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Morita M, Nishikawa Y, Tokumasu Y. Human musical capacity and products should have been induced by the hominin-specific combination of several biosocial features: A three-phase scheme on socio-ecological, cognitive, and cultural evolution. Evol Anthropol 2024:e22031. [PMID: 38757853 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2024] [Revised: 04/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Various selection pressures have shaped human uniqueness, for instance, music. When and why did musical universality and diversity emerge? Our hypothesis is that "music" initially originated from manipulative calls with limited musical elements. Thereafter, vocalizations became more complex and flexible along with a greater degree of social learning. Finally, constructed musical instruments and the language faculty resulted in diverse and context-specific music. Music precursors correspond to vocal communication among nonhuman primates, songbirds, and cetaceans. To place this scenario in hominin history, a three-phase scheme for music evolution is presented herein. We emphasize (1) the evolution of sociality and life history in australopithecines, (2) the evolution of cognitive and learning abilities in early/middle Homo, and (3) cultural evolution, primarily in Homo sapiens. Human musical capacity and products should be due to the hominin-specific combination of several biosocial features, including bipedalism, stable pair bonding, alloparenting, expanded brain size, and sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahito Morita
- Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Health Sciences of Mind and Body, University of Human Arts and Sciences, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yuri Nishikawa
- Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Molecular Life Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Yudai Tokumasu
- Evolutionary Anthropology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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2
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Whiten A. Cultural evolution in the science of culture and cultural evolution. Phys Life Rev 2023; 45:31-51. [PMID: 37003251 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
My critical review [1] elicited a welcome diversity of perspectives across the 12 commentaries now published [2-13]. In total 28 co-authors were inspired to contribute. In addition to engaging with the critical perspectives of my review, several of the commentaries take the debates and discussions into insightful and potentially important supplementary domains that I highlight in what follows. I have extracted a number of major themes in which I detected overlaps in the foci of different commentaries, and I use these to organise my replies. I hope that our shared efforts will constitute some degree of 'cultural evolution' in our science, as suggested in the title of this reply to commentaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Whiten
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK.
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3
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Goldsborough Z, Schel AM, van Leeuwen EJC. Chimpanzees communicate to coordinate a cultural practice. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20221754. [PMID: 36651045 PMCID: PMC9845976 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Human culture thrives by virtue of communication, yet whether communication plays an influential role in the cultural lives of other animals remains understudied. Here, we investigated whether chimpanzees use communication to engage in a cultural practice by analysing grooming handclasp (GHC) interactions-a socio-cultural behaviour requiring interindividual coordination for successful execution. Previous accounts attributed GHC initiations to behavioural shaping, whereby the initiator physically moulds the partner's arm into the desired GHC posture. Using frame-by-frame analysis and matched-control methodology, we find that chimpanzees do not only shape their partner's posture (22%), but also use gestural communication to initiate GHC (44%), which requires an active and synchronized response from the partner. Moreover, in a third (34%) of the GHC initiations, the requisite coordination was achieved by seemingly effortless synchrony. Lastly, using a longitudinal approach, we find that for GHC initiations, communication occurs more frequently than shaping in experienced dyads and less in mother-offspring dyads. These findings are consistent with ontogenetic ritualization, thereby reflecting first documentation of chimpanzees communicating to coordinate a cultural practice. We conclude that chimpanzees show interactional flexibility in the socio-cultural domain, opening the possibility that the interplay between communication and culture is rooted in our deep evolutionary history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Goldsborough
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Bücklestraße 5a, Konstanz, 78467, Germany,Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany
| | - Anne Marijke Schel
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, Utrecht, CA 3584, The Netherlands,Behavioral Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium,Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, K. Astridplein 26, B 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
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4
