Hunter-gatherer societies and non-human apes share similar publicly available social network structures
the verdict
CONTESTED PARTIAL
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
3 sources for · 2 against
The available literature compares social organization and evolution in humans and primates, but provides only partial or tangential coverage regarding whether hunter-gatherer societies and non-human apes share similar social network structures.
This chapter compares the social behaviour of human hunter-gatherers with that of the better-studied chimpanzee species, Pan troglodytes, in an attempt to pinpoint the unique features of human social evolution. Although hunter-gatherers and chimpanzees living in central Africa have similar body weights, humans live at much lower population densities due to their greater dependence on predation. Human foraging parties have longer duration than those of chimpanzees, lasting hours rather than minutes, and a higher level of mutual dependence, through the division of labour between men (hunting) and women (gathering); which is in turn related to pair-bonding, and meat sharing to reduce the risk of individual hunters' failure on any particular day. The band appears to be a uniquely human social unit that resolves the tension between greater dispersion and greater interdependence.
Some researchers have claimed that chimpanzee and human culture rest on homologous cognitive and learning mechanisms. While clearly there are some homologous mechanisms, we argue here that there are some different mechanisms at work as well. Chimpanzee cultural traditions represent behavioural biases of different populations, all within the species’ existing cognitive repertoire (what we call the ‘zone of latent solutions’) that are generated by founder effects, individual learning and mostly product-oriented (rather than process-oriented) copying. Human culture, in contrast, has the distinctive characteristic that it accumulates modifications over time (what we call the ‘ratchet effect’). This difference results from the facts that (i) human social learning is more oriented towards process than product and (ii) unique forms of human cooperation lead to active teaching, social motivations for conformity and normative sanctions against non-conformity. Together, these unique processes of social learning and cooperation lead to humans’ unique form of cumulative cultural evolution.
Play is generally considered an immature affair. However, adult play is present in several mammal species living in complex social systems. Here, I hypothesize that adult social play is favored by natural selection in those species characterized by high level of social tolerance and/or by the need of others' cooperation to reach a goal (i.e., leverage). The integration and comparison of bio-behavioral data on non-human primates and wild social carnivores allows drawing a comprehensive picture on the importance of adult play in facing unpredictable, novel social situations and in overcoming stressful experiences. The ability to cope with potentially competitive interactions through play can favor the emergence of egalitarian societies. A further interesting and beneficial aspect of adult play is its role in synchronizing group activities and favoring collective decision making by renovating the motivation to cooperate in groupmates. As a last step, some considerations about the presence of adult play in the most egalitarian and cooperative human groups (e.g., hunter-gatherer societies) allows discussing the apparent dichotomy between cultural and biological evolution of certain behavioral traits, including social play in adulthood.
Evolution of Multilevel Social Systems in Nonhuman Primates and Humans | International Journal of Primatology | Springer Nature Link
# Evolution of Multilevel Social Systems in Nonhuman Primates and Humans
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- Published: 18 July 2012
- Volume 33, pages 1002–1037 (2012)
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## Abstract
Multilevel (or modular) societies are a distinct type of primate social system whose key features are single-male–multifemale, core units nested within larger social bands. They are not equivalent to fission–fusion societies, with the latter referring to routine variability in associations, either on an individual or subunit level. The purpose of this review is to characterize and operationalize multilevel societies and to outline their putative evolutionary origins. Multilevel societies are prevalent in three primate clades: papionins, Asian colobines, and hominins. For each clade, we portray the most parsimonious phylogenetic pathway leading to a modular system and then review and discuss likely socioecological conditions promoting the establishmen
Co-Residence Patterns in Hunter-Gatherer Societies Show Unique Human Social Structure | Science
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Contents
## Abstract
Contemporary humans exhibit spectacular biological success derived from cumulative culture and cooperation. The origins of these traits may be related to our ancestral group structure. Because humans lived as foragers for 95% of our species’ history, we analyzed co-residence patterns among 32 present-day foraging societies (total n = 5067 individuals, mean experienced band size = 28.2 adults). We found that hunter-gatherers display a unique social structure where (i) either sex may disperse or remain in their natal group, (ii) adult brothers and sisters often co-reside, and (iii) most individuals in residential groups are genetically unrelated. These patterns produce large interaction networks of unrelated adults and suggest that inclusive fitness cannot explain extensive cooperation in hunter-gatherer bands. However, large social networks may help to explain why humans evolved capacities for social learning that resulted in cumulative culture.
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