Roy F. Ellen - Understanding Cultural Transmission in Anthropology: A Critical Synthesis

Understanding Cultural Transmission in Anthropology

Edited by Wendy James and N.J. Allen

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Edited by Roy Ellen, Stephen J. Lycett and Sarah E. Johns

A Critical Synthesis

First published in 2013 by

Berghahn Books

www.berghahnbooks.com

2013 Roy Ellen, Stephen J. Lycett and Sarah E. Johns

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher.

A catalog record for this book
is available from the Library of Congress

Understanding cultural transmission in anthropology: a critical synthesis / edited by Roy Ellen, Stephen Lycett, and Sarah Johns. -- First edition.

pages cm. -- (Methodology and history in anthropology; v. 26)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-85745-993-0 (hardback: alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-85745-994-7 (institutional ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-78238-071-9 (pbk.: alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-78238-072-6 (retail ebook)

1. Human evolution. 2. Social evolution. 3. Social systems. 4. Culture and communication. 5. Intercultural communication. 6. Ethnobiology. 7. Traditional ecological knowledge. I. Ellen, R. F., 1947-

GN281.U56 2013

599.93'8--dc23

2013005578

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Printed in the United States on acid-free paper

ISBN 978-0-85745-993-0 (hardback)

ISBN 978-1-78238-071-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-85745-994-7 (institutional ebook)

ISBN 978-1-78238-072-6 (retail ebook)

As humans, we are social animals who acquire much of our behaviour from other individuals of our species and who innovate new behaviours, which we in turn disseminate. In the process of leading our daily lives, we are constantly influenced by others in the way we behave, what we wear, the technology we use, the way we speak, and the political, moral and religious values that we come to hold. This process of transmission permeates every aspect of human society, and our beliefs, attitudes and customs have come to be the predominant means through which we have adapted and come to occupy our current dominant position in global life systems.

The study of human culture, and the diverse patterns of behaviour it creates, has traditionally defined the discipline of anthropology. In this volume, which has developed out of a seminar series organized by the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent, we have drawn together a diverse range of contributors from different disciplines. These span biology, primatology, palaeoanthropology, psychology, social anthropology, ethnobiology and archaeology, and examine social and cultural transmission from a range of perspectives. Anyone who has even tangentially encountered the existing literature on this topic will be well aware of the controversies surrounding the term culture with regard to its definition and its presence (or otherwise) in animals other than humans. Here, for the sake of pragmatism, we and other contributors largely use the terms social learning, social transmission and cultural transmission as synonyms, accepting that while animals other than humans undoubtedly learn behaviours via social interaction, the content and mode of transmission (and the resultant behavioural patterns) vary widely from species to species.