Cultural evolutionary theory: How culture evolves and

why it matters
Nicole Creanzaa,1, Oren Kolodnyb,1,2, and Marcus W. Feldmanb
a
Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235; and bDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305

Edited by Kevin N. Laland, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom, and accepted by Editorial Board Member Andrew G. Clark April 29, 2017
(received for review January 16, 2017)

Human cultural traits—behaviors, ideas, and technologies that can between DNA variants and traits that have major cultural
be learned from other individuals—can exhibit complex patterns components, such as years of schooling, marriage choices, IQ test
of transmission and evolution, and researchers have developed results, and poverty. Perhaps because of the perceived greater
theoretical models, both verbal and mathematical, to facilitate precision of the genomic data, these culturally transmitted com-
our understanding of these patterns. Many of the first quantita- ponents have been relegated to the deep background, creating a
tive models of cultural evolution were modified from existing con- misleading public portrayal of the traits as being predetermined by
cepts in theoretical population genetics because cultural evolution genetics (see, e.g., ref. 11). Models of the dynamics of interaction
has many parallels with, as well as clear differences from, genetic among culture, demography, and genetics, which uncover the
evolution. Furthermore, cultural and genetic evolution can interact complexities in the determination of these behaviors and traits, are
with one another and influence both transmission and selection. crucial to remedy this potentially dangerous misinterpretation.
This interaction requires theoretical treatments of gene–culture
Here, we explore the ways in which cultural evolutionary
coevolution and dual inheritance, in addition to purely cultural
theory and its applications enhance our understanding of human
history and human biology, focusing on the links between cul-
evolution. In addition, cultural evolutionary theory is a natural
tural evolutionary theory and population genetics, human be-
component of studies in demography, human ecology, and many
havioral ecology, and demography. Throughout, we give examples
other disciplines. Here, we review the core concepts in cultural
of efforts to apply theory to data, linking models of cultural evo-
evolutionary theory as they pertain to the extension of biology lution to empirical studies of genetics, language, archaeology, and
through culture, focusing on cultural evolutionary applications in anthropology. For example, studies of cultural factors, including
population genetics, ecology, and demography. For each of these language and customs, help biologists interpret patterns of genetic
disciplines, we review the theoretical literature and highlight rel- evolution that might be misinterpreted if the cultural context were
evant empirical studies. We also discuss the societal implications of not taken into account. Finally, we outline several societal impli-
the study of cultural evolution and of the interactions of humans cations of cultural evolutionary theory.
with one another and with their environment.
Population Genetics and Cultural Evolution
|
cultural evolution mathematical models | gene–culture coevolution | Many of the first models of cultural evolution drew explicit
|
niche construction demography parallels between culture and genes by modifying concepts from
theoretical population genetics and applying them to culture.
Cultural patterns of transmission, innovation, random fluctua-
H uman culture encompasses ideas, behaviors, and artifacts
that can be learned and transmitted between individuals and
can change over time (1). This process of transmission and
tions, and selection are conceptually analogous to genetic pro-
cesses of transmission, mutation, drift, and selection, and many
change is reminiscent of Darwin’s principle of descent with of the mathematical techniques used to study genetics can be
useful in the study of culture (1, 12). However, these mathe-
modification through natural selection, and Darwin himself drew
matical approaches had to be modified to account for the dif-
this explicit link in the case of languages: “The formation of ferences between genetic and cultural transmission. For example,
different languages and of distinct species, and the proofs that we do not expect cultural transmission to follow the rules of genetic
both have been developed through a gradual process, are curiously transmission strictly. Indeed, cultural traits are likely to deviate from
parallel” (2, 3). Theory underpins most scientific endeavors, and, in all three laws of Mendelian inheritance: segregation, independent
the 1970s, researchers began to lay the groundwork for cultural assortment, and dominance (13).
evolutionary theory, building on the neo-Darwinian synthesis of The simple observation that cultural traits need not conform
genetics and evolution by using verbal, diagrammatic, and mathe- to Mendelian inheritance is sufficient to produce complex evo-
matical models (4–8). These models are, by necessity, approxima- lutionary dynamics: If children are likely to reject a cultural trait
tions of reality (9), but because they require researchers to specify that both of their parents possess, the frequency of that trait in
their assumptions and extract the most important features from the population may oscillate between generations (4). In addi-
complex processes, they have proven exceedingly useful in ad- tion, if two biological parents have different forms of a cultural
vancing the study of cultural evolution (10). Here, we review the trait, their child is not necessarily equally likely to acquire the
field of cultural evolutionary theory as it pertains to the extension of
biology through culture. We focus on human culture because the
This paper results from the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of
bulk of cultural evolutionary models are human-centric and certain
Sciences, “The Extension of Biology Through Culture,” held November 16–17, 2016, at the
processes such as cumulative culture seem to be unique to humans. Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering
However, numerous nonhuman species also exhibit cultural trans- in Irvine, CA. The complete program and video recordings of most presentations are available
mission, and we consider the areas of overlap between models of on the NAS website at www.nasonline.org/Extension_of_Biology_Through_Culture.

