An evolutionary model explaining the Neolithic transition from egalitarianism to leadership and despotism
An evolutionary model explaining the Neolithic transition from egalitarianism to leadership and despotism
复制标题
解释新石器时代从平等主义到领导和专制主义转变的进化模型
DOI：
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发表时间：
2014
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
L. Lehmann
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Simon T. Powers;L. Lehmann
新石器时代的标志是从相对平等的小群体向分层增加的大群体过渡。但是，人们对其中的动力仍然知之甚少。很难看出，如果没有强制，专制是如何产生的，然而，在一个平等主义的环境中，强制不可能轻易发生。利用斑块结构种群的进化定量模型，我们证明了人口和生态因素之间的相互作用可以克服这一难题。我们模拟了个人对等级制度偏好的共同进化，以及领导者的专制程度，以及追随者的分散偏好。我们表明，当领导者帮助解决与资源生产相关的协调问题时，没有强制的自愿领导可以在小团体中发展。一个例子是灌溉系统的协调建设。我们的模型预测，当：(1)剩余的资源导致群体人口扩张，消除了同一地区头部生态位的生存能力，从而将个体锁定在等级制度中，就会发生向更大的专制群体的过渡；（ii）高昂的分散成本限制了追随者逃离专制者的能力。经验证据表明，在新石器时代的生存强化时期，这些条件可能第一次得到满足。
The Neolithic was marked by a transition from small and relatively egalitarian groups to much larger groups with increased stratification. But, the dynamics of this remain poorly understood. It is hard to see how despotism can arise without coercion, yet coercion could not easily have occurred in an egalitarian setting. Using a quantitative model of evolution in a patch-structured population, we demonstrate that the interaction between demographic and ecological factors can overcome this conundrum. We model the coevolution of individual preferences for hierarchy alongside the degree of despotism of leaders, and the dispersal preferences of followers. We show that voluntary leadership without coercion can evolve in small groups, when leaders help to solve coordination problems related to resource production. An example is coordinating construction of an irrigation system. Our model predicts that the transition to larger despotic groups will then occur when: (i) surplus resources lead to demographic expansion of groups, removing the viability of an acephalous niche in the same area and so locking individuals into hierarchy; (ii) high dispersal costs limit followers' ability to escape a despot. Empirical evidence suggests that these conditions were probably met, for the first time, during the subsistence intensification of the Neolithic.