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Rome was not built in one day: Underlying biological and cognitive factors responsible for the emergence of agriculture and ultrasociality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2016

Jason Grotuss  and
Sarah Jean Beard
Jason Grotuss
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224. j.grotuss.157764@unf.edu s.beard@unf.edu http://grotuss.weebly.com http://wolfflabunf.weebly.com/about-sarah-beard.html
Sarah Jean Beard
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224. j.grotuss.157764@unf.edu s.beard@unf.edu http://grotuss.weebly.com http://wolfflabunf.weebly.com/about-sarah-beard.html
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Abstract

Agriculture represented a major transition in human evolution, but the appearance of ultrasociality must have included previous steps. We argue that ultrasociality would not have suddenly emerged with agriculture, but rather developed from pre-existing cognitive and social mechanisms. Discussions must include necessary depth about the historical origins of human ultrasociality, and agriculture's aftereffects on large-scale social organization.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e100
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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