human and animal culture in Discussion. Author contributions: N.C., O.K., and M.W.F. designed research, performed research,
The study of cultural evolution is important beyond its aca- analyzed data, and wrote the paper.

demic value. Cultural evolution is a fundamentally interdisci- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
plinary field, bridging gaps between academic disciplines and This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. K.N.L. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial
facilitating connections between disparate approaches. For ex- Board.
1
ample, the advent of technologies for revealing genomic varia- N.C. and O.K. contributed equally to this work.
tion has led to a plethora of studies that measure association 2
To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected].

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Human genes Human culture way for many related innovations and novel combinations (28).
Such dynamics may explain some of the punctuated bursts that
Parents are observed in the archaeological record of stone tools, like
Parents
Kin Societal the dramatic increases in complexity near the transitions from
norms the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic and from the Paleolithic
to the Neolithic (33–35), and may provide an account of the
Non-kin Peers dynamics of technological development in historical times (36–
39). In many models of cultural evolution, the frequency of one
or more cultural traits is tracked over time, and the equilibrium
Offspring properties are sought. However, recent research highlights the
Offspring
dynamics of cultural accumulation that occur in the transient
phase before the system approaches an equilibrium (28). For
Fig. 1. Cultural transmission is more complex than genetic transmission and example, if innovation processes are interdependent, as de-
may occur on short timescales, even within a single generation. scribed above, the cultural repertoire can fluctuate dramatically
before approaching an equilibrium because the loss or gain of a
groundbreaking innovation can lead to the loss or gain of its related
mother’s or father’s form of that trait (14). Further, a child can innovations as well (28). In addition, these models demonstrate how
acquire cultural traits not only from its parents (vertical trans- innovation processes can change the parameters, and therefore the
mission) but also from nonparental adults (oblique) and peers dynamics, of cultural evolution, possibly altering the cultural equi-
(horizontal) (1, 12); thus, the frequency of a cultural trait in the librium, if there is one (29). For example, a game-changing in-
population is relevant beyond just the probability that an individ- novation, such as the transition from foraging to agriculture, could
ual’s parents had that trait (Fig. 1). In most cases, the more allow a population to feed many more people; thus, a cultural in-
common a cultural trait is in the population, the more likely it is for novation can alter the size of the population, which is generally set
an individual to have the opportunity to acquire it through social as a fixed parameter in cultural evolutionary models (29). Such
learning (15). However, the size of the population may also in- nonequilibrium dynamics arise, for example, in a recent com-

EVOLUTION
fluence the continuing transmission, and thus survival, of a cultural parison between modeling predictions and the archaeological
trait (16). The relative importance of a population’s size, and its record that showed that the frequencies of Neolithic pottery
environmental context, for the retention and perhaps expansion of features over time are not consistent with a cultural system at
the cultural repertoire constitutes an ongoing debate (16–20). equilibrium (40).

The Roles of Transmission and Innovation in Cultural Evolution. Thus Linking Genetic and Cultural Evolution. As mentioned above, the-
far, we have made the analogy between alleles of a gene and oretical treatments of cultural transmission and evolution can
forms of a cultural trait, implying that the cultural trait in usefully draw on concepts from theoretical population genetics,

