Overview

Much of what we are comes from our ancestors. This book demonstrates how various genealogical or phylogenetic methods can be used both to answer questions about human history and to build evolutionary explanations for the shape of history. The structure of the book reflects the editors goal of developing a common understanding of the methods and conditions under which ancestral relations can be derived in a range of data classes of interest to anthropologists.

Full Product Details

Author:   Stephen Shennan ,  Michael J. O'Brien ,  Mark Couard ,  Stephen J. Shennan
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Inc
Imprint:   AldineTransaction
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.521kg
ISBN:  

9780202307503

ISBN 10:   0202307506
Pages:   372
Publication Date:   07 January 2005
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1: Introduction; 1: Cultural Phylogenies and Explanation: Why Historical Methods Matter; 2: Fundamentals and Methods; 2: What is a Culturally Transmitted Unit, and How Do We Find One?; 3: Cultural Traits and Linguistic Trees: Phylogenetic Signal in East Africa; 4: Branching versus Blending in Macroscale Cultural Evolution: A Comparative Study; 5: Sedation and Cladistics: The Difference between Anagenetic and Cladogenetic Evolution; 6: The Resolution of Cultural Phylogenies Using Graphs; 7: Measuring Relatedness; 3: Biology; 8: Phylogenetic Techniques and Methodological Lessons from Bioarchaeology; 9: Phylogeography of Archaeological Populations: A Case Study from Rapa Nui (Easter Island); 4: Culture; 10: Tracking Culture-Historical Lineages: Can “Descent with Modification” be Linked to “Association by Descent”?; 169: Cultural Transmission, Phylogenetics, and the Archaeological Record; 12: Using Cladistics to Construct Lineages of Projectile Points from Northeastern Missouri; 13: Reconstructing the Flow of Information across Time and Space: A Phylogenetic Analysis of Ceramic Traditions from Prehispanic Western and Northern Mexico and the American Southwest; 14: Archaeological-Materials Characterization as Phylogenetic Method: The Case of Copador Pottery from Southeastern Mesoamerica; 5: Language; 15: The Spread of Bantu Languages, Farming, and Pastoralism in Sub-Equatorial Africa; 16: Are Accurate Dates an Intractable Problem for Historical Linguistics?; 6: Concluding Remarks; 17: Afterword

Reviews

As the various contributors to [ Mapping Our Ancestors ] make perfectly clear, the application of evolutionary theory to cultural change cannot simply borrow from biological evolution. Cultural transmission is qualitatively different from genetic transmission and requires different concepts and principles, which cannot be borrowed but must be developed by archaeologists, anthropologists, and linguists. Among the differences between cultural and genetic transmission are the presence of horizontal as well as vertical inheritance, the greater propensity for neutral variation, the much higher probability of reticulation (or hybridization), and a more fluid scale at which evolution can occur. While much work remains to be done, the various contributors have made great strides in identifying these problems and suggesting ways they might be resolved. The various articles are not just abstract theorizing but practical attempts to grapple with these issues. After reading this book, how an evolutionary theory of culture might look becomes clearer. --James K. Feathers, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington <br> These engaging essays help point the way to a new, exciting four-field anthropology, grounded in the use of evolutionary theory and phylogenetic methods to make and evaluate inferences about what happened in human history for archaeological, linguistic, biological, and ethnological data. <br>--Fraser D. Neiman, Monticello <br> AS an anthropological method, phylogenetic mapping is still a relatively new method that is in its infancy. Studying this topic has value because it may hold a key to the future of anthropological studies in determining transmission of culture. Phylogenetic mapping is a creative method that allows for a new way to interpret data as well as giving rise to new hypotheses for understanding culture change.....The focus on the relationships of biology, culture change, and knowledge transmission over time and across space are c

