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Index

Abraham and Isaac, story of, 157–58

Aché tribe, 95, 229

adaptations, 64, 69, 101, 125–29

cumulative cultural, 45–49, 70

to particular environment, 7, 9, 38, 44, 45–46, 47–48, 66, 127, 151

advertising, 137

subliminal messages in, 325–26

Aesop’s
Fables,
24

Afghanistan, 297

war in, 83–84, 97, 216–17

Africa, 1–2, 30–31, 32–33, 43, 45, 48, 259–60, 348, 361

animal domestication in, 263–64

human migrations out of, 4, 30, 32, 33, 34–35, 36, 47, 59–62, 89–90

malaria in, 257

Rift Valley of, 43

slave trade in, 94, 185–86

agriculture, 23–24, 91, 92, 102, 130, 261, 262, 265, 297, 346, 359

Aguilera, Christina, 83

alcohol, metabolism of, 48, 262

alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) gene, 262

All Quiet on the Western Front
(Remarque), 97

Altai Mountains, 36

altruism, 8, 13, 71–73, 76–87, 88, 156, 176–77, 184, 187, 197, 202, 324

of collected like-minded individuals, 78–82, 84, 86–87

degree of genetic relatedness in, 175–76, 179–80, 211–12, 323, 366

evolution of, 78–87

group selection and, 197–98

naive, 182–83, 279

of parents to children, 87, 174–75, 180

psychological disposition to, 79, 81–82, 84–85, 86–87, 90, 96–98

punishing unfairness as, 198–99

selfish cheats vs., 71–72, 78, 79–80, 86

of social amoebae, 77–80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87

as survival strategy, 72

see also
kin selection; reciprocal altruism; self-sacrifice, suicidal

altruism, cultural, 203–32, 367

ambivalent response to, 213, 218

toward animals, 204

common goods in, 213, 226–31

conspicuous waste and, 213–16, 217, 230

evolution of, 204–13

of Good Samaritans, 194–95, 212–13

greenbeard genes and, 206–9, 211–18, 222

identifying altruists for, 205–13, 215–16

increased altruism in witnesses of, 217–18

morality in, 223–24

nationalism in, 203–4, 205

principle of information in, 209–11, 216, 231–32

public goods in, 226–31

see also
reputations

altruism locus, 81, 82, 85, 90, 153, 212

Amazonian rain forest, 95, 367

American Dictionary of the English Language
(Webster), 305

American English, 57–58, 305

America’s Cup race, 340

amylase, salivary, 48

Anasazi civilizations, 361

animals:

