Darwinian Archaeologies (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology)

This unique work explores the fundamental importance of Darwinian theory to archaeology. Contributors describe the myriad of approaches that archaeologists have taken while investigating prehistory through a Darwinian paradigm. In addition, they provide an important theoretical and methodological foundation for the current state of the field. Chapters are divided into three sections examining cultural and behavioral selection; various forms of dual inheritance and kin-selection; and archaeological impacts of evolutionary psychology, cognitive psychology, and the evolution of mental adaptations.

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Twelve contributions elucidate some of the salient points and the rich potential in taking a Darwinian approach to archaeological problems. They are grouped in sections on cultural and behavioral selection, individuals and dual inheritance, and cognition and the evolution of mental adaptations. A sampling of topics: the change from biface to flake technology, multiple code structures in the replication of human culture, weak modularity and the evolution of human social behavior, and the origin of art. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.