ANTHROPOLOGY
question can be represented in a binary or discrete manner. extending them to accommodate cultural processes. However,
Although this approximation is appropriate for some culturally cultural and genetic evolutionary processes can also interact with
transmitted traits, such as knowing or not knowing how to use a one another and with the environment (Fig. 2), and elucidating
certain tool, or smoking or not smoking, some cultural traits are the relative contributions of genes, culture, and environment to a
more naturally regarded as continuous or quantitative traits. For phenotype can be very difficult (41). Extensive theoretical work
example, cultural norms and preferences, such as degree of risk has been devoted to characterizing these interactions, termed
tolerance, have been modeled as continuous traits (e.g., ref. 21), and gene–culture coevolution (1, 42), culture–gene coevolution (43),
knowledge of a tool or technique has usefully been represented in dual inheritance theory (12, 44), or cultural niche construction
terms of a quantitative “skill level” (e.g., refs. 16, 22, and 23). (45, 46). When cultural and genetic evolution interact, the dy-
Like genes, cultural traits can be more or less adaptive namics of both genetic and cultural traits are likely to be very
depending on the environment and spread accordingly. An in- different from those characteristic of only one mode of trans-
teresting question is the following: If a certain behavior may be mission (47, 48). Further, cultural traits can alter the selection
either innate (i.e., genetically determined) or culturally acquired pressures on genetic traits and vice versa: For example, genetic
(and thus potentially responsive to the environment), which traits that are adaptive in one cultural background might not be
environmental patterns would favor the genetic transmission? adaptive in another (49, 50). The classic example of these in-
Models predict that spatially varying environments will favor teractions between cultural and genetic evolution is lactase
cultural transmission, whereas only highly stable environments persistence in adulthood: For much of human history, there was
would favor the genetic determination of the behavior (24–26). little reason to digest milk after weaning, and adults did not typically
Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman note an important reason that produce the enzyme that digests lactose. However, with the cultural
genes, cultural traits, and environments should all be considered
together: “Given the existence of individual plasticity in response
to the environment, correlations between biological relatives are
expected even if there is no genetic variation whatsoever” (14). Climate Niche construction
Unlike in genetics, where mutations are the source of new Environmental change Selection pressures
traits, cultural innovations can occur via multiple processes and Ultraviolet exposure Pathogens
at multiple scales (1, 27–29). Most of the models described above Altitude Demography Microbiome
include the cultural transmission of existing traits without pro- Transmission dynamics
viding a mechanism for novel traits to be introduced to the Population size
population. In many models of social learning, new information Innovations
enters a population via trial-and-error learning or individual in-
teractions with the environment, and this information can then
be culturally transmitted (30, 31). New cultural traits can also
originate when existing traits are combined in novel ways, which Flora and fauna
can lead to exponential rates of cultural accumulation (32). Food sources Migration
Recent models represent innovation as the result of multiple Subsistence strategy Genetic admixture
interacting processes (27–29), and cultural traits can accumulate Available resources Cultural connectivity
in punctuated bursts when these processes of innovation are
interdependent: A truly groundbreaking innovation can pave the Fig. 2. Cultural, genetic, and environmental factors influencing evolution.

