Cultural Evolution: The Empirical and Theoretical Landscape (Evolutionary Analysis in the Social Sciences)

Since the dawn of social science, theorists have debated how and why societies appear to change, develop and evolve.Today, this question is pursued by scholars across many different disciplines and our understanding of these dynamics has grown markedly.Yet, there remain important areas of disagreement and debate: what is the difference between societal change, development and evolution?What specific aspects of cultures change, develop or evolve and why?Do societies change, develop or evolve in particular ways, perhaps according to cycles, or stages or in response to survival necessities?How do different disciplines-from sociology to anthropology to psychology and economics-approach these questions?This book provides complex and nuanced answers to these, and many other, questions.First, the book invites readers to consider the broad landscape of societal dynamics across human history, beginning with humanity’s origins in small nomadic bands of hunter gatherers through to the emergence o