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Nelson-Reinier T, Clarke JA. Dialects in North American elk bugle calls: comparisons between source and translocated elk populations. J Mammal 2023. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Identifying the factors shaping dialects can reveal selective pressures and cultural influences on acoustic signals. Translocations of species have been considered the “gold standard” for identifying population differences in vocalizations, including dialects. The North American elk (Cervus canadensis) is a species that has experienced numerous translocations, but no published studies exist on dialects in elk or any other ungulate species. Adult male North American elk utter an iconic vocalization during the breeding season, which is termed the bugle call due to the power, duration, and pitch of the sound. We investigated if dialect differences existed between three populations: a source population in Wyoming (N = 10 bulls, 132 calls) and translocated populations in Colorado (N = 13 bulls, 92 calls) and Pennsylvania (N = 20 bulls, 160 calls). Dialect differences existed between the populations in 9 of 10 measured variables, in both the frequency domain and time domain. Habitat factors (acoustic adaptation hypothesis) affecting sound transmission were inconsistently related to dialects in the populations. Genetic factors may be related to dialects, as the historically bottlenecked Pennsylvania population, with low heterozygosity and low allelic richness, exhibited the least variability in acoustic measures. Cultural transmission and vocal learning may also contribute to dialect development in this highly vocal, social ungulate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracee Nelson-Reinier
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado , Greeley, Colorado 99164 , USA
| | - Jennifer A Clarke
- Biology Department, University of La Verne , La Verne, California 91750 , USA
- Center for Wildlife Studies , South Freeport, Maine 04078 , USA
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5
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Schulze JN, Denkinger J, Oña J, Poole MM, Garland EC. Humpback whale song revolutions continue to spread from the central into the eastern South Pacific. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220158. [PMID: 36061519 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6125250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song 'revolutions' have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016-2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016-2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin. This study demonstrates songs first identified in western populations can be transmitted across the entire South Pacific, supporting the potential for a circumpolar Southern Hemisphere cultural transmission of song and a vocal culture rivalled in its extent only by our own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine N Schulze
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Judith Denkinger
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - Javier Oña
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - M Michael Poole
- Marine Mammal Research Program, BP 698, Maharepa, 98728 Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Ellen C Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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Schulze JN, Denkinger J, Oña J, Poole MM, Garland EC. Humpback whale song revolutions continue to spread from the central into the eastern South Pacific. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220158. [PMID: 36061519 PMCID: PMC9428538 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Cultural transmission of behaviour is an important aspect of many animal communities ranging from humans to birds. Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) sing a repetitive, stereotyped, socially learnt and culturally transmitted song display that slowly evolves each year. Most males within a population sing the same, slow-evolving song type; but in the South Pacific, song 'revolutions' have led to rapid and complete replacement of one song type by another introduced from a neighbouring population. Songs spread eastwards, from eastern Australia to French Polynesia, but the easterly extent of this transmission was unknown. Here, we investigated whether song revolutions continue to spread from the central (French Polynesia) into the eastern (Ecuador) South Pacific region. Similarity analyses using three consecutive years of song data (2016-2018) revealed that song themes recorded in 2016-2018 French Polynesian song matched song themes sung in 2018 Ecuadorian song, suggesting continued easterly transmission of song to Ecuador, and vocal connectivity across the entire South Pacific Ocean basin. This study demonstrates songs first identified in western populations can be transmitted across the entire South Pacific, supporting the potential for a circumpolar Southern Hemisphere cultural transmission of song and a vocal culture rivalled in its extent only by our own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josephine N. Schulze
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Judith Denkinger
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - Javier Oña
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales (Cociba), Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito EC170157, Ecuador
- Acoustic Ecology Program, CETACEA Ecuador Project, Quito EC17015, Ecuador
| | - M. Michael Poole
- Marine Mammal Research Program, BP 698, Maharepa, 98728 Moorea, French Polynesia
| | - Ellen C. Garland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK
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Malige F, Patris J, Hauray M, Giraudet P, Glotin H. Mathematical models of long term evolution of blue whale song types' frequencies. J Theor Biol 2022; 548:111184. [PMID: 35697145 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The linear decrease in the frequency of blue whale songs around the world is, to date, an unexplained phenomenon. We show it can be reproduced by a mathematical model considering two antagonistic behavioral trends: first, a bias towards conformity in the song, and second, a tendency to try and sing lower than the other whales. We check the robustness of our model by considering some more complex premises. First, different hierarchical relations between the singers are explored, adapting methods used in the flocking motion studies. Then a population-dependant simulation shows that even considering the gradual addition of new whales, the evolution is still globally linear. Finally, we show that intra-annual variations surging from different causes can be naturally incorporated into the model. We then conclude that, unlike other explanations, a cultural hypothesis seems compatible with the observed linearity of the blue whales's songs frequency shift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franck Malige
- DYNI team, LIS laboratory, Université de Toulon, Campus de La Garde, Bat. X, CS 60584, 83041 Toulon Cedex 9, France.
