Computational phylogenetic analysis of folktales as a Digital Humanities model for the study of cultural This volution

This study presents an interdisciplinary Digital Humanities framework for the phylogenetic analysis of folktale evolution, integrating methods from cultural anthropology, historical linguistics, and computational narrative modelling. The research focuses on two narrative traditions with broad spatial and temporal distribution: Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH) and the cosmological myth Cosmic Hunt (CH).The dataset consists of 58 LRRH variants from 33 cultures and 175 CH variants from 90 cultures. Phylogenetic structures were inferred using maximum parsimony, Bayesian inference, and phylogenetic networks. To test the hypothesis of language–culture co-evolution, Mantel and partial Mantel tests were applied. Results show strong correlations between cultural and linguistic distances (LRRH: r = 0.74; CH: r = 0.67; p &lt; 0.001), even after controlling for geographic distance.The study introduces the Cultural Admixture Index (CAI), a new analytical measure designed to quantify the intensity of horizontal transmission in narrative networks. Findings indicate that more recent folktales tend to preserve predominantly hierarchical and vertical structures, while older mythological traditions display higher levels of reticulation and cross-cultural diffusion.This work contributes to the methodological advancement of Digital Humanities by demonstrating how phylogenetic techniques, statistical modelling, and computational approaches can be systematically applied to the study of cross-cultural narrative evolution and the transmission of symbolic heritage.<b>Keywords</b>: Digital Humanities, Cultural Evolution, Cultural Phylogenetics, Folktales, Mythology, Little Red Riding Hood, Cosmic Hunt, Narrative Evolution, Phylogenetic Analysis, Bayesian Inference, Maximum Parsimony, Phylogenetic Networks, Cultural Admixture Index, Mantel Test, Language–Culture Co-evolution, Computational Anthropology