Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind (57 page)

McCann, Madeleine, 339

McLuhan, Marshall, 155

meerkats, 8

Melanesians, 34

melanocortin I receptor gene, 259–60

memes, 21–26, 152, 331

cultural enhancers vs., 135–38, 145–46, 158–64

defenses against, 22–26

memory, 308–9, 332–33

enhancement of, 166–68

menopause, 67, 265

mental illness, 309–11, 313–14

mental simulations, 249–50, 330–31

meritocracies, 125

Metzger, Gustav, 138

MGM, 334

microcephalin gene, 265

Middle Ages, 21, 102–3, 168

cathedrals built in, 162–63

Milgram, Stanley, 364

milk, 256

adult digestion of, 48, 263–64

milk bottle tops, birds’ piercing of, 38–39, 40

Millennium Bridge, 237–38

millennium bug (Y2K), 22

mind/brain dualism, 139–40

mind drugs, 135–38

minds, 14–15, 21–27, 80, 133, 269–73, 338

biases of, 138–45, 149

divided, 316–24

intentional stance and, 140–41

mind viruses, 136, 152, 160–62

minimalism, artistic, 138

Miró, Joan, 109

missing years, 59–62

Mithen, Steven, 112, 165

mitochondria, 255, 318–19

mnemonic devices, 169

Moa birds, 37

mobility, lack of, 54–56, 113, 122, 364, 365

molecular biology, 74, 259, 324

Mongolia, 36

monkeys, 45–46, 99, 234, 258

group beliefs in, 151–52

monks, 21, 143

Montaigne, Michel de, 310

moral decision making, 328–29, 330

moralistic aggression, 89, 90–91, 94–95, 195–96, 224, 226

morality, 8, 14, 89, 94, 96, 123–24, 158, 197, 223–24

innate sense of, 328–29

Morse code, 287, 288

multiculturalism, 367–69

music, 2, 4, 8, 10, 30, 44, 109, 112, 132–46, 236

as cultural enhancers, 132–38, 139, 146, 164–69

as memes, 135–38, 145–46

memory enhanced by, 166–68

modern bizarre, 132–33

origins of, 164–65

musk oxen, woolly, 45–46

mutual aid societies, 79–81, 85, 87, 208

“Myths About Hunter-Gatherers” (Ember), 92

naked mole rats, 259

Narrow Roads of Gene Land
(Hamilton), 316–17

NASA, 241–42

national anthems, 83, 96, 165, 203

nationalism, 81–82, 86–87, 163–64, 203–4, 205, 211–12

nation-states, 15, 92, 185, 345–66

alliances of, 181

benefits of, 346, 347, 360, 361–62

centralization of, 346, 361, 362

dictatorial regimes of, 349, 363, 365–66

disintegration of, 363

economies of scale in, 358–63

elite leadership of, 345, 348, 361–63

local rules in emergence of, 349–58, 361, 362

mobility in, 364, 365

scale-free mechanisms in, 348–49

social networks in, 364–66

strangers trusted in, 346–48

traitors to, 90–91

Native Americans, 91–92, 164, 185–86

alliances among, 185

cultural diversity of, 52–53

linguistic diversity of, 53

longhouse designs of, 59

Pacific Northwest potlatch tribes of, 155

slavery among, 94

Natural History of Religion, The
(Hume), 140, 146, 147–48

naturalistic fallacy, 14

natural selection, ix, 9–11, 26, 45, 46, 48, 64, 89, 105–6, 125–31, 194, 195, 197–98, 199, 208, 210–11, 272, 324, 340, 351

