Human Evolution and the Origins of Hierarchies: The State of Nature

By Benoît Dubreuil

Book Overview

In this book, Beno?t Dubreuil explores the creation and destruction of hierarchies in human evolution. Combining the methods of archaeology, anthropology, cognitive neuroscience and primatology, he offers a natural history of hierarchies from the point of view of both cultural and biological evolution. This volume explains why dominance hierarchies typical of primate societies disappeared in the human lineage and why the emergence of large-scale societies during the Neolithic period implied increased social differentiation, the creation of status hierarchies, and, eventually, political centralisation.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1107670365
• ISBN13: 9781107670365
• Release Date: July 2013
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"