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Meijer H. Janus faced: The co-evolution of war and peace in the human species. Evol Anthropol 2024:e22027. [PMID: 38623594 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
The human species presents a paradox. No other species possesses the propensity to carry out coalitionary lethal attacks on adult conspecifics coupled with the inclination to establish peaceful relations with genetically unrelated groups. What explains this seemingly contradictory feature? Existing perspectives, the "deep roots" and "shallow roots" of war theses, fail to capture the plasticity of human intergroup behaviors, spanning from peaceful cooperation to warfare. By contrast, this article argues that peace and war have both deep roots, and they co-evolved through an incremental process over several million years. On the one hand, humans inherited the propensity for coalitionary lethal violence from their chimpanzee-like ancestor. Specifically, having first inherited the skills to engage in cooperative hunting, they gradually repurposed such capacity to execute coalitionary killings of adult conspecifics and subsequently enhanced it through technological innovations like the use of weapons. On the other hand, they underwent a process of cumulative cultural evolution and, subsequently, of self-domestication which led to heightened cooperative communication and increased prosocial behavior within and between groups. The combination of these two biocultural evolutionary processes-coupled with feedback loop effects between self-domestication and Pleistocene environmental variability-considerably broadened the human intergroup behavioral repertoire, thereby producing the distinctive combination of conflictual and peaceful intergroup relations that characterizes our species. To substantiate this argument, the article synthesizes and integrates the findings from a variety of disciplines, leveraging evidence from evolutionary anthropology, primatology, archeology, paleo-genetics, and paleo-climatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Meijer
- Sciences Po, Center for International Studies (CERI), Paris, France
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Kandza VH, Jang H, Kiabiya Ntamboudila F, Lew-Levy S, Boyette AH. Dyadic inter-group cooperation in shotgun hunting activities in a Congo Basin village. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2024; 6:e22. [PMID: 38689891 PMCID: PMC11058523 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2024.14] [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] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of inter-group cooperation in human adaptation has been the subject of recent empirical and theoretical studies in evolutionary anthropology, beginning to fill gaps in our knowledge of how interactions across political, economic and social domains can - and often do - lead to stable, large-scale cooperation. Here we investigate dyadic intergroup cooperation in shotgun hunting in the Republic of the Congo. In the Congo Basin, inter-group cooperation between foragers and farmers is at the centre of an exchange system maintained by traditional norms and institutions such as fictive kinship. Here, we focused on what factors predict cooperative shotgun hunting exchanges between BaYaka and Yambe. We conducted structured interviews with 48 BaYaka hunters and 18 Yambe men who organise hunts in a village along the Motaba River. We used Bayesian multilevel regression models to investigate the influence of Yambe and BaYaka attributes on probability of dyadic cooperation. We found that BaYaka men's reputations as skilled hunters and their family size each predicted cooperation in shotgun hunting, whereas there was no effect of Yambe attributes (status, wealth, family size). We discuss the results in terms of evolutionary models of men as hunters and inter-group cooperation, as well as biodiversity conservation implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vidrige H. Kandza
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Haneul Jang
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Advances Studies, Toulouse, France
| | - Francy Kiabiya Ntamboudila
- Faculte des Lettres, Arts et Sciences Humaines Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
| | | | - Adam H. Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Glowacki L. The evolution of peace. Behav Brain Sci 2022; 47:e1. [PMID: 36524358 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22002862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
