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Editorial — Cultural Evolution In Spatially Structured Populations: A Review Of Alternative Modeling Frameworks

Author

Listed:
  • ANNE KANDLER

    (Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe (NM), USA)

  • CHARLES PERREAULT

    (Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe (NM), USA)

  • JAMES STEELE

    (Institute for Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, UK;
    SGAES, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)

Abstract

We consider the dynamics of cultural evolution in spatially-structured populations. Most spatially explicit modeling approaches can be broadly divided into two classes: micro- and macro-level models. Macro-level models study cultural evolution at the population level and describe the average behavior of the considered system. Conversely, micro-level models focus on the constituent units of the system, and study the evolutionary dynamics that emerge out of the interaction between these units. In this paper, we give an overview of the general properties of micro- and macro-level models using the examples of agent-based simulations and of continuum models based in diffusion theory; we highlight how both frameworks account for spatially-dependent processes. We argue that both micro- and macro-level models are well-suited to describe the process of cultural evolution in spatial settings and stress that micro- and macro-level models should not be considered as competing alternatives, but rather as complementary tools that can provide different insights into cultural evolutionary dynamics. Although adding spatial components to any model increases its complexity, we argue (based on the findings presented by contributors to this Special Issue ofAdvances in Complex Systems), that the incorporation of space into the evolutionary framework is a necessary step towards a more complete understanding of the process of cultural evolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne Kandler & Charles Perreault & James Steele, 2012. "Editorial — Cultural Evolution In Spatially Structured Populations: A Review Of Alternative Modeling Frameworks," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(01n02), pages 1-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:acsxxx:v:15:y:2012:i:01n02:n:s0219525912030014
    DOI: 10.1142/S0219525912030014
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John H. Miller & Scott E. Page, 2007. "Social Science in Between, from Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life," Introductory Chapters, in: Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, Princeton University Press.
    2. John H. Miller & Scott E. Page, 2007. "Complexity in Social Worlds, from Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life," Introductory Chapters, in: Complex Adaptive Systems: An Introduction to Computational Models of Social Life, Princeton University Press.
    3. McElreath, Richard & Boyd, Robert, 2007. "Mathematical Models of Social Evolution," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226558264, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Buskell & Magnus Enquist & Fredrik Jansson, 2019. "A systems approach to cultural evolution," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.

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