Imitation explains the propagation, not the stability of animal culture

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 277; no. 1681; pp. 651 - 659
• Main Authors: Claidière, Nicolas, Sperber, Dan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 22.02.2010
• Subjects: Animal Culture; Animals; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Carrots; Chimpanzees; Communities; Cultural Evolution; Culture; Ecological psychology; Foraging; Imitation; Imitative Behavior - physiology; Learning - physiology; Models, Theoretical; Observational learning; Pan troglodytes; Rats; Social behavior; Social influence

For acquired behaviour to count as cultural, two conditions must be met: it must propagate in a social group, and it must remain stable across generations in the process of propagation. It is commonly assumed that imitation is the mechanism that explains both the spread of animal culture and its sta...