Hewlett, Barry S.; De Silvestri, Annalisa; Guglielmino, C. Rosalba
Abstract
This report has two general aims: to explain the distribution of cultural practices and beliefs across the landscape in Africa and to demonstrate how genetic, linguistic, and geographic information can be used to understand the nature of culture. We focus on ethnic groups that share cultural units (schemas or practices) and utilize genetic, linguistic, and geographic data to evaluate the processes that help to explain this sharing. Following Cavalli-Sforza, we call these units “semes” rather than “memes” because “seme” comes from “sign” and emphasizes the symbolic nature of culture. Our approach is sometimes called “coevolutionary” or “dual-inheritance” because it identifies relationships between genes and culture. We prefer to call it evolutionary cultural anthropology because the major theoretical contributions to date emphasize understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and properties of culture.