acting on local rules, 351, 352–53

of adult milk digestion, 263–64

of alcohol metabolizing genes, 262

of altruism, 78

amorality of, 158

complexity produced by, 239–40, 246–47

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

cultural enhancers and, 133, 139, 143, 152, 155, 160

of deception, 307, 312, 313

defensive strategies produced by, 245

differences erased by, 100, 117, 118–19

diversifying, 101

fitness favored by, 118–19, 121, 154, 229–30, 272

of fur, 256

of gender differences, 318

grandchildren maximized by, 264

of hairlessness, 257, 258, 260

of
HAR
s, 252–54

and hostile forces of nature, 244–45

of immune cells, 25, 105

kin selection favored by, 71, 77

of language, 275, 279, 305

life-dinner principle in, 24, 26, 145–46, 152, 160–61

of linked genes, 126–27

of menopause, 67

moving and unpredictable targets of, 244, 246–48

naive altruism unfavored by, 182–83, 279

of racial differences, 124

replicators promoted by, 79–80

reproductive success maximized by, 24, 154, 361

as selective death, 262–63

selfish instincts favored by, 71–72

of steatopygia, 262

survivors of, 272–73

treachery favored by, 173–74, 176

against violence, 266

of words, 300, 301

Natural Theology
(Paley), 238–40

Nature,
285

nature vs. nurture debate, 113–19

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

Nazis, 160

Neanderthals, 29–30, 31, 32, 33–35, 37–38, 68, 90, 235, 253, 280

ancient DNA of, 29, 31, 33–34, 322–23

brain configuration of, 235–36, 254

cannibalism of, 309–10

environmental adaptation of, 44, 45

extinction of, 30, 33, 45

female dispersal among, 322–23

hunting by, 44–45

lactose intolerance of, 264

language and, 254, 277–78

modern human genes shared by, 29, 34, 38, 44, 254

modern human interbreeding with, 33–34, 44

physical appearance of, 31, 43–44, 45, 235–36

social learning of, 43–45, 70, 254, 278

neuroses, 338, 339

neutral markers, 55–56

New Guinea:

