Full Description
The concept of "cultural transmission" is central to much contemporary anthropological theory, since successful human reproduction through social systems is essential for effective survival and for enhancing the adaptiveness of individual humans and local populations. Yet, what is understood by the phrase and how it might best be studied is highly contested. This book brings together contributions that reflect the current diversity of approaches - from the fields of biology, primatology, palaeoanthropology, psychology, social anthropology, ethnobiology, and archaeology - to examine social and cultural transmission from a range of perspectives and at different scales of generalization. The comprehensive introduction explores some of the problems and connections. Overall, the book provides a timely synthesis of current accounts of cultural transmission in relation to cognitive process, practical action, and local socio-ecological context, while linking these with explanations of longer-term evolutionary trajectories.
Contents
List of Figures List of Tables Preface List of Contributors Introduction Roy Ellen and Michael Fischer Chapter 1. What Animals Other Than Primates can tell us about Cultural Transmission Kevin Laland, Alice Cowie and Tom Morgan Chapter 2. Cultural Transmission in Non-human Primates: Definitions and Evidence Tatyana Humle and Nicholas Newton-Fisher Chapter 3. Cultural Transmission Theory and fossil Hominin Behaviour: A Discussion of Epistemological and Methodological Strengths Stephen Lycett Chapter 4. Studying Cultural Transmission Within an Interdisciplinary Cultural Evolutionary Framework Alex Mesoudi Chapter 5. Do Transmission Isolation Mechanisms (TRIMS) Influence Cultural Evolution? Evidence from Patterns of Textile Diversity Within and Between Iranian Cultural Jamshid Tehrani and Mark Collard Chapter 6. Co-evolution Between Bentwood Box Traditions and Languages on the Pacific Northwest Coast Sean O'Neill and Peter Jordan Chapter 7. The Transmission of Ethnobotanical Knowledge and Skills Among Tsimane' in the Bolivian Amazon Viki Reyes-Garcia and TAPS Bolivian Study Team Chapter 8. Processual Perspectives on Traditional Knowledge: Continuity, Erosion, Transformation, Innovation Stanford Zent Chapter 9. The Transmission of Basketry-making Knowledge in East Kalimantan Rajindra Puri Chapter 10. On the Transmission of Gardening Knowledge: Innovation and Consensus in the Planting of Allotment Vegetables Simon Platten Chapter 11. Thinking Like a Cheese?: An Exploration of the Ecology of Knowledge in Artisan Cheesemaking Harry West Chapter 12. Lineages of Cultural Transmission Stephen Shennan Index
