High selection pressure promotes increase in cumulative adaptive culture.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of cumulative adaptive culture has received widespread interest in recent years, especially the factors promoting its occurrence. Current evolutionary models suggest that an increase in population size may lead to an increase in cultural complexity via a higher rate of cultural transmission and innovation. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of natural selection in the evolution of cultural complexity. Here we use an agent-based simulation model to demonstrate that high selection pressure in the form of resource pressure promotes the accumulation of adaptive culture in spite of small population sizes and high innovation costs. We argue that the interaction of demography and selection is important, and that neither can be considered in isolation. We

SUBMITTER: Vegvari C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3906051 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature