The authors shift the time series for each natural geographic area (NGA) with respect to one anchor time so that all 23 NGAs can be visualized at once. The first principal component, denoted SPC1, is the one with approximately equal contributions from all nine complexity characteristics.Credit: Tobias Wand and Daniel Heuer
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The authors shift the time series for each natural geographic area (NGA) with respect to one anchor time so that all 23 NGAs can be visualized at once. The first principal component, denoted SPC1, is the one with approximately equal contributions from all nine complexity characteristics.Credit: Tobias Wand and Daniel Heuer
Are the rates of cultural evolution similar across human societies? The emerging field of fluid mechanics uses mathematical models to study history.
Using data from the Seshat: Global History Databank, which records nine “complexity features” for 370 polities over 10,000 years up to the 19th century, Tobias Wand and colleagues use a data-driven approach to identify 23 The rate of cultural evolution in geographical regions was estimated. .The work will be published in a magazine PNAS Nexus.
Complexity is characterized by policy population. territorial extent of a polity. The size of the largest urban center. Hierarchical complexity. The presence of professional soldiers, military officers, clergy, bureaucrats, and judges. Diversity of observable structures. Characteristics of writing and record keeping. different types of text. and the monetary system.
The authors focus on 23 natural geographic regions (NGAs), each with an analysis that allows them to focus on periods of steady, uninterrupted growth rather than moments of invasion or end-of-civilization crisis. Limited to the central part of NGA’s timeline. A universal logistic growth model was fitted to variables combining all nine complexity characteristics.
According to the authors, it takes on average about 2,500 years for societies that develop in isolation to reach a high degree of social complexity. The full development of complexity spread across multiple cultural or institutional stages in all NGAs.
According to the authors, this data suggests that there are common pathways for human social evolution across cultures.
For more information:
Tobias Wand et al., Characteristic Time Scales of Cultural Evolution, PNAS Nexus (2024). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae009
Magazine information:
PNAS Nexus