Earth Science News
ABOUT US
Human culture's distinctiveness lies in its open-ended nature
illustration only
Human culture's distinctiveness lies in its open-ended nature
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 08, 2024

What sets human culture apart from that of animals? This question, long debated among scientists, may have a new answer, thanks to recent research by Arizona State University's evolutionary anthropologist Thomas Morgan.

For many years, the prevailing view was that the distinctive feature of human culture was its ability to build upon itself, accumulating knowledge and practices over generations. But as Morgan explains, "Ten years ago it was basically accepted that it was the ability of human culture to accumulate and evolve that made us special, but new discoveries about animal behavior are challenging these ideas and forcing us to rethink what makes our cultures, and us as a species, unique."

Morgan's research, conducted in collaboration with Stanford University's Marcus Feldman and published in 'Nature Human Behavior', proposes a different perspective. Instead of simply being uniquely cumulative, they argue that human culture is "uniquely open-ended." This characteristic, they claim, is what gives human culture its unparalleled depth and flexibility.

Morgan notes that various animal species, from ants to whales, demonstrate complex cultural behaviors. For example, new queen leafcutter ants carry their mother's cultivated fungus to new colonies, leading to genetic divergence between the domesticated and wild fungi. Similarly, humpback whales' songs evolve and spread across populations, and chimpanzees have been observed using tools for generations. Even locusts exhibit rapid evolutionary changes in response to population pressures through epigenetic mechanisms, altering their coloration and behavior without modifying their genetic code.

These observations have shown that animals possess cultural systems that accumulate knowledge and behaviors over time. "It used to be thought that other species just didn't have culture," said Morgan. "And now we know that lots of other species do. Then it was thought that only human cultures accumulate or evolve over time. But now we know animal cultures can do this too. So, if animals do have evolving cultures, then what's special about human culture that differentiates us from other animals?"

The answer, Morgan suggests, is in our "open-endedness" - the unique human capability to imagine, create, and adapt an infinite number of cultural innovations and sequences. Unlike animal cultures, human cultural evolution doesn't seem to reach a limit. He explained, "The way that animals think about what they're doing constrains the way that their cultures can evolve."

Morgan illustrated this concept by describing a multistep process like preparing breakfast, which involves a series of nested tasks and subgoals that must be executed in sequence. This kind of open-ended planning, where humans can continuously refine and add steps to processes, gives us the ability to generate highly complex behaviors and cultural practices.

Morgan and Feldman's research also compares human culture with animal examples of epigenetic inheritance and parental effects, such as those seen in leafcutter ants and locusts. These systems, although they exhibit stability and accumulation in animal species, ultimately encounter developmental constraints. "Just like animal cultures, there are constraints that these systems run-up against and that halt their evolution," Morgan said.

Reflecting on their findings, Morgan stated, "I think the key question is what is special about human culture, and we tried to answer that by comparing human cultures with animal cultures, with epigenetics, and with parental effects - as many evolving systems as we can think of. And in the end we concluded that the special thing about human culture is its open-endedness. It can accumulate but then it never has to stop, it just keeps going."

Research Report:Human culture is uniquely open-ended rather than uniquely cumulative

Related Links
Arizona State University
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
ABOUT US
Gentrification Fuels Alienation Among East Asian Urban Residents, Study Finds
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Nov 04, 2024
Gentrification is transforming neighborhoods in East Asia, reshaping urban communities into hubs for affluent residents while driving longtime residents to feel disconnected, according to a new study by researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and the University of Ljubljana. As formerly affordable areas undergo changes designed to attract higher-income residents, the result is often a profound sense of alienation for those who remain. The study, recently published in 'The Developing E ... read more

ABOUT US
Climate crisis worsening already 'hellish' refugee situation: UN

Spain PM accused of 'blackmail' by tying budget to flood aid; Royals return to flood zone

COP29: Climate disaster fund for poor countries 'ready'

Fukushima nuclear debris arrives at lab after secret journey

ABOUT US
New AI microbiome tool offers breakthroughs in forensics and epidemiology

NASA to transform in-space manufacturing with laser beam welding collaboration

Startup turns mining waste into critical metals for the U.S.

A smart screen for cooling and sun protection

ABOUT US
Drinking water outage hits half of France's Mayotte

Will living by the sea remain viable?

US hopes river pact with Mexico will reduce water scarcity

Curtin and NASA unlock ocean secrets from space

ABOUT US
Measurements from Lost Seaglider reveal impact of warm ocean water on Antarctic ice

Deep ocean study offers new insights into ancient ice age shift

Was Snowball Earth truly a global event? new study provides strongest evidence yet

First Antarctic amber discovery opens new window to ancient climate

ABOUT US
Economic woes sour prospects for China's dairy farmers

White truffles, Italy's gold, menaced by climate change

More than 33 million Nigerians face hunger next year: report

Scientists harvest nutrient-rich rice grown in space

ABOUT US
Schools shut as flood-hit Spain braces for more torrential rain

Fifth storm in under a month bears down on Philippines

Airlines around Asia ground Bali flights after volcano erupts

Evacuations, call for aid as Typhoon Usagi approaches Philippines

ABOUT US
What Trump's re-election could mean for Africa

Senegal grapples with floods, economy ahead of parliamentary elections

Mali detains CEO of gold mining firm Resolute

Burkina army launches probe after mutilation video leak

ABOUT US
Location of ancient ochre mine found in Eswatini

Chimpanzees show improved performance on difficult computer tasks with an audience

New findings on Denisovans reveal their role in shaping early human genetics

Human culture's distinctiveness lies in its open-ended nature

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.