural Evolution provides a thought-provoking argument that Darwinian evolutionary theory can both unify different branches of inquiry and enhance understanding of human behavior.

The Emergence of Culture

Philip Chase
The Emergence of Culture Book PDF

Author : Philip Chase
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2006-09-27
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780387306742

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The Emergence of Culture by Philip Chase Pdf

This book describes the emergent nature of human culture, based on the human ability to create and pass on social codes through instruction and example. It proposes hypotheses to explain how a phenomenon that is potentially maladaptive for individuals could have evolved, and to explain why culture plays such a pervasive role in human life. It then reviews the primatological, fossil, and archaeological data to test these hypotheses.

A Brief History of Human Culture in the 20th Century

Qi Xin
A Brief History of Human Culture in the 20th Century Book PDF

Author : Qi Xin
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2019-08-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9789811399732

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A Brief History of Human Culture in the 20th Century by Qi Xin Pdf

This book examines the cultural concepts that guided the development of the “age of mankind”— the changes that took place in historical, philosophical, scientific, religious, literary, and artistic thought in the 20th century. It discusses a broad range of major topics, including the spread of commercial capitalism; socialist revolutions; the two world wars; anti-colonialist national liberation movements; scientific progress; the clashes and fusion of Eastern and Western cultures; globalization; women’s rights movements; mass media and entertainment; the age of information and the digital society. The combination of cultural phenomena and theoretical descriptions ensures a unity of culture, history and logic. Lastly, the book explores the enormous changes in lifestyles and the virtualized future, revealing cultural characteristics and discussing 21st -century trends in the context of information technology, globalization and the digital era.

Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind

Mark Pagel
Wired for Culture Origins of the Human Social Mind Book PDF

Author : Mark Pagel
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2012-02-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780393063158

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Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind by Mark Pagel Pdf

“Does an excellent job of using evolutionary biology to discuss the origins of religion, music, art, and . . . morality.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review A unique trait of the human species is that our personalities, lifestyles, and worldviews are shaped by an accident of birth—namely, the culture into which we are born. It is our cultures and not our genes that determine which foods we eat, which languages we speak, which people we love and marry, and which people we kill in war. But how did our species develop a mind that is hardwired for culture—and why? Evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel tracks this intriguing question through the last 80,000 years of human evolution, revealing how an innate propensity to contribute and conform to the culture of our birth not only enabled human survival and progress in the past but also continues to influence our behavior today. Shedding light on our species’ defining attributes—from art, morality, and altruism to self-interest, deception, and prejudice—Wired for Culture offers surprising new insights into what it means to be human.

Transforming Human Culture

Jay Earley
Transforming Human Culture Book PDF

Author : Jay Earley
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 382 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1997-01-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0791433730

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Transforming Human Culture by Jay Earley Pdf

The next step in social evolution, Earley argues, is to take conscious charge of our future by integrating the ground qualities with the emergent qualities so that they can continue to evolve, but in a healthy way.

Cultural Connections

Morris J. Vogel
Cultural Connections Book PDF

Author : Morris J. Vogel
Publisher : Temple University Press
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 087722840X

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Cultural Connections by Morris J. Vogel Pdf

Illustrates the history, civilization, and social conditions of the United States via artifacts, paintings, and other objects from the collections of cultural institutions in Philadelphia and environs.

Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind

Mark Schaller,Ara Norenzayan,Steven J. Heine,Toshio Yamagishi,Tatsuya Kameda
Evolution Culture and the Human Mind Book PDF

Author : Mark Schaller,Ara Norenzayan,Steven J. Heine,Toshio Yamagishi,Tatsuya Kameda
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2011-03-17
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781136950490

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Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind by Mark Schaller,Ara Norenzayan,Steven J. Heine,Toshio Yamagishi,Tatsuya Kameda Pdf

An enormous amount of scientific research compels two fundamental conclusions about the human mind: The mind is the product of evolution; and the mind is shaped by culture. These two perspectives on the human mind are not incompatible, but, until recently, their compatibility has resisted rigorous scholarly inquiry. Evolutionary psychology documents many ways in which genetic adaptations govern the operations of the human mind. But evolutionary inquiries only occasionally grapple seriously with questions about human culture and cross-cultural differences. By contrast, cultural psychology documents many ways in which thought and behavior are shaped by different cultural experiences. But cultural inquires rarely consider evolutionary processes. Even after decades of intensive research, these two perspectives on human psychology have remained largely divorced from each other. But that is now changing - and that is what this book is about. Evolution, Culture, and the Human Mind is the first scholarly book to integrate evolutionary and cultural perspectives on human psychology. The contributors include world-renowned evolutionary, cultural, social, and cognitive psychologists. These chapters reveal many novel insights linking human evolution to both human cognition and human culture – including the evolutionary origins of cross-cultural differences. The result is a stimulating introduction to an emerging integrative perspective on human nature.

