The cultural revolution of witchcraft beliefs
Evolution & Human Behavior • Vol/Iss. 45 • Elsevier Inc. • • Published In • Pages: ??•
By Peacey, Sarah, Wu, Baihui, Grollemund, Rebecca, Mace, Ruth
Hypothesis
Traits associated with the 'witchcraft phenotype' exhibit phylogenetic transmission.
Note
Supported variables for phylogenetic clustering include: witchcraft substance, the evil eye, baboon familiars, snake-human familiars, and child 'witches'. Variables not supported: poison ordeal, cannibalism, mostly unconscious witchcraft, mostly conscious witchcraft, innate witchcraft, acquired witchcraft, divination, covens, familiars, hyena familiars, owl familiars, leopard familiars, aardvark familiars, insect familiars, snake familiars, small human-like familiars, spirit-ghost familiars, mostly animal familiars, mostly supernatural being familiars, death usually caused by witchcraft, inheritance: maternal or both, inheritance: paternal or both, elderly 'witches', male 'witches', female 'witches', both sexes as 'witches'.
Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-statistic, 'Reversible Jump' MCMC analysis, Mantel test | Partially Supported | p < 0.05 | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN |
Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
---|---|---|
Phylogenetic Transmission | Independent | Sociolinguistics |
Witchcraft beliefs | Dependent | Sorcery |