This essay frames the evolution of human cooperation as a two-layer process. A foundational layer, rooted in subsistence and ecological pressures, shaped cooperative dispositions unevenly, whereas an expansionary layer, rooted in conflict, political stratification, and shared infrastructure,...

This essay frames the evolution of human cooperation as a two-layer process. A foundational layer, rooted in subsistence and ecological pressures, shaped cooperative dispositions unevenly, whereas an expansionary layer, rooted in conflict, political stratification, and shared infrastructure,...

This essay suggests that the evolution of human cooperation over the course of human history should be viewed as a two-layer process. A foundational layer, rooted in subsistence and ecological pressures, shaped cooperative dispositions unevenly, whereas an expansionary layer, rooted in conflict...

There has been much theoretical work aimed at understanding the evolution of social learning; and in most of it, individual and social learning are treated as distinct processes. A number of authors have argued that this approach is faulty because the same psychological mechanisms underpin...

This chapter reviews the growing literature on the origin, persistence and evolution of cultural norms. I begin by examining the deep historical forces that shape the formation of cultural norms, with particular attention to the role of geography, pre-industrial societal characteristics,...