Creanza et al. PNAS | July 25, 2017 | vol. 114 | no. 30 | 7783
practice of cattle domestication and dairying, a genetic mutation on one cultural trait can influence the evolutionary dynamics of
that enabled the production of the lactase enzyme in adulthood was other cultural traits, facilitating the spread of rare cultural or ge-
strongly favored by selection (51, 52). netic variants (71, 72). More generally, assorting can affect not just
Theoretical analyses show that gene–culture coevolution can mate choice but many types of cultural interactions, termed
be dynamically complex and surprisingly unpredictable. For ex- “assortative meeting” (73). Empirical work supports this theoret-
ample, a well-known finding in population genetics is that a fit- ical finding; for example, beneficial health behaviors spread more
ness advantage to heterozygote genotypes maintains genetic readily through a social network when individuals’ social contacts
variation in a population. However, it is not sufficient to main- were more similar to themselves (74, 75). Culturally mediated
tain genetic variation for heterozygote offspring to be superior to assortment can also lead to biological differences: Partners that
homozygotes in their ability to acquire an advantageous cultural are more similar tend to have more offspring (76), thus increasing
trait that is transmitted culturally by a parent (12). In fact, the fitness, and assortative mating within highly homophilic groups
fitness advantage to the culturally transmitted trait has to be affects the average length of homozygous DNA segments (59, 77),
sufficiently large that it overcomes imperfection in vertical cul- leading to the appearance of higher levels of inbreeding than
tural transmission. In a similar vein, Aoki et al. (26, 53) modeled the might actually exist. Humans can also assort by language; however,
evolution of a genetic trait that increased the efficiency of teaching, studies of the interactions between language and genetic pop-
defined as vertical transmission of a cultural trait. Genetic variation ulation structure show that the resulting dynamics can differ by
at this teaching locus could not be maintained with asexual haploid population. For example, in some geographic regions, language
genetics and uniparental cultural transmission, but sexual haploid boundaries do not seem to act as barriers to gene flow (78–80)
genetics and biparental cultural transmission could preserve both whereas, in other places, assorting with respect to language seems
genetic polymorphism of the teaching locus and polymorphism to have had a large effect, and genetic similarity is more closely
of the cultural trait. These examples illustrate the theoretical associated with language than with geographic distance (80–83).
complexity that emerges when standard population genetic the- Assortative mating has had a measurable effect on human geno-
ory is extended to include the interactions between genetic and mic architecture, and genetic and phenotypic correlations between
cultural traits; the result is a highly nonlinear theory with com- partners are substantial (84).
plications not seen in purely biological theory. In addition to choosing their mates nonrandomly, individuals
The theoretical literature on gene–culture interactions has can also choose their cultural role models; these cultural trans-
become increasingly relevant in the genomic era. Genome-wide mission biases affect the relationship between a trait’s frequency
association studies (GWAS) have shown many genomic associ- in the population and its likelihood of transmission (Fig. 3). For
ations with a wide array of complex phenotypes and have allowed example, conformity bias is an exaggerated preference for the
detection of signals of genetic adaptation (54). However, GWA cultural variant practiced by the majority of the population,
studies of behavioral phenotypes such as IQ, educational at- which can lead to an increasingly large majority over time (85,
tainment, and life history should be interpreted with care (55– 86). Alternatively, individuals might preferentially seek out novel
58). As the authors of one such study state: “Studies of genetic cultural traits, termed rarity bias or novelty bias (30). These
analyses of behavioural phenotypes have been prone to mis- frequency-dependent biases can lead to patterns of cultural dif-
interpretation, such as characterizing identified associated vari- fusion in which the prevalence of a cultural trait can change
ants as ‘genes for education.’ Such characterization is not correct dramatically over short timescales, producing logistic growth
for many reasons: Educational attainment is primarily deter- (“S-shaped” curves) of trait frequency over time (87, 88). Ex-
mined by environmental factors” (55). Statistical relationships amples of cultural traits that are likely to exhibit frequency-
between genetic variants and behaviors need not be causal be- dependent transmission are fashion trends (89), career choices
cause assortative mating, spatial autocorrelation, and a shared (12), and baby names (90). Conformist transmission is likely to
environment can influence such relationships (55, 59–61). Twin dominate when the environment is relatively stable and common
studies of tobacco smoking point to interacting roles of genetics, cultural traits are well adapted to that environment (86, 91).
environment, and assortative mating in the initiation and con- Other types of transmission biases reflect not how common a
tinuance of smoking (62). In large-scale studies of human health, trait is in a population, but the characteristics of the people who
environmental and cultural factors should also be considered have the trait. In the case of prestige bias, individuals attempt to
because these could conflate the effects of genetics and ancestry acquire cultural traits that are perceived to be high quality by
with those of poverty, stress, racism, or socioeconomic status selectively learning from those individuals with high social rank
(63–65). For example, data from the large-scale Health and (92). For example, in an experimental test, children were much
Retirement Study showed an association between African an- more likely to choose an adult cultural role model if they had
cestry and hypertension: The prevalence of hypertension was observed bystanders attending to the potential model rather
eight percentage points higher in respondents with the highest than ignoring him or her (93); thus, even at a very early age,
quartile of African ancestry compared with those with the lowest humans can assess such characteristics as prestige or social
quartile (63). However, controlling for a subset of factors related standing. Individuals can also use observations of success asso-
to socioeconomic status (childhood disadvantage, education, ciated with a cultural trait, such as a fruitful hunt with a certain
income, and wealth) explained ∼38% of this disparity, reducing tool, to develop a preference for cultural role models that are
it to a five-percentage-point difference (63).

