cultural phylogenetics

English

Noun

cultural phylogenetics (uncountable)

1. (anthropology) The use of techniques from phylogenetics to study the evolutionary history of relationships between humans and between groups of humans, as well as of cultural memes and practices.
   • 2011, Alex Mesoudi, Cultural Evolution, University of Chicago Press, page 230:

     For a critique of cultural phylogenetics that is nevertheless supportive of cultural evolution theory, see Borgerhoff Mulder, Nunn, and Towner 2006.

   • 2016, Ilya Tëmkin, “Chapter 16: Homology and Phylogenetic Inference in Biological and Material Cultural Evolution”, in Fabrizio Panebianco, Emanuele Serrelli, editors, Understanding Cultural Traits, Springer, page 308:

     Focusing on just a single aspect of cultural phylogenetics—homology of man-made objects—exposed many avenues for future theoretical and methodological developments in sociocultural evolution: […] .

   • 2019, Larissa Mendoza Straffon, “Chapter 8: The Uses of Cultural Phylogenetics in Archaeology”, in Anna Marie Prentiss, editor, Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology, Springer, page 157:

     In sum, the biggest challenge to cultural phylogenetics remains that, despite the methodological compatibility with biological phylogenetics, many of the concepts and mechanisms of the latter cannot be applied to cultural evolution.

Translations

use of techniques from phylogenetics to study the evolutionary history of human relationships

• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: kulturelle Phylogenetik f
• Italian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• Phylogenetics on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Computational phylogenetics on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Comparative method on Wikipedia.Wikipedia