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Robert Boyd & Peter Richerson — How Ice Age Climate Chaos Made Humans Cultural Animals

The Joe Walker Podcast

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Cultural Evolution and Climate Adaptation

This chapter explores the interplay between cultural evolution and adaptation to climate variations, emphasizing the rapid pace of cultural change compared to genetic evolution. It discusses the high metabolic costs of a large brain necessary for cumulative culture and how social learning can alleviate individual learning burdens. The dialogue also examines the functionalist analysis of culture, highlighting the collaboration between researchers to develop a deeper understanding of cultural adaptations in response to environmental challenges.

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