Nonrandom Assortment and Biased Transmission

Population Population
Many theoretical population genetic studies make the assump- Learner Learner Learner Learner
tion that mating is random within a population. However, in real
human populations, this assumption is often violated, as indi-
viduals tend to prefer mates with similar phenotypes, such as eye
color (66), height, IQ (67), education level (61), and smoking
status (68). Cultural evolutionary theory has led to significant Conformist Novelty Prestige Success
advances in our understanding of the effects of nonrandom mat- bias bias bias bias
ing, revealing that the transmission and dynamics of cultural traits Fig. 3. Biased cultural transmission mechanisms, where orange and purple
can be sensitive to both phenotypic and environmental assorting represent two forms of an arbitrary cultural trait. Conformity bias predicts
(41). Assortative mating, leading to an increased correlation be- that learners will copy the most common trait, and novelty bias predicts they
tween mates for genetic or cultural traits, can increase both ge- will copy the most rare. Prestige bias predicts learners will copy an individual
notypic and phenotypic variance in a population (69, 70). In of high social status (indicated by a crown) whereas success bias predicts they
addition, assortative mating (and other forms of homophily) acting will copy a successful individual (indicated by a gold medal).

7784 | www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1620732114 Creanza et al.

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demonstrably successful (30). This bias has been demonstrated prey species’ extinction, which forces humans to shift their diet in
experimentally (94, 95); for example, when individuals partici- response. Such models as the Diet Breadth Model, the Broad
pated in simulated hunting with virtual arrowheads and then Spectrum Revolution, and Nutritional Ecology (110–113) capture
modified their arrowheads either by trial and error or imitation, some of these processes, and, although they differ in many im-
copying successful individuals gave significantly better results portant dimensions, such as in the role they assign to plants in the
than trial and error (94). diet, they share the realization that cultural dynamics, genetic evo-
lution, and ecological processes must be considered jointly to un-
Models of Culture and Human Ecology derstand human evolution. Studies in this tradition have also
For thousands of generations humans have been carving their proposed how gradually changing cultural practices may have cre-
existence in the world with cultural tools that have become in- ated the conditions that culminated in the Neolithic revolution, with
tegral to their livelihoods, thereby shaping their environment at the domestication of multiple plant and animal species and the
all scales, both intentionally and unintentionally. Attempting to subsequent changes in almost every aspect of human existence
answer the question of what are the extensions of human biology (114–116). An interesting niche-construction perspective of these
through culture leads to a striking conclusion: There are few topics is proposed by Smith and Zeder (117).
aspects of human biology that have not been shaped by our
culture. Human culture has also affected the biology, even the Models in Human Behavioral Ecology. Human behavioral ecology
survival, of nonhuman species (96). In this section, we review a applies approaches that were developed with a focus on non-
number of cases for which incorporating culture into models of human species to the interpretation of human behavior (118).
ecoevolutionary dynamics has proven valuable for the interpre- One of these approaches is based on optimality in behavior, and
tation, prediction, and, in some cases, direction of human ecol- studies frequently devise models that capture human behavioral
ogy and of human impact on the ecosystem. constraints and alternatives, as well as their associated payoffs,
which are then considered jointly in predicting behavior or
Human Niche Construction. Niche construction is a process in explaining the evolutionary underpinnings of observed behaviors,
which organisms modify their environment in a way that alters often under the assumption that humans behave in a way that
the selective pressures that these organisms experience, thus maximizes their fitness. A broad range of empirical and theo-

EVOLUTION
affecting evolution (97). A special case of niche construction is retical studies of culturally determined behaviors bear directly on
cultural niche construction: the alteration of the environment human fitness, past and present. Human ecological traits, such as
through cultural practices, which may themselves evolve. Cul- life history profiles, subsistence strategies, mating preferences,
tural niche construction involves complex dynamics in which economic decision making, and social structures (119–122), have
selective pressures act on the culture itself, interacting with ge- been analyzed to predict individual behavior and to support
netic evolution and the environment to influence the spread of potential intervention that might alter human behaviors at the
both genetic and cultural traits (71). Because cultural change has societal level.
the potential to occur faster than genetic adaptation, dynamics of Interestingly, few studies in human ecology consider the dy-

