Transcript Macrosociology and the Emerging Synthesis

Plug-In Macrosociology for the
Emerging Synthesis
Ecological-Evolutionary Theory &
Secondary Products Revolution
François Nielsen
3 current areas of research
• income inequality
– Kuznets Curve & Great U-Turn; using crossnational & US county data
• ascription & achievement in education
– environmental & genetic influences on
achievement; using siblings data
• ecological-evolutionary theory (Lenski)
– evolution of social inequality; using crosscultural data*
Emerging Synthesis (Renfrew)
• Outline of human history from emergence
of Homo s. s. in Africa 150ky ago to
present
• Based in 3 principal fields:
– Genetics (Cavalli-Sforza et al) – genetic
distances + genetic gradients
– Linguistics (Ruhlen) – classification of
language families and super-families
– Archaeology (Renfrew) – pottery styles,
skeletal types, plant & animal domesticates
Emerging Synthesis (cont’d)
• Central process: demic expansion driven
by technological innovation in:
– Subsistence (eg farming)
– Transportation (eg horse, outrigger boat)
– Military (eg horse, gun)
• Demic expansion can fit wave of advance
model:
– Rise in local population density
– Causes “spill-over” to adjacent area …
Neolithic expansion
in Europe
Emerging Synthesis (cont’d)
• Neolithic expansion Middle-East to Europe
8ky-4ky BC is example of wave of
advance (average 1km per year)
• Other examples of demic expansions
throughout history are shown in Table 1
(Continued)
A comprehensive account
of the Emerging Synthesis
is Guns, Germs, & Steel
by Jared Diamond (1999)
Genetic Evidence
• Cavalli-Sforza et al 1994:
– Estimate gene frequencies for world
populations
– Calculate matrix of genetic distances among
populations & estimate pedigree
– Project onto geographical map to reconstruct
population movements
Genetic Evidence (cont’d)
• Gradients in gene frequencies:
– eg East-West gradient in Europe left over
from neolithic expansion
– Basque distinctiveness (high Rh- frequency)
• Sometimes frequency of a gene directly
related to tradition of subsistence:
– eg genetic ability of adults to digest lactose
varies among populations
Linguistic Evidence
• Local dialects diverge over ky’s or tens of
ky’s:
– eg New Guinea Central Valley
• Similar languages over wide area suggest
recent linguistic “steamroller” (Diamond):
– eg Indo-European languages, Bantu
languages, Austronesian languages
• Grouping languages into families & superfamilies maps history of expansions
A Major Finding
• Pedigrees based on genetic and linguistic
data converge on same general scenario
of human population movements since
emergence of Homo s. s. (Cavalli-Sforza
et al; Ruhlen)
Role of Sociology
• Do we have anything to contribute to the
Emerging Synthesis?
• Yes! It is sociology that can “fill-in” the
scenario of expansions to account for
socio-cultural evolution from hunting &
gathering to (post-)industrial societies
Role of Sociology (cont’d)
• We already have handy macro-sociology:
Gerhard Lenski’s ecological evolutionary
theory (EET)
• Lenski’s EET is a “plug-in” macrosociology for the Emerging Synthesis
• Part of EET (agrarian transition) can be
improved in view of recent progress in
archaeology
Lenski’s EET
• EET typology of societies based on
Ecological & Evolutionary dimensions
• Evolutionary dimension relates to level of
subsistence technology:
– Hunting & gathering (primordial)
– Simple horticultural (+hoe farming – 8ky BC)
– Advanced horticultural (+copper, bronze)
– Simple agrarian (+plow – 4ky BC)
Lenski’s EET (cont’d)
• Evolutionary dimension (cont’d)
– Advanced agrarian (+iron)
– Industrial (+use of inanimate energy)
• Ecological dimension (plow cultivation not
possible or not optimal)
– Herding
– Fishing
– Maritime
2 Dimensions Combined
Lenski’s EET (cont’d)
• EET’s 2 mechanisms of socio-cultural
evolution are:
– Intrasocietal selection (eg electronic
calculator, corporate organizational form)
– Intersocietal selection (eg US Western
frontier, Bantu-speaking farmers vs. Khoisanspeaking foragers)
EET & Emerging Synthesis
