Data from: Evolution of cultural traits occurs at similar relative rates in different world regions

A fundamental issue in understanding human diversity is whether or not there are regular patterns and processes involved in cultural change. Theoretical and mathematical models of cultural evolution have been developed and are increasingly being used and assessed in empirical analyses. Here, we test the hypothesis that the rates of change of features of human socio-cultural organization are governed by general rules. One prediction of this hypothesis is that different cultural traits will tend to evolve at similar relative rates in different world regions, despite the unique historical backgrounds of groups inhabiting these regions. We used phylogenetic comparative methods and systematic cross-cultural data to assess how different socio-cultural traits changed in (i) island southeast Asia and the Pacific, and (ii) sub-Saharan Africa. The relative rates of change in these two regions are significantly correlated. Furthermore, cultural traits that are more directly related to external environmental conditions evolve more slowly than traits related to social structures. This is consistent with the idea that a form of purifying selection is acting with greater strength on these more environmentally linked traits. These results suggest that despite contingent historical events and the role of humans as active agents in the historical process, culture does indeed evolve in ways that can be predicted from general principles

理解人类多样性的核心议题之一，在于文化变迁是否存在固有模式与相关过程。文化演化的理论与数学模型已被构建，并日益被应用于实证分析并得到评估。本研究旨在检验一项假说：人类社会文化组织特征的变迁速率，受通用规则所支配。该假说的一项预测为：尽管不同世界区域的人群拥有独特的历史背景，但不同文化特质在各区域内往往会以相似的相对速率演化。我们采用系统发育比较方法（phylogenetic comparative methods）与系统性跨文化数据，分别评估了（1）东南亚岛屿与太平洋地区、（2）撒哈拉以南非洲地区内不同社会文化特质的演化情况。上述两个区域的文化特质相对变迁速率呈现显著相关。此外，与外部环境条件关联更直接的文化特质，其演化速率要慢于与社会结构相关的特质。这与以下观点相符：纯化选择（purifying selection）对这些与环境关联更紧密的特质施加了更强的选择压力。上述结果表明，尽管存在偶然性历史事件，且人类作为历史进程中的主动行动者发挥作用，但文化的演化确实遵循可通过通用原则进行预测的模式。