While some species have affiliative and even cooperative interactions between individuals of different social groups, humans are alone in having durable, positive-sum, interdependent relationships across unrelated social groups. Our capacity to have harmonious relationships that cross group boundaries is an important aspect of our species' success, allowing for the exchange of ideas, materials, and ultimately enabling cumulative cultural evolution. Knowledge about the conditions required for peaceful intergroup relationships is critical for understanding the success of our species and building a more peaceful world. How do humans create harmonious relationships across group boundaries and when did this capacity emerge in the human lineage? Answering these questions involves considering the costs and benefits of intergroup cooperation and aggression, for oneself, one's group, and one's neighbor. Taking a game theoretical perspective provides new insights into the difficulties of removing the threat of war and reveals an ironic logic to peace - the factors that enable peace also facilitate the increased scale and destructiveness of conflict. In what follows, I explore the conditions required for peace, why they are so difficult to achieve, and when we expect peace to have emerged in the human lineage. I argue that intergroup cooperation was an important component of human relationships and a selective force in our species history beginning at least 300 thousand years. But the preconditions for peace only emerged in the past 100 thousand years and likely coexisted with intermittent intergroup violence which would have also been an important and selective force in our species' history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Glowacki
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA ://www.hsb-lab.org/
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DeTroy SE, Ross CT, Cronin KA, van Leeuwen EJ, Haun DB. Cofeeding tolerance in chimpanzees depends on group composition: a longitudinal study across four communities. iScience 2021; 24:102175. [PMID: 33733060 PMCID: PMC7940988 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Social tolerance is generally treated as a stable, species-specific characteristic. Recent research, however, has questioned this position and emphasized the importance of intraspecific variation. We investigate the temporal stability of social tolerance in four groups of sanctuary-housed chimpanzees over eight years using a commonly employed measure: experimental cofeeding tolerance. We then draw on longitudinal data on the demographic composition of each group to identify the factors associated with cofeeding tolerance. We find appreciable levels of variation in cofeeding tolerance across both groups and years that correspond closely to changes in group-level demographic composition. For example, cofeeding tolerance is lower when there are many females with young infants. These results suggest that social tolerance may be a "responding trait" of chimpanzee sociality, reflecting individual-level behavioral responses to social changes. Additional, experimental research is needed to better model the causal drivers of social tolerance within and among species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E. DeTroy
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department for Early Child Development and Culture, Faculty of Education, Leipzig University, Jahnallee 59, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cody T. Ross
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katherine A. Cronin
- Animal Welfare Science Program, Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, 1025 E. 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Edwin J.C. van Leeuwen
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Koningin Astridplein 20-26, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Daniel B.M. Haun
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department for Early Child Development and Culture, Faculty of Education, Leipzig University, Jahnallee 59, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
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Novotny AC. Cooperation and Resilience at the Ancient Maya Site of Chan, Belize. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.13492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Abstract
The evolutionary origins of how modern humans share and use space are often modelled on the territorial-based violence of chimpanzees, with limited comparison to other apes. Gorillas are widely assumed to be non-territorial due to their large home ranges, extensive range overlap, and limited inter-group aggression. Using large-scale camera trapping, we monitored western gorillas in Republic of Congo across 60 km2. Avoidance patterns between groups were consistent with an understanding of the “ownership” of specific regions, with greater avoidance of their neighbours the closer they were to their neighbours’ home range centres. Groups also avoided larger groups’ home ranges to a greater extent, consistent with stronger defensive responses from more dominant groups. Our results suggest that groups may show territoriality, defending core regions of their home ranges against neighbours, and mirror patterns common across human evolution, with core areas of resident dominance and larger zones of mutual tolerance. This implies western gorillas may be a key system for understanding how humans have evolved the capacity for extreme territorial-based violence and warfare, whilst also engaging in the strong affiliative inter-group relationships necessary for large-scale cooperation.
