keynote
From hunter-gatherer social learning to infectious disease control: Fifty years of utilizing evolutionary approaches to culture
The talk examines basic and applied research applications of evolutionary approaches to culture. First, studies of social learning among the Aka and other hunter-gatherers are considered. Six dyadic (vertical, remote generation, intrafamilial and extrafamilial oblique and intrafamilial and extrafamilial horizontal) and three group (conformist, concerted and cumulative) modes of transmission are discussed. Aka research on two key features of human cumulative culture, teaching and overimitation, are also briefly presented. Finally, the talk moves beyond basic research and discusses how evolutionary approaches to culture have been useful for understanding efforts to control Ebola (EVD) in central Africa.