We examine from whom children learn in mobile hunter-gatherers, a way of life that characterized much of human history. Recent studies on the modes of transmission in hunter-gatherers are reviewed before presenting an analysis of five modes of transmission described by Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman [L. L. Cavalli-Sforza, M. W. Feldman, Cultural Transmission and Evolution: A Quantitative Approach (1981)] but not previously evaluated in hunter-gatherer research. We also present two modes of group transmission, conformist transmission, and concerted transmission, seldom mentioned in hunter-gatherer social learning research, and propose a unique mode of group transmission called cumulative transmission. The analysis of the additional modes of transmission indicated that cultural evolutionary signatures of vertical transmission, such as the conservation of cultural traits, have been underestimated because previous studies have seldom considered remote generations or distinguished intrafamilial from extrafamilial horizontal and oblique transmission. However, field data also indicate that hunter-gatherer children interacted with and learned from many nongenetically related individuals; about half of children’s and adolescents’ horizontal and oblique social learning came from nongenetically related individuals. Intimate living conditions of hunter-gatherers provide opportunities for group transmission, and ethnographic evidence presented demonstrates that at least three types of group transmission exist. All three forms of group transmission theoretically contribute to the conservation of culture, homogeneity of intracultural diversity, and high intercultural diversity. Analysis of additional modes of oblique and horizontal transmission and discussion of previous and unique modes of group transmission demonstrate the various mechanisms by which hunter-gatherer children learn and how cultures are conserved and contribute to cumulative culture.

中文翻译：

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狩猎采集者之间的文化传播


我们研究了孩子们在移动狩猎采集中向谁学习，这是人类历史中大部分特征的生活方式。在对 Cavalli-Sforza 和 Feldman [L. L. Cavalli-Sforza， MW Feldman， Cultural Transmission and Evolution： A Quantitative Approach （1981）] 描述的五种传播方式进行分析之前，回顾了最近关于狩猎采集者传播方式的研究，但以前未在狩猎采集者研究中进行评估。我们还提出了两种在狩猎采集者社会学习研究中很少提及的群体传播模式，即顺从传递和协同传播，并提出了一种独特的群体传播模式，称为累积传播。对其他传播方式的分析表明，垂直传播的文化进化特征，例如文化特征的保留，被低估了，因为以前的研究很少考虑远代或区分家族内和家族外的横向和斜向传播。然而，实地数据也表明，狩猎采集儿童与许多非遗传相关的个体互动并向他们学习;儿童和青少年的横向和横向社会学习中约有一半来自非遗传相关的个体。狩猎采集者的亲密生活条件为群体传播提供了机会，所提供的人种学证据表明至少存在三种类型的群体传播。理论上，所有三种形式的群体传播都有助于文化的保护、文化内部多样性的同质性和高度的文化间多样性。 对其他斜向和横向传播模式的分析以及对先前和独特的群体传播模式的讨论，展示了狩猎采集儿童学习的各种机制，以及文化如何得到保存并促进累积文化。