A sound approach to the study of culture

Rendell and Whitehead's thorough review dispels notions that culture is an exclusive faculty of humans and higher primates. We applaud the authors, but differ with them regarding the evolution of cetacean culture, which we argue resulted from the availability of abundant but spatially and tempo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Behavioral and brain sciences 2001-04, Vol.24 (2), p.325-326
Main Authors: Barrett-Lennard, L. G., Deecke, V. B., Yurk, H., Ford, J. K. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Rendell and Whitehead's thorough review dispels notions that culture is an exclusive faculty of humans and higher primates. We applaud the authors, but differ with them regarding the evolution of cetacean culture, which we argue resulted from the availability of abundant but spatially and temporally patchy prey such as schooling fish. We propose two examples of gene-culture coevolution: (1) acoustic abilities and acoustic traditions, and (2) transmission of environmental information and longevity.
ISSN:0140-525X
1469-1825
DOI:10.1017/S0140525X01233962