The adaptive nature of culture : a cross-cultural analysis of the returns of local environmental knowledge in three indigenous societies
Reyes-García, Victoria (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Guèze, Maximilien (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Romain, Duda (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Gallois, Sandrine (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Napitupulu, Lucentezza (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Orta-Martínez, Martí (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Pyhälä, Aili (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Data:	2016
Resum:	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 hunting returns and to 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.
Ajuts:	European Commission 261971 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MDM2015-0552
Nota:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552
Drets:	Tots els drets reservats.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	Adaptation ; Cross-cultural research ; Hunter-gatherers ; Hunting ; Medicinal plants ; Sharing ; Traditional knowledge
Publicat a:	Current anthropology, Vol. 57 issue 6 (Dec. 2016) , p. 761-784, ISSN 0011-3204

DOI: 10.1086/689307
PMID: 28104924

24 p, 656.6 KB

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