An evolutionary model explaining the Neolithic transition from egalitarianism to leadership and despotism.


Autoria(s): Powers S.T.; Lehmann L.
Data(s)

2014

Resumo

The Neolithic was marked by a transition from small and relatively egalitarian groups to much larger groups with increased stratification. But, the dynamics of this remain poorly understood. It is hard to see how despotism can arise without coercion, yet coercion could not easily have occurred in an egalitarian setting. Using a quantitative model of evolution in a patch-structured population, we demonstrate that the interaction between demographic and ecological factors can overcome this conundrum. We model the coevolution of individual preferences for hierarchy alongside the degree of despotism of leaders, and the dispersal preferences of followers. We show that voluntary leadership without coercion can evolve in small groups, when leaders help to solve coordination problems related to resource production. An example is coordinating construction of an irrigation system. Our model predicts that the transition to larger despotic groups will then occur when: (i) surplus resources lead to demographic expansion of groups, removing the viability of an acephalous niche in the same area and so locking individuals into hierarchy; (ii) high dispersal costs limit followers' ability to escape a despot. Empirical evidence suggests that these conditions were probably met, for the first time, during the subsistence intensification of the Neolithic.

Identificador

http://serval.unil.ch/?id=serval:BIB_84D0CA247412

isbn:1471-2954 (Electronic)

pmid:25100704

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.1349

isiid:000341094800021

http://my.unil.ch/serval/document/BIB_84D0CA247412.pdf

http://nbn-resolving.org/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:ch:serval-BIB_84D0CA2474125

Idioma(s)

en

Direitos

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Fonte

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, vol. 281, no. 1791, pp. 20141349

Palavras-Chave #Neolithic; despotism; dispersal; egalitarian; hierarchy; leadership
Tipo

info:eu-repo/semantics/article

article