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Feinman GM, Carballo DM. Collaborative and competitive strategies in the variability and resiliency of large-scale societies in Mesoamerica. ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/sea2.12098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gary M. Feinman
- Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago IL 60605-2496 USA
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Abstract
The concept of a 'human nature' or 'human natures' retains a central role in theorizing about the human experience. In Homo sapiens it is clear that we have a suite of capacities generated via our evolutionary past, and present, and a flexible capacity to create and sustain particular kinds of cultures and to be shaped by them. Regardless of whether we label these capacities 'human natures' or not, humans occupy a distinctive niche and an evolutionary approach to examining it is critical. At present we are faced with a few different narratives as to exactly what such an evolutionary approach entails. There is a need for a robust and dynamic theoretical toolkit in order to develop a richer, and more nuanced, understanding of the cognitively sophisticated genus Homo and the diverse sorts of niches humans constructed and occupied across the Pleistocene, Holocene, and into the Anthropocene. Here I review current evolutionary approaches to 'human nature', arguing that we benefit from re-framing our investigations via the concept of the human niche and in the context of the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES). While not a replacement of standard evolutionary approaches, this is an expansion and enhancement of our toolkit. I offer brief examples from human evolution in support of these assertions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustin Fuentes
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
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Molina J, Lubbers M, Valenzuela-García H, Gómez-Mestres S. Cooperation and competition in social anthropology. ANTHROPOLOGY TODAY 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1467-8322.12323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J.L. Molina
- The authors are part of the research group GRAFO, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB, Barcelona
- Economic anthropologist interested in the emergence of transnational social structures, particularly in relation to Southeast Europe
| | - M.J. Lubbers
- The authors are part of the research group GRAFO, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB, Barcelona
| | - H. Valenzuela-García
- The authors are part of the research group GRAFO, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB, Barcelona
| | - S. Gómez-Mestres
- The authors are part of the research group GRAFO, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, UAB, Barcelona
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Wiley AS, Cullin JM. What Do Anthropologists Mean When They Use the TermBiocultural? AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea S. Wiley
- Department of Anthropology; Indiana University; Bloomington IN 47405
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Martin DL, Harrod RP. Bioarchaeological contributions to the study of violence. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156 Suppl 59:116-45. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Debra L. Martin
- Department of Anthropology; University of Nevada; Las Vegas NV 89119
| | - Ryan P. Harrod
- Department of Anthropology; University of Alaska; Anchorage AK 99508
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Nairn S. Nursing and the new biology: towards a realist, anti-reductionist approach to nursing knowledge. Nurs Philos 2014; 15:261-73. [PMID: 25116396 DOI: 10.1111/nup.12067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
As a system of knowledge, nursing has utilized a range of subjects and reconstituted them to reflect the thinking and practice of health care. Often drawn to a holistic model, nursing finds it difficult to resist the reductionist tendencies in biological and medical thinking. In this paper I will propose a relational approach to knowledge that is able to address this issue. The paper argues that biology is not characterized by one stable theory but is often a contentious topic and employs philosophically diverse models in its scientific research. Biology need not be seen as a reductionist science, but reductionism is nonetheless an important current within biological thinking. These reductionist currents can undermine nursing knowledge in four main ways. Firstly, that the conclusions drawn from reductionism go far beyond their data based on an approach that prioritizes biological explanations and eliminates others. Secondly, that the methods employed by biologists are sometimes weak, and the limitations are insufficiently acknowledged. Thirdly, that the assumptions that drive the research agenda are problematic, and finally that uncritical application of these ideas can be potentially disastrous for nursing practice. These issues are explored through an examination of the problems reductionism poses for the issue of gender, mental health, and altruism. I then propose an approach based on critical realism that adopts an anti-reductionist philosophy that utilizes the conceptual tools of emergence and a relational ontology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart Nairn
- School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Derby, UK
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Cieri RL, Churchill SE, Franciscus RG, Tan J, Hare B. Craniofacial Feminization, Social Tolerance, and the Origins of Behavioral Modernity. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2014. [DOI: 10.1086/677209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Gasperetti MA, Sheridan SG. Cry Havoc: Interpersonal Violence at Early Bronze Age Bab edh-Dhra’. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Fuentes A. The new biological anthropology: Bringing Washburn's new physical anthropology into 2010 and beyond-The 2008 AAPA luncheon lecture. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 143 Suppl 51:2-12. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Fuentes A, Wyczalkowski M, MacKinnon K. Niche Construction through Cooperation: A Nonlinear Dynamics Contribution to Modeling Facets of the Evolutionary History in the Genus Homo. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1086/651221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Gettler LT. Direct Male Care and Hominin Evolution: Why Male-Child Interaction Is More Than a Nice Social Idea. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-1433.2009.01193.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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FUENTES AGUSTIN. The Humanity of Animals and the Animality of Humans: A View from Biological Anthropology Inspired by J. M. Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2006. [DOI: 10.1525/aa.2006.108.1.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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