cannibalism in, 310

linguistic diversity of, 49, 50–51, 302

slavery in, 94

tribal warfare in, 193

New York, N.Y., 55, 188, 196

New Zealand, 8, 36, 37

Auckland Museum, 94

Maori war canoes of, 93–94

rugby team’s
haka
chant in, 166

niche environments, 50

norms, 176–77, 186

cooperation as, 212

in group commitment, 222–23

punishing deviation from, x, 89, 90, 159

North America, 5, 9, 35, 37, 52–53

Northern Ireland, 83

North Korea, 366

Nothing to Be Frightened Of
(Barnes), 140

Nume speakers, 50

nutcracker bird, 42

obsessive-compulsive behaviors, 143–44, 160

Oceania, 36

slavery in, 94

ochlocracies, 362

“Of Cannibals” (Montaigne), 310

Olduvai Gorge site, 43

Olrat speakers, 50

Olson, Ken, 334

On Human Nature
(Wilson), 179

On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
(Ricardo), 104

ontogeny, 353–57

social, 355–58, 366

opercula, 111

oral traditions, 166–68

orang-utans, 8–9, 234

reproduction rate of, 66, 67

order (lack of entropy), 351–57

Orgel, Leslie, “second rule” of, 324, 355, 357

Otmoor villages, England, 54–55

Ötzi, the Ice Man, 93

overweight people, 336

Oxford English Dictionary,
293, 294, 301

Oxford University, 54–55

Packard, Vance, 326

paintings, 32, 109–12

Australian Aboriginal, 168

cave, 4, 110–12, 116, 168, 236

by chimpanzees, 109–10

dominant forms of, 168

Palestinians, 152

Paley, William, 238–40

Palio
horse race, Sienese, 103

Papua New Guinea, ix, 5, 33, 49–51, 53

density of languages in, 49, 50

parasites, 21, 25–26, 183–84

ectoparasites, 257–61

endoparasites, 257–58, 317–18, 319

genetic, 285–87

grooming of, 258

host behavior manipulated by, 20, 156, 160

as largest cause of death, 257–58

religions as, 136–37, 152, 158, 160

social, 313, 337

parochialism, 88–90, 91–94, 98, 150, 231–32

partial reinforcement, 142

Pascal, Blaise, 148

pastoralists, nomadic, vii–viii, 91

differentiated clothing styles of, 52

paternity uncertainty, 315–16

patriliny, 37

patriotism, 81–82, 96

peacocks’ tails, 154–55, 163, 166, 214

Pèche Merle Cave paintings, 112

penguins, 45–46, 130

Pennisi, Elizabeth, 336

perceptual defense and vigilance, 149

performance-enhancing drugs, 134, 159

Persian “King’s Eyes,” 332

persistence hunting, 249–50, 257

Phaedrus
(Plato), 167

phenotypes, 20, 29

RNA, 74

social, 291–92

pheromones, 106

Picasso, Pablo, 109, 111

Pinnacle Point site, 3

plants, 37, 245, 262

Plato, 167, 223

pluripotent cells, 354, 355, 356

politicians, 187

lame-duck, 192

Pol Pot, 159, 357

Polybius, 243

Polynesians, 35–36, 37, 47–48, 49–50, 60–61

population sizes, 23, 127–28, 241, 244, 346–47

potlatches, 155

pottery designs, Lapita, 35–36

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

Prehistory of the Mind, The
(Mithen), 112

prejudice, 81–82, 211

Pride and Prejudice
(Austen), 156

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

prions, 310

prisoner’s dilemma, 188–89

psychoanalysis, 321–22

public goods, 226–31

Punic Wars, 243

Pygmies, 94

Québec, 59

rabbits, 24, 62–63, 64

as introduced species, 65–66

rabies virus, 20, 22

racism, 27, 56, 150, 367–69

random drift, 60–62, 127–28

ransoming, 189–90

Rational Optimist, The
(Ridley), 46

reciprocal altruism, ix–x, 179–202, 280

fairness expected in, 8, 124, 177, 190, 195–201, 347

God-Save-the-Queen
scenario of, 181–84, 189

shadow of the future in, 177, 187–95, 347

strong reciprocity in, 197–98, 199, 200–201

“Reciprocal Altruism Thirty Years Later” (Trivers), 199

red hair, 34

red ochre pigment, 32

Redwood, John, 83

Register, K. E., 92

regression to the mean, 144–45, 148

reinforcement schedules, 141–45

religions, 6, 8, 10, 13, 22–23, 91, 96, 102, 132–64, 225

commensals and, 136–37

conflicts between, 83

consolation, hope, and optimism in, 146–50, 159, 162

as conspicuous waste, 153–56, 163, 214

coordinated action promoted by, 150–53, 159

as cultural enhancers, 132–38, 158–64

dying for, 21, 23, 145, 156, 158

exchanges with gods in, 148–49

as explanatory framework, 140–41, 146, 147–50

false beliefs in, 132, 141–45, 148, 150–53, 156–58

group commitment advertised by, 153–58, 162, 213–14, 223

group conflicts and, 150–53, 156

kin selection invoked by, 152

life-dinner principle and, 160–61

magical thinking in, 139, 141–45

as memes, 135–38, 145–46, 158–64

as mind virus, 136, 152, 160–62

and natural disasters, 148–50

Old Testament God in, 158

Paley’s natural theology in, 238–40

as parasites, 136–37, 152, 158, 160

in prehistoric times, 133, 134–35, 147–48, 149–50, 162

psychological predisposition to, 138–45

purveyors of, 162–64

and regression to the mean, 144–45, 148

restricted forms taken by, 139

strange rituals of, 144, 156, 214

teleology of, 140, 141

religious art, 112, 156–57

religious ascetics, 21–22

religious martyrs, 21

religious warfare, 83, 159

Remarque, Erich, 97

Renard, Jules, 138

Renfrew, Colin, 297

replicators, 12, 73–76, 133–34, 160, 194, 283–93

cultural, 21–26

natural selection of, 79–80

RNA, 73–75, 181–84

transposons as, 285–87

words as, 294–95

reproductive lifespans, 67

reproductive potential, 260–61, 320–21

reproductive rates, 66–68

reproductive success, 10, 22, 118–19, 149–50, 158, 225, 235, 239, 352–53, 360

culture as favorable to, 11, 13, 24, 26, 27

current and future, 320–21

natural selection and, 24, 154, 361

of social amoebae, 77–80

of termites, 76

reputation marketplace, 218–22, 225, 231, 280–81

reputations, 72, 213–32, 280, 294, 313, 347, 348, 364, 366

attacks on, 219

contributing to public goods in, 227–31

enhancement of, 225, 231

following norms in, 222–23

greenbeard genes and, 213–18

honor killings and, 8, 202, 224–25

morality in, 223–24

self-sacrifice for, 225

shaming and, 224, 225

transferability of, 218–22, 225

retro fads, 137

revenge, 180, 193–94

spiteful, 188

Reynolds, Craig, 353

rhetoric, art of, 164, 167

Ricardo, David, 104

Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage, 104–6, 108, 109, 121

rice wine, 262

Ridley, Matt, 46

risk assessment, 338–40

risk taking, 123, 317

RNA (ribose nucleic acid), 73–75, 181–84

RNA-world, 73

Rocamadour religious art, 112, 156–57

rock-scissors-paper game, 120–21, 122, 124

Rogers, Alan, 259–60, 335–36, 337

Romance (Latinate) languages, 57, 297, 298

Romania, 362

Romans, ancient, 90–91, 94, 243

Rosenhan, David, 313–14

Rostand, Edmund, 290–91

Rowling, J. K., 334

Ruhlen, Merrit, 299

rule of two, 62–68, 93

running, endurance, 249–50, 257