Dr. Kim Hill, Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

This talk will be presented via Zoom.

Human Uniqueness and the study of interdependence in Samal “sea nomads” of the Philippines. 

Abstract:  Humans are an extreme outlier species by many objective measures. How did we get to be so different from the other 9 million eukaryotic species on the planet?  Decades of research suggests that even in the most traditional human societies a combination of interacting factors makes us unique:  culture, cooperation, cognition, communication.  This also lead to the co-evolution of a very unique life history, that required economic interdependence in order to be successful.  In this talk I will present new research from Sama “sea nomads” that examines transfers of material goods and services between households.  The pattern shows again the amazing interdependence of human breeding pairs in order to successfully replicate.  We also find a unique pattern of highly cooperative behavior between very distant relatives.  Because the genetic coefficients between cooperators is extremely low, this pattern cannot be explained by inclusive fitness, and is probably only possible because of the unique combination of social structure, cooperation, and communication that characterizes our species.

Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/92826436236?pwd=SytQNTNPSWdwaDNlTm05d2srdXNHUT09

Meeting ID: 928 2643 6236

Passcode: BEC