The Evolutionary and Ecological Roots of Human Social Organization

Kaplan et al., in their article, “The evolutionary and ecological roots of human social organization,” argue that shifts in production strategies cause changes in social organization. Shifts in production strategies include the utilization of land for agriculture, domestication of animals for pastoralism both of which result in changes in social organization such as the societal value on skill, inter and intra group competition and the conditions necessary to institute coercive authority and domination. The authors discuss the reasoning behind the high value of skill and knowledge within the human adaptive complex; due to the human dependence on high-quality and therefore difficult to acquire food, skill and knowledge are highly valued to sustain the described diet. The high value of skill and knowledge result in longevity and lowered mortality rates, both which are uniquely human characteristics.

The authors discuss four major sustenance strategies and their differences in value of skill, cooperative relationships and dominance among other factors. Egalitarian societies are characterized by a high value on skill and knowledge and cooperative production and the sharing of food resources which result in relationships characterized by cooperation. While the value of skill is variable, but generally highly valued in egalitarian societies, it tends to decrease in tribal horticulture. In tribal pastoralism, skill and knowledge is a prerequisite to efficiency of herd management; however, herd size rather than time and labor investment, including the time investment in acquiring knowledge is the determinant to pastoral productivity. Also, frequency of warfare and the paralleling need for leadership increases dramatically within this strategy. The rise of agrarian states witnessed the increase in land inheritance which the authors argue directly affects the societal value of skill, due to the fact that the child’s wealth is generally predetermined. This strategy is also characterized by dramatically increased levels of inter and intra group competition followed by severe social stratification. Social stratification in these early agrarian states was pinnacled with despotic males who capitalized on social power by the disposing of rivals, increased access to land, slaves and wealth as well as the ability to determine who their political successor would be. The authors conclude that while investment in acquiring skill and knowledge is a marked characteristic of egalitarian societies, the value of such investment decreases with the utilization of other strategies, especially land and cattle due to the fact that they are inheritable. The authors also include the interesting comparison of contemporary skill-based economies and skill-based economies of hunters and gatherers. They argue that the two are similar and both result in social and political structures that resemble egalitarianism as well as an increased individual freedom.

Gurven, M. Hooper, P. Kaplan, H.

2009 The Evolutionary and Ecological Roots of Human Social Organization. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Bilogical Sciences. Pp. 3289-3299