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探索人类多样性的核心议题之一，在于文化变迁是否存在可遵循的规律模式与作用过程。目前学界已构建出文化演化的理论与数学模型，并愈发广泛地应用于实证分析与评估工作中。本研究针对「人类社会文化组织特征的变迁速率受通用规则支配」这一假说开展检验。该假说的一项预测为：尽管各区域居住群体拥有独特的历史背景，但不同文化特质在全球不同区域的演化相对速率往往趋于一致。我们借助系统发育比较法（phylogenetic comparative methods）与系统性跨文化数据集，分别评估了(i)东南亚岛屿及太平洋地区、(ii)撒哈拉以南非洲的不同社会文化特质变迁情况。结果显示，这两个区域的文化特质变迁相对速率呈现显著相关性。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文化特质。这一结果与「纯化选择（purifying selection）对这类与环境关联更紧密的特质作用强度更高」的观点相符。上述研究结果表明，尽管存在偶然性历史事件以及人类作为历史进程中主动行动者的作用，但文化的演化确实遵循可通过通用原则进行预测的规律。