Institutional complexity emerges from socioecological complexity in small-scale human societies

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 291; no. 2022; p. 20240246
• Main Authors: Hamilton, Marcus J., Walker, Robert S., Buchanan, Briggs
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Bayes Theorem; Cultural Diversity; Ecology; Humans; North America; North America; Bayesian networks; anthropological traits; human niche; causal inference; cultural diversity; Western North American Indian Database

Human lifestyles vary enormously over time and space and so understanding the origins of this diversity has always been a central focus of anthropology. A major source of this cultural variation is the variation in institutional complexity: the cultural packages of rules, norms, ontologies and expec...