altruism toward, 204

communication of, 164, 276, 281–82, 289, 292

conspicuous waste in behavior of, 214–15, 230

cooperation of, 174, 180, 190–91

culture of, 8–9

detour task and, 272

domesticated vs. wild, smaller brains of, 255

domestication of, 101–2, 114, 255–56, 263–64, 265, 266

endoparasites of, 257–58, 317–18, 319

environmental adaptations of, 7

fur of, 256–61

infanticide of, by males, 315

mitochondrial genes in, 319

parasites as cause of death in, 257–58

predatory-prey relationship of, 24, 65–66, 245–46, 249–50

reciprocal altruism in, 190–91

regrowth capability of, 355

in reinforcement schedule experiments, 141–45

rule-based behavior of, 245–46

“selfish” herds of, 246

sexual displays of, 153–55, 260–61

social learning of, 38–43

ants, 24, 73, 74, 76–77, 106, 345

Cordyceps
fungus in, 20

endoparasites in, 318

fire, 206–7

self-sacrifice of, 71, 152, 175

apes, 8, 30, 42, 43, 48, 66–67, 234, 277, 333

apoptosis, 354

Arab Liberation Front, 152

Arab slave traders, 94

archaeological record, 32–33, 35–36, 37, 43–44, 59, 254, 259, 360

Neanderthal, 44, 309–10

Archaeology and Language
(Renfrew), 297

Arctic, 4, 9, 47

art, 2, 4, 8, 10, 30, 32, 44, 59, 109–13, 132–46, 236

as cultural enhancers, 132–38, 146, 164–69

as exploitative memes, 135–38, 145–46

mnemonic devices and, 169

modern bizarre, 132, 138

origins of, 164

reading of, 168–69

religious, 112, 156–57

Venus statues, 261–62, 336

artificial selection, 101–2

ascetics, religious, 21–22

Asperger’s syndrome, 331

ASPM gene, 265

Atkins, Peter, 240

Augustine, Saint, 333

Austen, Jane, 156

Australia, 5, 33, 49, 61

compass termites of, 76, 352

introduced species in, 65–66

Australian Aborigines, 164, 241

“dreamtime” stories of, 166

paintings of, 168

Australopithecines, 30

Australopithecus afarensis,
30

Austronesians, 35–36

autism, 42, 128–29, 330–31

Axelrod, Robert, 187, 189, 191–92

axes, hafted, 46–47

Babylon, 346

backless dress, fashion of, 261

bacteria, 2, 63–64, 184, 255, 257

endoparasitic, 319

genetic exchange in, 3

symbiotic, in human gut, 161

balance of nature, 66

Barnes, Julian, 140, 149, 308

Baron-Cohen, Simon, 128

Basalla, George, 242

Basque language, 297

Basu, Kaushik, 196, 200

“beachcombers,” migration of, 33

bees, 8, 73, 74, 76–77, 96, 106, 152, 175, 345

“begging the question,” meaning of, 331

beliefs, 2, 21–23, 37

see also
false beliefs

Bem, Daryl, 327

Beringia, 35

bigfoots, 34

bigotry, 81–82, 150–51, 207

birds, 45–46, 99, 130, 136–37, 141–45

extinction of, 37

female dispersal of, 322

flock flying of, 353

social learning of, 38–39, 40

theory of mind in, 42

see also
songbirds

Blade Runner,
345

blastocyst, 353–54

Blind Watchmaker, The
(Dawkins), 239–40

Blombos Cave site, 32, 113

Bloom, Paul, 139–40

blue tits, 38–39

boat technologies, 35–36, 45, 47, 130

Bodmer, Walter, 258

Bouchard, Thomas, 115–17

brain, 5, 44, 101, 137, 139–40, 145, 176, 209, 233–66, 272, 308, 316

Broca’s area of, 277

cannibalistic ingestion of, 309–11

continued evolution of, 264–66

cortex of, 235–36, 254, 271

decision making in, 325–27, 328–30, 332

domestication and, 254–64

energy requirements of, 235, 236

evolution of, 234–36, 250–54, 311, 328–29, 338, 356

extreme male, 128

fatal diseases of, 310

genetic factors in, 251–64

imitation and, 243–44

innate abilities of, 5, 23

inventiveness of, 235–44, 256

language and, 275–76, 277

limbic system of, 164–65

memes’ restructuring of, 22–23

moral decision making in, 328–29, 330

Neanderthal, 235–36, 254

parasites’ manipulation of, 20, 21, 158, 160

recent diminution of, 254–55

risk assessment by, 338–40

size of, 30, 31, 44, 176, 177, 233–35, 245–46

unconscious processes of, 321–22, 325–34

Wernicke’s area of, 277

brain candy, 135–38

brain flukes, 20, 22, 24, 26, 160

brain imaging, 270–71, 325–26

Brave New World
(Huxley), 122

Brem speakers, 49

bride prices, 37

Bryan, Peter, 309–11

Buber, Martin, 308

Buian speakers, 51

burials, 4, 44, 95, 236

Burns, Ken, 52

Byzantine religious art, 112

Caenorhabditis elegans,
284, 357

Cage, John, 132–33

camels, 45–46

cane toads, 66

cannibalism, 309–10, 322

carnivores, 245–46

carrying capacity, 65–66, 93, 95, 297, 361

Carson, Rachel, 37

Carthage, 243

Çatal Hüyük, 102, 346

catalysts, chemical, 182

Catching Fire
(Wrangham), 235

cathedrals, 157, 162–63

cattle egrets, 136–37

cave paintings, 4, 110–12, 116, 168, 236

CBS Evening News,
152

Ceauşescu, Nicolae, 362

celestial navigation, 38, 41, 47, 60–61

celibacy, idea of, 22, 23, 24

cells, 8, 64–65, 96, 184, 211, 248, 284

of blastocyst, 353–54

mitochondria of, 255, 318–19

of multicellular organisms, 75–76, 79–80, 105–6, 175–76

ontogeny of, 353–57

pluripotent, 354, 355, 356

stem, 354, 355

T-, 25

totipotent, 354, 355–56

central place foraging, 359

chaffinches, 8

chain letters, 136

Chalbi Desert, vii–viii

Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave paintings, 110–11, 112

Cherry, Brian, 309, 311

chess, 332

Cheyenne Indians, 185

chiefdoms, 346, 362

children, 4–7, 26–27, 80, 95, 109, 113, 122, 141, 264, 265, 276, 319–20, 330, 338–39