As the various contributors to [ Mapping Our Ancestors ] make perfectly clear, the application of evolutionary theory to cultural change cannot simply borrow from biological evolution. Cultural transmission is qualitatively different from genetic transmission and requires different concepts and principles, which cannot be borrowed but must be developed by archaeologists, anthropologists, and linguists. Among the differences between cultural and genetic transmission are the presence of horizontal as well as vertical inheritance, the greater propensity for neutral variation, the much higher probability of reticulation (or hybridization), and a more fluid scale at which evolution can occur. While much work remains to be done, the various contributors have made great strides in identifying these problems and suggesting ways they might be resolved. The various articles are not just abstract theorizing but practical attempts to grapple with these issues. After reading this book, how an evolutionary theory of culture might look becomes clearer. --James K. Feathers, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington <br><br> These engaging essays help point the way to a new, exciting four-field anthropology, grounded in the use of evolutionary theory and phylogenetic methods to make and evaluate inferences about what happened in human history for archaeological, linguistic, biological, and ethnological data. --Fraser D. Neiman, Monticello

As the various contributors to [ Mapping Our Ancestors ] make perfectly clear, the application of evolutionary theory to cultural change cannot simply borrow from biological evolution. Cultural transmission is qualitatively different from genetic transmission and requires different concepts and principles, which cannot be borrowed but must be developed by archaeologists, anthropologists, and linguists. Among the differences between cultural and genetic transmission are the presence of horizontal as well as vertical inheritance, the greater propensity for neutral variation, the much higher probability of reticulation (or hybridization), and a more fluid scale at which evolution can occur. While much work remains to be done, the various contributors have made great strides in identifying these problems and suggesting ways they might be resolved. The various articles are not just abstract theorizing but practical attempts to grapple with these issues. After reading this book, how an evolutionary theory of culture might look becomes clearer. --James K. Feathers, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington These engaging essays help point the way to a new, exciting four-field anthropology, grounded in the use of evolutionary theory and phylogenetic methods to make and evaluate inferences about what happened in human history for archaeological, linguistic, biological, and ethnological data. --Fraser D. Neiman, Monticello AS an anthropological method, phylogenetic mapping is still a relatively new method that is in its infancy. Studying this topic has value because it may hold a key to the future of anthropological studies in determining transmission of culture. Phylogenetic mapping is a creative method that allows for a new way to interpret data as well as giving rise to new hypotheses for understanding culture change.....The focus on the relationships of biology, culture change, and knowledge transmission over time and across space are core anthropological concerns impacting every subfield. To understand the complexities of using phylogenetic mapping, one must have a solid four field background. Thus, this highly technical book is most relevant for archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, and historical linguists. --Maria R. Roti, Anthropology and Aging Quarterly

As the various contributors to [ Mapping Our Ancestors ] make perfectly clear, the application of evolutionary theory to cultural change cannot simply borrow from biological evolution. Cultural transmission is qualitatively different from genetic transmission and requires different concepts and principles, which cannot be borrowed but must be developed by archaeologists, anthropologists, and linguists. Among the differences between cultural and genetic transmission are the presence of horizontal as well as vertical inheritance, the greater propensity for neutral variation, the much higher probability of reticulation (or hybridization), and a more fluid scale at which evolution can occur. While much work remains to be done, the various contributors have made great strides in identifying these problems and suggesting ways they might be resolved. The various articles are not just abstract theorizing but practical attempts to grapple with these issues. After reading this book, how an evolutionary theory of culture might look becomes clearer. --James K. Feathers, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington These engaging essays help point the way to a new, exciting four-field anthropology, grounded in the use of evolutionary theory and phylogenetic methods to make and evaluate inferences about what happened in human history for archaeological, linguistic, biological, and ethnological data. --Fraser D. Neiman, Monticello AS an anthropological method, phylogenetic mapping is still a relatively new method that is in its infancy. Studying this topic has value because it may hold a key to the future of anthropological studies in determining transmission of culture. Phylogenetic mapping is a creative method that allows for a new way to interpret data as well as giving rise to new hypotheses for understanding culture change.....The focus on the relationships of biology, culture change, and knowledge transmission over time and across space are c

Author Information

Carl P. Lipo is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University in Long Beach. Michael O'Brien is professor of anthropology and Director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Missouri, Mark Collard is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Stephen J. Shennan is a professor and Director of the Institute of Archaeology at the University College London. Niles Eldredge is a curator in the department of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, and adjunct professor at the City University of New York.

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