Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-f97m6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-17T16:25:47.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Group transmission and niche construction in peer cultures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2026

Temechegn Gutu Bira Open the ORCID record for Temechegn Gutu Bira [Opens in a new window]  and
Barry S. Hewlett
Temechegn Gutu Bira*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA temechegn.bira@wsu.edu
Barry S. Hewlett
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA hewlett@wsu.edu
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Our commentary expands upon Lew-Levy and Amir’s insights into the role of peer culture in cultural evolution. Drawing on field data from the Koygu, Nyangatom, and Aka communities, we identify two modes of group transmission (concerted and cumulative) that contribute to the stability of peer cultures over time. We describe how culturally constructed niches shape peer learning, helping explain the intercultural diversity of peer cultures.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e228
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bedasso, E. A. (2016). Living on the margin: Masculinity, violence and development intervention in Nyangatom, Southwest Ethiopia. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University of Bergen.Google Scholar
Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., Feldman, M. W., Chen, K. H., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1982). Theory and observation in cultural transmission. Science, 218(4567), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7123211 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hewlett, B. S., & Roulette, C. J. (2016). Teaching in hunter–gatherer infancy. Royal Society Open Science, 3(1), 150403. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150403 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hewlett, B. S., Boyette, A. H., Lew-Levy, S., Gallois, S., & Dira, S. J. (2024). Cultural transmission among hunter-gatherers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(48), e2322883121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2322883121 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laland, K. N., Odling-Smee, J, & Feldman, M. W. (2001) Cultural niche construction and human evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 14 (1), 22–33. http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00262.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis-Beck, M., Bryman, A. E., & Liao, T. F. (2003). Event sampling. In The Sage encyclopedia of social science research methods (Eds). (pp. 347–347). Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412950589.n304 Google Scholar
Shore, B. (1996). Culture in mind: Cognition, culture, and the problem of meaning. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tornay, S. (1981). The Nyangatom: An outline of their ecology and social organization. In Bender, M. L. (Eds), Peoples and cultures of the Ethio-Sudan Borderlands (pp. 137–178). East Lasting, Michigan State University Press Google Scholar
Turton, D. (1986). A problem of domination at the periphery: The Kwegu and the Mursi. In Donham, D., & James, W.(Eds.), The Southern marches of imperial Ethiopia: Essays in history and social anthropology (pp. 148–171). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar