The adaptive nature of culture. A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of local environmental knowledge in three indigenous societies.

ABSTRACT: Researchers have argued that the behavioral adaptations that explain the success of our species are partially cultural, i.e., cumulative and socially transmitted. Thus, understanding the adaptive nature of culture is crucial to understand human evolution. We use a cross-cultural framework and empirical data purposely collected to test whether culturally transmitted and individually appropriated knowledge provides individual returns in terms of hunting yields and health and, by extension, to nutritional status, a proxy for individual adaptive success. Data were collected in three subsistence-oriented societies: the Tsimane' (Amazon), the Baka (Congo Basin), and the Punan (Borneo). Results suggest that variations in individual levels of local environmental knowledge relate to individual hunt

SUBMITTER: Reyes-Garcia V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5238946 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature