Cooperation and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling

被引:131
作者
Smith, Daniel [1 ,2 ]
Schlaepfer, Philip [3 ]
Major, Katie [4 ]
Dyble, Mark [5 ,6 ]
Page, Abigail E. [1 ]
Thompson, James [1 ]
Chaudhary, Nikhil [1 ]
Salali, Gul Deniz [1 ]
Mace, Ruth [1 ,7 ]
Astete, Leonora [8 ]
Ngales, Marilyn [8 ]
Vinicius, Lucio [1 ]
Migliano, Andrea Bamberg [1 ]
机构
[1] UCL, Dept Anthropol, London WC1H 0BW, England
[2] Univ Bristol, Bristol Med Sch, Populat Hlth Sci, Bristol BS8 2BN, Avon, England
[3] AgtaAid, Letchworth SG6 1RD, England
[4] Bristol Zool Soc, Bristol BS8 3HA, Avon, England
[5] Univ Cambridge, Jesus Coll, Jesus Lane, Cambridge CB5 8BL, England
[6] Univ Cambridge, Dept Zool, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, England
[7] Lanzhou Univ, Sch Life Sci, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, Peoples R China
[8] Lyceum Philippines Univ, Community Outreach & Serv Learning, Manila 1002, Philippines
来源
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 2017年 / 8卷
基金
欧洲研究理事会;
关键词
SUPERNATURAL PUNISHMENT; LITERARY FICTION; COMMUNICATION; RECIPROCITY; FOOD; SIMULATION; NETWORKS; GODS;
D O I
10.1038/s41467-017-02036-8
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Storytelling is a human universal. From gathering around the camp-fire telling tales of ancestors to watching the latest television box-set, humans are inveterate producers and consumers of stories. Despite its ubiquity, little attention has been given to understanding the function and evolution of storytelling. Here we explore the impact of storytelling on hunter-gatherer cooperative behaviour and the individual-level fitness benefits to being a skilled storyteller. Stories told by the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population, convey messages relevant to coordinating behaviour in a foraging ecology, such as cooperation, sex equality and egalitarianism. These themes are present in narratives from other foraging societies. We also show that the presence of good storytellers is associated with increased cooperation. In return, skilled storytellers are preferred social partners and have greater reproductive success, providing a pathway by which group-beneficial behaviours, such as storytelling, can evolve via individual-level selection. We conclude that one of the adaptive functions of storytelling among hunter gatherers may be to organise cooperation.
引用
收藏
页数:9
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