This study explores the prevalence of group singing and its relationship with changes in social organization's participatory dynamics, precisely community size and social differentiation. The authors use two samples: 1) 5776 audio recordings from 1024 societies and 2) 4709 ethnographic texts from 60 societies. There is significant support that group singing is more prevalent than solo singing. The results also show that community size predicts group singing in only one of the samples (GJB). However, there is no significant support for social differentiation as a predictor of group singing.

This study explores the prevalence of group singing and its relationship with changes in social organization's participatory dynamics, precisely community size and social differentiation. The authors use two samples: 1) 5776 audio recordings from 1024 societies and 2) 4709 ethnographic texts from 60 societies. There is significant support that group singing is more prevalent than solo singing. The results also show that community size predicts group singing in only one of the samples (GJB). However, there is no significant support for social differentiation as a predictor of group singing.

This study explores the prevalence of group singing and its relationship with changes in social organization's participatory dynamics, precisely community size and social differentiation. The authors use two samples: 1) 5776 audio recordings from 1024 societies and 2) 4709 ethnographic texts from 60 societies. There is significant support that group singing is more prevalent than solo singing. The results also show that community size predicts group singing in only one of the samples (GJB). However, there is no significant support for social differentiation as a predictor of group singing.

By testing relationships between musical, geographic, genetic, and linguistic distance among nine indigenous groups in Taiwan, the researchers aim to quantitatively evaluate a developing theory of coevolution between these traits. An especially strong correlation between musical variability and genetic distance suggests that music may possess worldwide time depth, diversity, and universality equal to or greater than that of language, and could thus serve as a complementary marker for reconstruction of long-term population shifts.

Researchers looked at 180 of the 186 societies in the SCCS for changes over time in lineage systems. The goal was to estimate the frequency of transitions away from and to matriliny cross-culturally, as well as explore the potential causes of these patterns / transitions. The study focused on two overarching research questions: 1. How common are transitions away from matriliny and how often do ‘reverse transitions’ to matriliny occur? 2. What causes transitions to or from matriliny? Overall, the study found that transitions away from matriliny have been quite common within the time frames covered by the ethnographic samples available, while transitions from another system to matrility have been rare. In answering the second question, the researchers report the highest correlation is between subsistence transitions (towards pastoralism, intensive agriculture, or a market economy) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny) as well as between higher levels of social complexity (measured by stratification, slavery, and population size) and lineage transitions (away from matriliny).

Researchers examine marriage patterns of 186 societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS). The eleven predictor variables are pathogen stress, arranged female marriages, population density, father roles during infancy, temperature, social stratification, wealth inequality, internal warfare, assault frequency, female agricultural contribution, and sex ratio. The two outcome variables measuring polygyny are cultural rules constraining polygyny and the percentage of married men who are polygynous. Controlling on phylogeny using a global supertree of the languages, analysis of marriage patterns reveals that assault frequency and pathogen stress are the strongest predictors of polygyny. These findings offer additional support for the theories of harem-defense polygyny and male genetic quality.

Researchers examine marriage patterns of 186 societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS). The eleven predictor variables are pathogen stress, arranged female marriages, population density, father roles during infancy, temperature, social stratification, wealth inequality, internal warfare, assault frequency, female agricultural contribution, and sex ratio. The two outcome variables measuring polygyny are cultural rules constraining polygyny and the percentage of married men who are polygynous. Controlling on phylogeny using a global supertree of the languages, analysis of marriage patterns reveals that assault frequency and pathogen stress are the strongest predictors of polygyny. These findings offer additional support for the theories of harem-defense polygyny and male genetic quality.

Researchers examine marriage patterns of 186 societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS). The eleven predictor variables are pathogen stress, arranged female marriages, population density, father roles during infancy, temperature, social stratification, wealth inequality, internal warfare, assault frequency, female agricultural contribution, and sex ratio. The two outcome variables measuring polygyny are cultural rules constraining polygyny and the percentage of married men who are polygynous. Controlling on phylogeny using a global supertree of the languages, analysis of marriage patterns reveals that assault frequency and pathogen stress are the strongest predictors of polygyny. These findings offer additional support for the theories of harem-defense polygyny and male genetic quality.

This paper builds off previous research into the effect of population size and resource risk on complexity of subsistence technology by investigating the relationship between these independent variables and total number of material items and techniques used by various western North American hunter-gatherer groups. This tally of total technological complexity is found to be insignificantly related to population size or residential mobility; however, there is a significant correlation in the expected direction between technological complexity and one measure of resource risk (mean annual temperature during driest month). Tying this finding to previous analyses of subsistence technologies, the authors theorize that environmental risk is a pervasive driver of technological ingenuity and cultural evolution.

This paper builds off previous research into the effect of population size and resource risk on complexity of subsistence technology by investigating the relationship between these independent variables and total number of material items and techniques used by various western North American hunter-gatherer groups. This tally of total technological complexity is found to be insignificantly related to population size or residential mobility; however, there is a significant correlation in the expected direction between technological complexity and one measure of resource risk (mean annual temperature during driest month). Tying this finding to previous analyses of subsistence technologies, the authors theorize that environmental risk is a pervasive driver of technological ingenuity and cultural evolution.