CARTA - Anthropogeny (Audio)

In both lions and chimpanzees, males cooperate in inter-group conflict with group-mates who are often relatives and with whom they maintain close, life-long social bonds. Anne Pusey (Duke Univ) discusses some of the mounting evidence that successful intergroup aggression and killing results in better resources for group members in both species. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28348]

In this talk, Christopher Boehm (USC) discusses how today’s hunter-gatherers are used to portray likely patterns of male aggression among culturally-modern foragers in the Late Pleistocene epoch. Patterns of aggressive behavior are considered at three levels: within groups, between groups of the same ethnicity, and between groups that consider one another strangers.

Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28347]

Summary, question and answer session and closing statement for the symposium Male Aggression and Violence in Human Evolution that takes a fresh look at the causes and consequences of variation in aggression, both between and within species. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 28357]

Welcome and opening remarks for the symposium Male Aggression and Violence in Human Evolution that takes a fresh look at the causes and consequences of variation in aggression, both between and within species. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28346]

Patricia Lambert (Utah State Univ) examines the bioarchaeological evidence for violence and warfare in ancient California. Violent injuries in human skeletal remains provide one of the most compelling lines of evidence for violent conflict in prehistory. These data help to broaden our perspective on the causes of human violence and enhance our understanding of its evolutionary underpinnings. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28350]

In order to understand how warfare and violence have shaped the natural history of our species, and perhaps favored adaptations that respond to this important life threat, we need to document what types of violence were common in our ancestors and what were the levels of violent death in the past. Observation of modern hunter-gatherers, who live under conditions similar to our ancestors, provides an important source of information. Kim Hill (Arizona State Univ) studied the death rates of two hunter-gatherer tribes, the Aché of Paraguay and the Hiwi of Venezuela, and discusses his findings in this talk. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28351]

Human male violence is paradoxical. On the one hand, within social groups there is a strong tendency for avoidance of direct conflicts such that confrontations between angry individuals or groups normally end without serious harm. On the other hand, our species has a consistent history of intense deliberate violence, ranging from planned homicides and low-level and long-lasting warfare among nomadic hunter-gatherers to massive intermittent conflicts among states. Richard Wrangham (Harvard Univ) shows that the combination of aggression styles is better understood as being due to two neurobiologically distinct patterns that have been subject to contrasting selective regimes. He concludes that the combination of these two styles of aggression makes humans well adapted for both war and avoidance of war. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28354]

In the last few decades, new sources of evidence have continued to indicate that male violence has played an important role in shaping behavior in the human lineage. The frequency and nature of such violence varies widely among populations and over time raises questions about the factors responsible for the variation. This symposium takes a fresh look at the causes and consequences of variation in aggression, both between and within species. Carol Ember (Yale Univ) begins with a discussion about Resource Unpredictability, Socialization, and War, followed by Polly Wiessner on Violence: What’s Culture Got to Do with It?, and Robert Kelly (Univ of Wyoming) who asks Do Hunter-Gatherers Tell Us About Human Nature? Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28345]

In the last few decades, new sources of evidence have continued to indicate that male violence has played an important role in shaping behavior in the human lineage. The frequency and nature of such violence varies widely among populations and over time raises questions about the factors responsible for the variation. This symposium takes a fresh look at the causes and consequences of variation in aggression, both between and within species. Christopher Boehm (USC) begins with a discussion about Warfare and Feuding in Pleistocene Societies, followed by Patricia Lambert (Utah State Univ) on Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Male Violence in Prehistory, and Kim Hill (Arizona State Univ) on Male Violence among the Aché and Hiwi Hunter-Gatherers. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28344]

In the last few decades, new sources of evidence have continued to indicate that male violence has played an important role in shaping behavior in the human lineage. The frequency and nature of such violence varies widely among populations and over time raises questions about the factors responsible for the variation. This symposium takes a fresh look at the causes and consequences of variation in aggression, both between and within species. Donald Pfaff (Rockefeller Univ) begins with a discussion about Neuroendocrine Mechanisms Underlying Male Aggression, followed by Anne Pusey (Duke Univ) on Intergroup Violence: Chimpanzees and Lions, and Richard Wrangham (Harvard Univ) on Parallel Evolution of Humanity and Savagery. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28343]