The evolution of ethnolinguistic diversity

Advances in Complex Systems • Vol/Iss. 15(01n02) • World Scientific Publishing Company • • Published In • Pages: 1-20 •
By Currie, Thomas E., Mace, Ruth

Abstract

The authors test the relationship between ethnolinguistic area and various environmental variables in a cross-cultural sample of hunter-gatherer, pastoral, and agricultural subsistence groups in order to evaluate various hypotheses surrounding the geographic and ecological origins of cultural diversity. They propose that societies which adopted agriculture at the beginning of the Holocene were less directly affected by climate which, combined with the effect of increasing political and cultural complexity, allowed coordination and homogenization of ethnolinguistic groups over a broader swathe of territory.
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jack.dunnington