Abstract
Recent claims of culture in great apes have provoked fervent argument about the 'true' definition of culture, most of which has been unhelpful. Instead, a range of definitions should be used to explore different aspects of the cognitive processes that together result in human culture, many of which can be productively studied in non-humans. A richer cognitive account of the contents of culture needs to be developed and used to compare animal and human cultures, instead of sterile searching for a cognitive Rubicon between them. Exploring six views of culture, this article highlights the fundamental contrast of whether culture evolves as a by-product of cumulative change in cognitive mechanisms, or whether it is actively selected for its advantages.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 341-346 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Trends in Cognitive Sciences |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2004 |
Keywords
- MODERN HUMAN-BEHAVIOR
- HUMAN-EVOLUTION
- CHIMPANZEES
- PRIMATE
- TRADITIONS
- TECHNOLOGY
- ORIGIN
- TOOLS