ANTHROPOLOGY
niche construction that are driven by cultural traits play a namics of cultural evolution on which the studied behaviors
prominent role in human evolution; yet, only in recent decades depend; thus, for example, it is frequently assumed that alter-
has cultural evolution begun to be explicitly incorporated into native possible behaviors are available to the human group of
human evolutionary ecology (98). Studies that pioneered this interest when they might not be, such as different subsistence
approach showed how it can provide insight into the dynamics of strategies. Similarly, with some notable exceptions (e.g., refs.
the demographic transition in postindustrialized societies (e.g., 123–128), human behavioral ecology models often do not con-
refs. 1 and 99). For example, the reduction in birth rate during sider ecological and evolutionary dynamics that may depend on
the demographic transition is often characterized as a paradox the studied behavior and that play out on intermediate and long
because, from a Darwinian fitness perspective, individuals should timescales: For example, how would prey populations evolve
prefer to have more offspring, not fewer (100). However, if a over long periods of time in response to a certain human for-
cultural norm favoring small family size spreads, the fertility rate aging strategy, and how would that feed back onto human
can drop as well, resulting in a culturally induced demographic strategy choice? We suggest that these aspects are promising
transition (99, 101), which is a case where natural selection and avenues for further exploration.
cultural transmission seem to be in opposition.
The niche-construction approach has been productive in many Interspecies and Intergroup Dynamics. One of the hotly debated
other studies, such as those that describe culturally driven change topics in human prehistory is the replacement of Neanderthals
at the ecosystem level: for example, the extinction of megafauna by modern humans ∼40,000 y ago. A recent study (129) proposed
after the arrival of humans (102), the change of broad-scale an ecocultural model that incorporated cultural differences be-
landscapes as a result of cultivation in early and recent times tween two competing species into Lotka–Volterra competition
(103–105), and the traditional use of fire as a means to manip- dynamics and showed that a difference in culture between moderns
ulate the environmental dynamics in a way beneficial for humans and Neanderthals could have driven the latter’s extinction. This
(106, 107). Niche construction is also important in understanding model explicitly includes cultural evolutionary dynamics and
the evolutionary dynamics driven by changes in the immediate shows that a difference in population sizes between moderns in
environment that humans experience, such as via construction of Africa and Neanderthals in Eurasia could have led to a differ-
shelters and production of clothing that enabled the expansion of ence in the cultural complexity between the two populations,
humans into otherwise uninhabitable regions (108), and the use allowing the small groups of moderns that migrated out of Africa
of fire for food handling, which allowed dramatic changes in to gradually outcompete the larger population of Neanderthals
subsistence and may even have led to significant change to the that they encountered.
anatomy of the human jaw (109). This pattern—with one group replacing another as a result of
a culturally derived advantage—is likely to have taken place
Major Cultural Shifts. A key aspect of human evolution is the change repeatedly throughout human history. Thus, for example, genetic
over time in human subsistence strategies. Several models con- evidence largely supports a scenario in which the Neolithic rev-
sider the interaction of hunter-gatherers with the populations of olution spread throughout the world not by diffusion of farming
organisms that they consume and how these interact over time. practices among groups but by replacement of hunter-gatherer
They propose that predation pressure can decrease a prey species’ groups by farmers (130) (see also refs. 34, 131, and 132). A
population and exert selective pressures in favor of early re- second revolution occurred 6,000 to 4,000 y ago, when the early
production at a smaller body size, potentially leaving a tell- Neolithic farmers were overwhelmed by Yamnaya invaders from
tale pattern in the archaeological record. The result may be the the Russian Steppe, who had the cultural advantage of

