TY - JOUR

T1 - The adaptive nature of culture

T2 - A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of local environmental knowledge in three indigenous societies

AU - Reyes-García, Victoria

AU - Guèze, Maximilien

AU - Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel

AU - Duda, Romain

AU - Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro

AU - Gallois, Sandrine

AU - Napitupulu, Lucentezza

AU - Orta-Martínez, Martí

AU - Pyhälä, Aili

PY - 2016/12/1

Y1 - 2016/12/1

N2 - Researchers have argued that the behavioral adaptations that explain the success of our species are partially cultural, that is, 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, 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 hunting returns and self-reported health but not to nutritional status. We argue that this paradox can be explained through the prevalence of sharing: individuals achieving higher returns to their knowledge transfer them to the rest of the population, which explains the lack of association between knowledge and nutritional status. The finding is in consonance with previous research highlighting the importance of cultural traits favoring group success but pushes it forward by elucidating the mechanisms through which individual- and group-level adaptive forces interact.

AB - Researchers have argued that the behavioral adaptations that explain the success of our species are partially cultural, that is, 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, 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 hunting returns and self-reported health but not to nutritional status. We argue that this paradox can be explained through the prevalence of sharing: individuals achieving higher returns to their knowledge transfer them to the rest of the population, which explains the lack of association between knowledge and nutritional status. The finding is in consonance with previous research highlighting the importance of cultural traits favoring group success but pushes it forward by elucidating the mechanisms through which individual- and group-level adaptive forces interact.

KW - Biology

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - local environmental knowledge

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85001104646&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1086/689307

DO - 10.1086/689307

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 28104924

AN - SCOPUS:85001104646

VL - 57

SP - 761

EP - 784

JO - Current Anthropology

JF - Current Anthropology

SN - 0011-3204

IS - 6

ER -