Today's discussion is based on the following readings:
Topics for discussion:
1. How do Cavalli-Sforza and his co-workers set out to reconstruct the history of human population movements from the gene frequencies of living human populations? What is the usefulness for that purpose of evolutionary trees? Of principal components of gene frequencies (I am not assuming we completely understand the statistics involved). What are methodological al issues associated with these techniques? (E.g., problem of admixtures, estimation of evolutionary rates,...)
2. What are the relations between genetic and linguistic evolution? Why would evolutionary trees based on genetic data and on linguistic data show similar patterns? What role did the discovery of the Indo-European family of languages have in thinking about socio-cultural evolution.
3. In Chapter 1 of Genes, People, and Languages (not assigned) Cavalli-Sforza discusses traditional conceptions of "pure races" à la Gobineau. How convincing is his discussion? How widespread is the conception of races as distinct groups in the public? What implications (if any) does the reconstruction of the evolutionary tree of the human species on the basis of genetic and linguistic data have (or might have) for race relations in multi-racial societies and philosophical and political approaches to race differences.
4. What are the implications of the research of Cavalli-Sforza and his team for an understanding of socio-cultural change? In particular, what does the research imply for the relative importance in socio-cultural evolution of pure cultural diffusion (without population movement), demic expansion driven by technological innovation, and cultural diffusion through networks of trade. What does this imply for the role of technology (in particular subsistence technology as it affects population density) for socio-cultural evolution?
5. In Guns, Germs, and Steel what is "Yali's Question"? In a nutshell, what's the answer to Yali's question?
Exhibits:
Last modified 1 Nov 2005