Creanza et al. PNAS | July 25, 2017 | vol. 114 | no. 30 | 7785
transportation by horses (133, 134). Such dynamics, in which Standard quantitative models of demographic change do not in-
cultural adaptation to temporally variable conditions may play an clude within-population variation in behaviors that affect fecundity
important role, are also pervasive more recently: For example, or mortality. Projections usually use fixed values for birth and death
competition between pastoralists and agriculturalists and re- rates; however, religious preferences, marriage customs, dietary
placement of one by the other are documented from biblical choices, population subdivision, and mortality profiles may af-
times to the present (135, 136). fect fecundity but are usually not part of demographic models.
Further, aspects of cultural transmission, such as prestige bias
Culture and Microbes. Models are also important in analyzing and the choice of nonparental cultural role models, can facili-
humans’ cultural and genetic coevolution with pathogens, the tate the spread of fertility-reducing behaviors (12, 153). Thus,
realm in which many of our species’ harshest evolutionary cultural evolutionary approaches should be integrated into
challenges have occurred. Some of the clearest signals of natural demography, especially the processes that have led to fertility
selection in the human genome are found near genes that are decline (154).
directly related to coping with diseases such as malaria (137, Many models for life history analysis of humans divide the
138), Kuru (139), and others (140–142), and the understanding lifespan into an ordered series of age classes. These models first
of their evolutionary dynamics is greatly enhanced when we are define the fertility rates of each age class and the survival rates
able to couple such genetic evidence with cultural dynamics that from one age class to the next. Then, they iterate the number in
influenced them. Durham (143), for example, argues that yam each age class produced by these parameters to determine the
farming practices in West Africa significantly increased standing dynamics of the population, including whether the number in
water, thus increasing breeding sites for malaria-carrying mos- each age class approaches a stable equilibrium, termed the sta-
quitoes, which led to high exposure to malaria and exerted se- tionary age distribution, or whether the population will grow or
lective pressure in favor of genetic variants that increase go extinct and at what rate (155).
resistance to malaria. In the New Guinea highlands, cannibalism Carotenuto et al. proposed a demo-cultural framework for
practices that were widespread until the 1940s drove the Kuru such an age-structured population, in which each individual
epidemic among the people of this region (144). A model of carried one variant of a dichotomous trait, say H or h, where H
culture–pathogen interactions demonstrated that different be- represents the presence of a socially learned behavior (for example,
havioral regimes could shape dynamics of pathogenic bacteria, fertility control) and h is its absence (156). An individual of type H
leading to nonintuitive outcomes (145). For example, antibiotic- might also be more likely to survive into the next age class. This
resistant strains will spread throughout the population in the integration of demography and culture yields complex dynamics; for
presence of ubiquitous antibiotic use whereas the WT bacteria example, the trait H can persist in the populations even if it lowers
have a fitness advantage if antibiotics are not used; however, if fertility, as long as the cultural transmission of H is reliable enough,
people modify their behavior by decreasing use of antibiotics or if H also sufficiently increases the chance of survival. Addi-
when they become less effective, both WT and resistant patho- tional learning steps can also be added to age-structured models,
such that vertical and horizontal transmission can occur at dif-
gens can coexist (145).
A fast-growing body of research focuses on the host-associated ferent rates for different age classes (101). In this case, hori-
zontal learning accelerated the trait’s spread and led to faster
microbiome: the communities of organisms, mostly bacteria, that
population growth than vertical transmission alone.
live in and on eukaryotes. The dynamics of the microbiome can
An important outgrowth of demo-cultural modeling has been
interact with those of its host, including genetic variation, cul-
its application to the sex-ratio problem. In many places, the sex
tural practices, and environmental context, further complicating ratio at birth is strongly biased in favor of males and, in China
the study of evolutionary processes. Thus, for example, the in- and parts of India, has resulted in up to 120 male births for every
teraction between dairy farming and selection on the lactase 100 female births (157). This cultural preference for sons can be
persistence gene has become the poster child of gene–culture manifested in sex-selective abortion or withholding of resources
coevolution; however, lactose-using bacteria in humans’ digestive from daughters. This bias has both economic and socio-cultural
tracts are very likely to have played a prominent role in the antecedent, as well as important ethical and demographic
emergence of dairy farming (146). Moreover, these bacteria consequences (158).
continue to affect individuals who do not carry a genetic muta- Data on cultural transmission of son preference can be in-
tion that allows them to efficiently digest dairy in adulthood. corporated into formal demographic analysis (159), linking these
Understanding how cultural practices influence human–microbe data to real-world policy applications (160). Theoretical models
interactions may provide us not only with insight into the Neo- can also aid in predicting the effects of policies: For example,
lithic farming revolution or early cattle domestication and re- one such model tracked the cultural transmission of the perceived
lated human evolution since then, but also with the necessary present value of a son relative to a daughter, the sex ratio at birth,
tools to make informed nutritional choices, such as those related and their effects on demographic change (161). The results of this
to dairy utilization in our present lives. Thus, worldwide dietary model suggest that interventions focused on peer-to-peer cultural
recommendations stand to benefit significantly from an im- transmission of a perceived higher value of daughters might
proved understanding of microbe–human interactions (147). complement existing economic incentives to support and educate
daughters, with the goal of mitigating the effects of son preference.
Demography and Cultural Evolution The literature on the interaction between cultural transmission
The growth and age structure of human populations are both and formal demography is quite sparse. Given the large variety
affected by norms and beliefs of their members. A predominantly of customs that relate to birth and death rates in different hu-
agricultural lifestyle produced higher population growth than the man societies, population projections for the future needs of di-
hunting-gathering lifestyle it replaced (148, 149). This increased verse populations should incorporate more cultural dynamics than
growth was most likely due to the spread of a complex of cultural is currently standard practice.
traits (150) whose adoption may have created conditions that
favored the accumulation of subsequent culturally transmitted Discussion
behaviors (151, 152). Beginning in the late 19th century, parts of With the extensive body of theoretical and empirical literature
Europe, Asia, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand on cultural evolution, researchers in this field are now combining
began to undergo a second demographic transition, which in- information from multiple disciplines and integrating disparate
volved a change from a high birth rate, high mortality regime to a approaches. Part of this new frontier involves more fully bridging
lower birth rate, low mortality regime. These changes were due the divide between theory and data, as well as developing
to the spread of fertility-reducing and survival-increasing be- mathematical models than can aid in the interpretation of an-
haviors that became part of the developed countries’ cultures. thropological and archaeological information. In addition to

