The ecology of empire: The dynamics of strategic differentiation-integration in two competing Western European biocultural groups

Wetracked the relative integration and differentiation among life history traits over the period spanning AD 1800–1999 in the Britannic and Gallic biocultural groups. We found that Britannic populations tended toward greater strategic differentiation, while Gallic populations tended toward greater s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Politics and the life sciences 2019-10, Vol.38 (2), p.210-225
Main Authors: Figueredo, Aurelio José, Peñaherrera-Aguirre, Mateo, Fernandes, Heitor Barcellos Ferreira, Lomayesva, Sara Lindsey, Hertler, Steven Charles, Sarraf, Matthew Alexandar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioethics
Competition
Contraction
Cooperation
Differentiation
Ecology
Equilibrium
Evolution
Genotype & phenotype
Group dynamics
Hunter-gatherers
Integration
Life history
Life sciences
Politics
Populations
Society
Success
Theory
Violence
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Summary:Wetracked the relative integration and differentiation among life history traits over the period spanning AD 1800–1999 in the Britannic and Gallic biocultural groups. We found that Britannic populations tended toward greater strategic differentiation, while Gallic populations tended toward greater strategic integration. The dynamics of between-group competition between these two erstwhile rival biocultural groups were hypothesized as driving these processes. We constructed a latent factor that specifically sought to measure between-group competition and residualized it for the logarithmic effects of time. We found a significantly asymmetrical impact of between-group competition, where the between-group competition factor appeared to be driving the diachronic integration in Gallic populations but had no significantly corresponding influence on the parallel process of diachronic differentiation in Britannic populations. This suggests that the latter process was attributable to some alternative and unmeasured causes, such as the resource abundance consequent to territorial expansion rather than contraction.
ISSN:0730-9384
1471-5457
DOI:10.1017/pls.2019.12