culturally
tabula rasa
mind of, 4–5, 6

dualism of, 139

fathers of, 315–16

honor killings of, 8, 202, 224–25

parents’ altruistic relationship with, 87, 174–75, 180

parents as teachers of, 5–6, 26–27, 57–59, 136, 161–62, 210, 223–24

partial reinforcement and, 142

purposiveness perceived by, 140

stepparents of, 315

switched at birth, 314

theory of mind in, 42

see also
infants

Chile, 36

chimpanzees, 1, 4, 30, 40–43, 234, 251, 260, 277

attempted teaching of language to, 291

culture in, 8, 40–41

female dispersal of, 322

female reproduction rate of, 66, 67

human common ancestor with, 234, 252–54, 277

painting by, 109–10

termite fishing by, 39, 40, 41

theory of mind lacked by, 41–42

China, 15, 35, 186, 195–96, 345

Han, 48, 262

Mandarin language of, 305–6

rice production in, 262

slavery in, 94

Christianity, 133, 153, 157, 350

great cathedrals of, 157, 162–63

religious ascetics of, 21–22

sectarian conflicts in, 83

chromosomes, 126–27, 252, 283–84

sex, 318

Churchill, Winston, 58, 164

Cicero, 90–91

cichlid fish, 106–7

cities, 265, 343, 345–48, 359–63, 369

collapse of, 361

defensive walls of, 360

disease transmission in, 360–61

efficiency of, 359–60

planned, 357

strangers trusted in, 346–48

technological innovations needed by, 361

see also
nation-states

city-states, 346

Clark, William, 52–53, 185–86

clones, 71, 211, 330

clothing, 4, 30, 44, 47, 61, 130

dating of, 259

differentiated, 52

lice and, 259, 260

code switching, 292

collective ignorance, 335, 363

commensals, 136–37

common goods, 213, 226–31

Company of Strangers, The
(Seabright), 346–47

competition, ix–x, 7, 11, 85, 98, 180, 184, 186, 240, 311

to cooperate, 226–31

among cultural forms, 137, 139

among cultural survival vehicles, 67–68, 72, 90, 92–93, 96, 97, 146

killing off of, 85, 152, 188

in meritocracies, 125

with neighboring groups, 159–60

among RNA strands, 74, 75, 181–84

social, 246–51

specialization and, 108, 125

for survival, 64, 158

of words, 300–302, 306

complex systems, 350–57

computer games, 23

computers, 241–42, 252, 265, 293, 334, 336–37

chess played by, 332

computer simulations, 192–93, 352, 353

Confessions
(Augustine), 333

conflicts of interest, 70–72, 179–202, 233, 323, 338

Congo (chimpanzee), 109–10

conscience, 88, 123–24, 195, 313

consciousness, 8, 13–14, 249–50, 269–73, 321–22, 324–34

of apes, 333

language and, 333–34

memes in, 331

as virtual sixth sense, 332–34

conspicuous consumption, 155–56, 214, 215–16

conspicuous waste, 153–56, 163, 166, 213–16, 217, 230, 362

conspiracy theories, 338, 339

Constant Battles
(LeBlanc and Register), 92

contagion, 338, 339

contrade,
Sienese, 103, 121–22

cooking, 235

cooperation, ix, x, 3, 8, 13, 14, 15, 53, 69–98, 165, 173–266, 311, 333, 338, 367–68

alliances in, 184–87

as common good, 213

conflicts of interest in, 179–202, 224, 228

death avoided by, 76

demonstrating commitment to, 226–31

diffusion of, 201–2, 205–6, 212–13, 221–22

economic interdependence in, 186, 350–51

evolution of, 174, 177, 204–13

language and, 220–21, 279–83

large societies enabled by, 345–49, 362–63, 364, 365–66

linked fates in, 75, 183–87, 191, 230–31

of multicellular bodies, 75–76, 79–80

natural selection of, 10–11, 73, 78, 88, 176, 177, 182–84

origins of, 73–76

prisoner’s dilemma and, 188–89

psychological dispositions and emotions related to, 180, 190, 199–200, 204–13, 280

reciprocal, 220

self-interest vs., 71–73

selfish cheaters and, 71–72, 173–74, 176–77, 180, 187–88, 190, 191, 192–93, 194, 199, 200, 208–18, 226–27, 229, 347

as social norm, 212

as survival strategy, 72

win-stay, lose-shift
strategy in, 194–95

as “win-win” strategy, 313

worldwide, 186

cooperative exchange, 100, 103–5, 108, 124, 311–12, 313

coordinated action, 150–53, 159

Cordyceps
fungus, 20

Corps of Discovery,
see
Lewis and Clark expedition