scholarly journals Altruism as an Explanation for Human Consanguinity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Srdjan Denic ◽  
Mukesh M. Agarwal
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Genetic Disorders ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Economic Wealth ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Small Group Size

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Human inbreeding is a sociobiological puzzle. Despite widespread knowledge of its potential for genetic disorders, human consanguinity remains surprisingly common. The current reasons explaining its continued persistence in today’s modern world have major shortcomings. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> We propose that the Neolithic Agrarian revolution modified the structure of populations. It increased competition for the limited resources in which a larger group had better chances of survival. As a result, small, drifting, socially open bands of hunter-gatherers were transformed into bigger, less mobile, and more powerful kinship groups (tribes). In this transformation, a central role was played by human trust – an aspect of human altruism which is a universal sociobiological principle of behavior. Altruism (and trust) is an essential premise of social contracts such as economic cooperation, marriage arrangement, and creation of alliances between people. In kinship groups, human trust is limited to kin, so tribes remain small, economically poor, and consanguineous due to lack of nonkin mates. The expanding of trust from kin to that of nonbiological relatives increases the size of human groups, fosters economic wealth, and decreases the rate of consanguinity. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> The lack of nonkin altruism leads to: (a) poverty (due to poor economic cooperation with nonkin), (b) maintaining small group size, and (c) inbreeding.

scholarly journals Impact of small group size on neighbourhood influences in multilevel models

2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 688-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. Theall ◽  
R. Scribner ◽  
S. Broyles ◽  
Q. Yu ◽  
J. Chotalia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Small Group Size

scholarly journals Testing the Efficacy of a Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention by Small Group Size

AERA Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841770689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Clarke ◽  
Christian T. Doabler ◽  
Derek Kosty ◽  
Evangeline Kurtz Nelson ◽  
Keith Smolkowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Mathematics Intervention ◽  
Small Group Size ◽  
Kindergarten Mathematics

scholarly journals Hunting High and Low: Postglacial Colonization Strategies in Central Norway between 9500 and 8000 cal BC

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 571-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi M. Breivik ◽  
Martin Callanan
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Lithic Technology ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Postglacial Colonization ◽  
Small Group Size ◽  
Size And Structure ◽  
Lithic Raw Material

In this article, we examine aspects of the Postglacial colonization processes that took place in central Norway during the Early Mesolithic (c. 9500–8000 cal bc). The distribution of sites from this period shows that the colonizers approached and exploited two very different landscapes and resource situations—from archipelagic to alpine. Based on twelve artefact assemblages from central Norway we investigate how colonizing populations met the challenge posed by varying ecozones. Did they organize their settlements and technologies in similar ways or did they modify sites and activities in relation to the different locations? The aspects studied are site organization, artefact composition, projectiles, and lithic raw material use. It appears that the sites are of a similar size and structure across ecozones. Apart from some variations in tool composition, there is no evidence in the lithic material for any technical adaptation towards specific ecozones. We conclude that using a standard, generalized lithic technology, combined with high mobility and small group size, enabled the colonizing groups to overcome the risks and difficulties associated with settling and seeking out resources in new and unknown landscapes.

The evolved developmental niche and children’s developing morality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela M. Kurth ◽  
Darcia Narvaez
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Human History ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Supportive Environment ◽  
Developmental Niche ◽  
Small Band ◽  
Prosocial Behaviours

Like every animal, human offspring evolved to fit into their communities, but social fittedness for mammals requires a supportive early nest that fosters socio-emotional intelligence, self-regulation, and sympathy. Within a supportive environment, children naturally develop orientations that facilitate prosocial behaviours within the community. We use the evolved developmental niche (EDN), apparent in 95% of human history as small-band hunter-gatherers, for a baseline representative of human evolution. In these societies, children grow into cooperative, agile moral actors. We compare the EDN with five modern approaches to young child group care and make suggestions to early caregivers on how to provide, in the modern world, what children evolved to need.

Archaeology, Historical Ecology, and Marginality

2019 ◽  
pp. 273-294
Author(s):  
Scott M. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jon M. Erlandson ◽  
Kristina M. Gill ◽  
Mikael Fauvelle ◽  
Jon M. Erlandson
Keyword(s):  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
Island Size ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Marginal Environments ◽  
The World

The California Islands provide a case study that suggests that historical depictions of many islands as marginal environments for hunter-gatherers have been exaggerated by the ecological effects of the introduction of exotic plants and animals, historically or prehistorically. The perception of island marginality is traditionally based on variables ranging from island size to remoteness, isolation, and limited resources. Located near a continent, the California Islands are neither remote nor isolated, and they now appear to have been richer in plant foods, marine resources, minerals, fuel, and freshwater, than previously believed. We discuss these issues and explore the implications for other islands around the world where similar transformations have affected views about their marginality for human settlement and sustainability.

scholarly journals Increasing Social Presence in Online Learning through Small Group Discussions

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mete Akcaoglu ◽  
Eunbae Lee
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Group Versus ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Small Group Discussions

Social presence is a difficult to achieve, but an imperative component of online learning. In this study, we investigated the effect of group size on students' perceptions of social presence in two graduate-level online courses, comparing small group versus whole class discussions. Our results indicated that when in small group discussions, students perceived a higher level of social presence in terms of sociability, t(32) = 3.507, p = .001; social space, t(29) = 3.074, p = .005; and group cohesion, t(32) = 3.550, p = .001. We discuss how placing students in small and permanent discussion groups can augment social presence. Designers and educators of online learning can strategically modify group size to promote social presence in asynchronous online discussions.

A prescribed alternative mainstream: popular music and canon formation

Popular Music ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTTI-VILLE KÄRJÄ
Keyword(s):  
Popular Music ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Folk Music ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Canon Formation ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Media ◽  
Printed Word

This article applies the processes of canon formation suggested by Philip V. Bohlman in The Study of Folk Music in the Modern World to the historiography of popular music. Bohlman distinguishes between at least three different types of folk music canon: a small group canon, a mediated canon and an imagined canon. Adjusting Bohlman's ideas to the case of popular music, a reformulation is proposed in the form of an alternative canon, a mainstream canon, and a prescribed canon. The unstable power relations implied by the juxtaposition of different canons are considered, as well as the cumulative aspect of canon formation. The article also looks for each type of canon in the media through which historical knowledge is transmitted, and considers the tendency to narrate the historiography of marginal musics with more ephemeral media than the printed word.

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