Not By Genes Alone

Peter J. Richerson,Robert Boyd
Not By Genes Alone Book PDF

Author : Peter J. Richerson,Robert Boyd
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 343 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2008-06-20
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780226712130

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Not By Genes Alone by Peter J. Richerson,Robert Boyd Pdf

Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy virtually every habitat on earth using an incredible variety of tools and subsistence techniques. Our societies are larger, more complex, and more cooperative than any other mammal's. In this stunning exploration of human adaptation, Peter J. Richerson and Robert Boyd argue that only a Darwinian theory of cultural evolution can explain these unique characteristics. Not by Genes Alone offers a radical interpretation of human evolution, arguing that our ecological dominance and our singular social systems stem from a psychology uniquely adapted to create complex culture. Richerson and Boyd illustrate here that culture is neither superorganic nor the handmaiden of the genes. Rather, it is essential to human adaptation, as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion. Drawing on work in the fields of anthropology, political science, sociology, and economics—and building their case with such fascinating examples as kayaks, corporations, clever knots, and yams that require twelve men to carry them—Richerson and Boyd convincingly demonstrate that culture and biology are inextricably linked, and they show us how to think about their interaction in a way that yields a richer understanding of human nature. In abandoning the nature-versus-nurture debate as fundamentally misconceived, Not by Genes Alone is a truly original and groundbreaking theory of the role of culture in evolution and a book to be reckoned with for generations to come. “I continue to be surprised by the number of educated people (many of them biologists) who think that offering explanations for human behavior in terms of culture somehow disproves the suggestion that human behavior can be explained in Darwinian evolutionary terms. Fortunately, we now have a book to which they may be directed for enlightenment . . . . It is a book full of good sense and the kinds of intellectual rigor and clarity of writing that we have come to expect from the Boyd/Richerson stable.”—Robin Dunbar, Nature “Not by Genes Alone is a valuable and very readable synthesis of a still embryonic but very important subject straddling the sciences and humanities.”—E. O. Wilson, Harvard University

The Secret of Our Success

Joseph Henrich
The Secret of Our Success Book PDF

Author : Joseph Henrich
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2017-10-17
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780691178431

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The Secret of Our Success by Joseph Henrich Pdf

How our collective intelligence has helped us to evolve and prosper Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse environments. What has enabled us to dominate the globe, more than any other species, while remaining virtually helpless as lone individuals? This book shows that the secret of our success lies not in our innate intelligence, but in our collective brains—on the ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another over generations. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscientific findings, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich demonstrates how our collective brains have propelled our species' genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Our early capacities for learning from others produced many cultural innovations, such as fire, cooking, water containers, plant knowledge, and projectile weapons, which in turn drove the expansion of our brains and altered our physiology, anatomy, and psychology in crucial ways. Later on, some collective brains generated and recombined powerful concepts, such as the lever, wheel, screw, and writing, while also creating the institutions that continue to alter our motivations and perceptions. Henrich shows how our genetics and biology are inextricably interwoven with cultural evolution, and how culture-gene interactions launched our species on an extraordinary evolutionary trajectory. Tracking clues from our ancient past to the present, The Secret of Our Success explores how the evolution of both our cultural and social natures produce a collective intelligence that explains both our species' immense success and the origins of human uniqueness.

Culture and Human Nature

Horace Kallen,Melford E. Spiro
Culture and Human Nature Book PDF

Author : Horace Kallen,Melford E. Spiro
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 263 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2020-03-02
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781000676457

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Culture and Human Nature by Horace Kallen,Melford E. Spiro Pdf

This volume illustrates Melford Spiro's explorations of key relationships among culture, society, and human nature. He addresses such fundamental issues as the limitations of cultural relativism, the problem of explanation in the social sciences, and the importance of a comparative approach to the study of social and cultural system.

Culture, Suicide, and the Human Condition

Marja-Liisa Honkasalo,Miira Tuominen
Culture Suicide and the Human Condition Book PDF

Author : Marja-Liisa Honkasalo,Miira Tuominen
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2014-03-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781782382355

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Culture, Suicide, and the Human Condition by Marja-Liisa Honkasalo,Miira Tuominen Pdf

Suicide is a puzzling phenomenon. Not only is its demarcation problematic but it also eludes simple explanation. The cultures in which suicide mortality is high do not necessarily have much else in common, and neither is a single mental illness such as depression sufficient to lead a person to suicide. In a word, despite its statistical regularity, suicide is unpredictable on the individual level. The main argument emerging from this collection is that suicide should not be understood as a separate realm of pathological behavior but as a form of human action. As such it is always dependent on the decision that the individual makes in a cultural, ethical and socio-economic context, but the context never completely determines the decision. This book also argues that cultural narratives concerning suicide have a problematic double function: in addition to enabling the community to make sense of self-inflicted death, they also constitute a blueprint depicting suicide as a solution to common human problems.

That Complex Whole

Lee Cronk
That Complex Whole Book PDF

Author : Lee Cronk
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 180 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2019-05-20
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780429965463

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That Complex Whole by Lee Cronk Pdf

Our understanding of the evolution of human behavior has grown enormously over the past few decades, and an increasing number of behavioral and social scientists are making use of evolutionary theory in their work to shed light on issues ranging from marriage and parenting to the study of mental illness. The success of this research program is thre

The Biology of Civilisation

Stephen Vickers Boyden
The Biology of Civilisation Book PDF

Author : Stephen Vickers Boyden
Publisher : UNSW Press
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : History
ISBN : 0868407666

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The Biology of Civilisation by Stephen Vickers Boyden Pdf

Looks at the complex interrelationships between human culture and the nature. Covering the period from the beginning of agriculture right up to the present day, it focuses on issues relating to human health and well-being and the state of our natural environment. From his vast survey, author Stephen Boyden draws some key conclusions critical to the future of humanity.

Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture

Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh
Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture Book PDF

Author : Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 575 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2018-10-18
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9781108470971

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Human Evolution Beyond Biology and Culture by Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh Pdf

A complete account of evolutionary thought in the social, environmental and policy sciences, creating bridges with biology.