• Affinities:
– Demic expansions & intersocietal selection
are similar notions
– Emphasis on role of technology
– Emphasis on role of environment (eg
Diamond on East-West axis of Eurasia,
available domesticates)
EET & Emerging Synthesis
• Differences:
– Gerhard Lenski’s EET is nomothetic,
typological, uses discrete ideal types
– Emerging synthesis is more historical,
describes specific societies
• Modify EET so it:
– Better accounts for hybrid societies
– Better integrates “specialized” societies,
particularly herding societies
Main Fix to EET
• Identify agrarian transition more generally
as Secondary Products Revolution (SPR)
c. 4ky BC (Sherratt):
– Traction complex (yoked oxen) applied to
plow & wheeled vehicles
– Transport & pack domesticates (camelids,
equids)
– Animal products: milking technology, milk
products, wool, weaving
This style of milking
a cow from the side
is very post-SPR
Early farmers sat
behind the cow
Main Fix to EET (cont’d)
• SPR ushered both agrarian and herding
subsistence technologies
• Thus modify EET typology:
– Combine agrarian and herding societies into
one secondary products category
– Within secondary products category
distinguish societies continuously according to
proportion of herding subsistence
Variation Among SP Societies
60
50
0.2
Count
40
30
0.1
20
10
0
0.0
0.2
0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Herding Intensity
0.0
1.2
Proportion per Bar
Proportion herding
subsistence among
secondary products
societies
Empirical Illustrations
• Using Ethnographic Atlas data, show
socio-cultural consequences of SPR for:
– Slavery
– Jurisdictional hierarchy
– Inheritance of real property
– Male centrality (patrilineal descent)
– Ideology: monotheism & games of strategy
• Mystery of Indo-European expansions
Slavery
Jurisdictional Hierarchy
Inheritance of Land
Patrilineal Descent
Monotheism
Games of Strategy
Indo-European Expansions
• The Indo-European (IE) hypothesis (Sir
William Jones, 1796): [most languages of
Europe & SW Asia] “have sprung from
some common source, which, perhaps, no
longer exists”
• Postulated common source named protoIndo-European (PIE)
Contending Theories
• IE expansions began 7ky BC from
homeland in Anatolia, carried by neolithic
(hoe farming) technology (Renfrew 1987)
• IE expansions began 4ky BC from
homeland in Pontic-Caspian steppe,
carried by secondary products technology,
in particular horses (“Kurgan” model:
Childe, Gimbutas, Mallory)
Linguistic Paleontology
• Principle:
– If term can be reconstructed to PIE lexicon,
PIE-speakers must have been familiar with
concept
– Accept only terms with reflexes in both
European and Asian branches of IE (to rule
out loanwords from substrate languages)
– List reconstructed terms pertaining to
subsistence technology
PIE Terms: Domesticated Plants
PIE Terms: Domesticated Animals
PIE Terms: Traction Technology
PIE Terms: Wool & Milk
Who Were the IE?
• They had a secondary products economy
(yoke, plow, wheel, vehicle, axle, wool,
milk…) with stock-breeding emphasis
• PIE unity broke down 4ky BC earliest
• Neolithic model rejected, classic Kurgan
model supported
• Descendent cultures specialized into more
agrarian (Europe) or more herding (Asia)
Conclusion
• EET useful macro-sociology plug-in for
Emerging Synthesis
• New category of secondary products
societies (Sherratt) helps integrate
agrarian & herding societies
• Modified EET helps understand debate on
IE expansions, and perhaps some day
origins of monotheism
Future Research
• Mechanisms of socio-cultural evolution
other than demic expansion:
– Intra-societal cultural development
– Diffusion by imitation (no migration)
– Role of trade networks
Future Research (cont’d)
• Specify theoretical links between type of
society & other societal characteristics:
– EET is a skeleton describing reduced
relationships between societal type and other
societal characteristics
– Research is needed to specify causal
relationships between type of society and
other characteristics (eg overall decline in
inequality in industrial societies)
The End