26th Neolithic Seminar : Evolution and Cultural Changes in Prehistory  

Congrès, colloques, réunions

 

8-9 novembre 2019
University of Ljubljana - Faculty of Arts - Department of Archaeology

 

 

The conference aims to discuss perceptions, conceptions and (verbal and mathematical) modelling of evolution and cultural changes in prehistory as well as the ways in which culture extends biology, and how biology extends through culture.

 

The development of the theory in evolutionary biology is older than in archaeology, and while Spencer's versions of evolution became an integral part of ‘new archaeology’ with Binford, in parallel studies, Cavalli-Sforza & Feldman and Boyd & Richerson introduced mathematically modelled cultural processes in prehistory that were based on Darwin’s principles. They suggested that humans have a second inheritance system (i.e. culture) in addition to their genes. In this postulate, knowledge, skills and values residing in human brains constitute the cultural genotype, while artefacts and behaviours constitute the phenotype. The two systems may interact in complex processes, and while genetic inheritance is transmitted only vertically (from parents to child), cultural traits transmissions work through social learning and can be transmitted horizontally (between unrelated individuals) as well [...]

 

Plus d'infos

mihael.budja@ff.uni-lj.si