| | - Julie Patris
- Faculté des sciences, université d'Aix-Marseille, site Montperrin, 6 avenue du Pigonnet, 13090 Aix en Provence, France.
| | - Maxime Hauray
- Institut de mathématiques de Marseille, université d'Aix-Marseille, Technopole Chateau-Gombert, 39 rue F. Joliot Curie, 13453 Marseille Cedex 13, France.
| | - Pascale Giraudet
- DYNI team, LIS laboratory, Université de Toulon, Campus de La Garde, Bat. X, CS 60584, 83041 Toulon Cedex 9, France.
| | - Hervé Glotin
- DYNI team, LIS laboratory, Université de Toulon, Campus de La Garde, Bat. X, CS 60584, 83041 Toulon Cedex 9, France.
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8
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Song complexity is maintained during inter-population cultural transmission of humpback whale songs. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8999. [PMID: 35637205 PMCID: PMC9151787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12784-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Among animal species, the songs of male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a rare example of social learning between entire populations. Understanding fine-scale similarity in song patterns and structural features will better clarify how accurately songs are learned during inter-population transmission. Here, six distinct song types (2009–2015) transmitted from the east Australian to New Caledonian populations were quantitatively analysed using fine-scale song features. Results found that New Caledonian whales learned each song type with high accuracy regardless of the pattern’s complexity. However, there were rare instances of themes (stereotyped patterns of sound units) only sung by a single population. These occurred more often in progressively changing ‘evolutionary’ songs compared to rapidly changing ‘revolutionary’ songs. Our results suggest that populations do not need to reduce complexity to accurately learn song patterns. Populations may also incorporate changes and embellishments into songs in the form of themes which are suggested to be learnt as distinct segments. Maintaining complex song patterns with such accuracy suggests significant acoustic contact, supporting the hypothesis that song learning may occur on shared feeding grounds or migration routes. This study improves the understanding of inter-population mechanisms for large-scale cultural transmission in animals.
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9
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Garland EC, Garrigue C, Noad MJ. When does cultural evolution become cumulative culture? A case study of humpback whale song. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200313. [PMID: 34894734 PMCID: PMC8666910 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Culture presents a second inheritance system by which innovations can be transmitted between generations and among individuals. Some vocal behaviours present compelling examples of cultural evolution. Where modifications accumulate over time, such a process can become cumulative cultural evolution. The existence of cumulative cultural evolution in non-human animals is controversial. When physical products of such a process do not exist, modifications may not be clearly visible over time. Here, we investigate whether the constantly evolving songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are indicative of cumulative cultural evolution. Using nine years of song data recorded from the New Caledonian humpback whale population, we quantified song evolution and complexity, and formally evaluated this process in light of criteria for cumulative cultural evolution. Song accumulates changes shown by an increase in complexity, but this process is punctuated by rapid loss of song material. While such changes tentatively satisfy the core criteria for cumulative cultural evolution, this claim hinges on the assumption that novel songs are preferred by females. While parsimonious, until such time as studies can link fitness benefits (reproductive success) to individual singers, any claims that humpback whale song evolution represents a form of cumulative cultural evolution may remain open to interpretation. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen C. Garland
- Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK
| | - Claire Garrigue
- UMR ENTROPIE, (IRD, Université de La Réunion, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, IFREMER, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Excellence – CORAIL), 98848 Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Opération Cétacés, 98802 Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Michael J. Noad
- Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia
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10
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Vernes SC, Janik VM, Fitch WT, Slater PJB. Vocal learning in animals and humans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200234. [PMID: 34482718 PMCID: PMC8422595 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C Vernes
- School of Biology, The University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication Group, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent M Janik
- School of Biology, The University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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