7786 | www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1620732114 Creanza et al.

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aiding our understanding of human history, the study of cultural mating in birds based on culturally transmitted songs could ac-
transmission and evolution is extremely relevant in the modern celerate speciation (180, 181) and that sexual selection on
era. Insights from cultural evolution and the diffusion of inno- learned songs could influence evolution of the neural under-
vations have been coopted in advertising and social media to pinnings of learning (182). Recently, studies in a range of animal
quantify the viral spread of information (e.g., ref. 162). How can species have shown that cultural practices can emerge, spread,
these cultural evolutionary insights be better used for positive and change over time, potentially influencing individuals’ fitness
action and public health? In addition, how can we better use (183–187). Tool use among chimpanzees and capuchins (188–
knowledge about cultural evolution to more fully understand 190) is one such example, which also provides insight regarding
patterns of human genetic variation and population structure? the possible origins of the early phases of our own species’ ad-
As we continue to understand more about the human genome, it aptation to the “cultural niche” (191, 192).
becomes increasingly important to consider environmental and In recent years, models that are used for decision making in
cultural contexts as well as genetic variation; however, in the various fields, such as economics and public health, have begun to
study of gene-culture interactions, faulty logic or racial biases
take cultural evolution into account, and a growing number also
about “causes” of human differences may be used and must be
cautiously guarded against (reviewed in ref. 163). incorporate the modeling—verbal or mathematical—of the hu-
In this paper, we have reviewed aspects of human cultural man ecosystem’s expected coevolution with the spread of cultural
evolutionary theory, focusing on those that are most closely practices. These models play a prominent role in planned strate-
linked to the extension of biology through culture. With this gies related to climate change and reduction of carbon emissions
focus, we could not do adequate justice to many important do- (193), in predicting global food shortages and requirements (194),
mains of cultural evolutionary theory. In brief, many models of and in assessing the distribution of new practices and technologies
cultural evolution focus primarily on the transmission of cultural in agriculture (195, 196). In addition, models in epidemiology
traits and not on their interactions with genes or fitness. These have begun to integrate cultural transmission of health practices
models include, but are not limited to, models of social learning and pathogen ecological dynamics with regard to drug distribution
(e.g., refs. 164–167), models of language evolution (e.g., refs. and combating epidemics (e.g., ref. 197).
168–171), empirically driven verbal models of human evolution Deeper analysis of how human culture, human ecology, and

EVOLUTION
based on patterns in material culture (e.g., refs. 172–174), and the human environment coevolve is necessary for understanding
models of cultural dynamics within and between groups (e.g., historical and present dynamics, and for predicting future trends.
refs. 86 and 175–178)). In addition, we focused on human studies, These analyses will provide much-needed tools for the planning
although cultural processes are present in many other species. For and direction of such dynamics. Humans’ worldwide well-being
example, social learning has been extensively studied in non- and that of the ecosystem we live in depend on our ability to
human animals, in which behavioral strategies, such as producer make such predictions and act accordingly.
and scrounger, and cultural trajectories can be more clearly
defined than in humans (166, 179). Cultural transmission also ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank the John Templeton Foundation and

ANTHROPOLOGY
has large-scale evolutionary implications for some nonhuman Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary, and Human Genomics
animals: For example, theoretical studies suggest that nonrandom for funding.

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