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A missing piece of the puzzle? Applying the peer culture concept to the study of human cultural origins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2026

William Daniel Snyder Open the ORCID record for William Daniel Snyder [Opens in a new window]  and
Elisa Bandini
William Daniel Snyder*
Affiliation:
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Working Group Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Tübingen, Germany wdspaleo@gmail.com
Elisa Bandini
Affiliation:
University of Zürich, Animal Behaviour Group, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Sciences, Zürich, Switzerland elisa-bandini@hotmail.it
*
*Corresponding author.
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Abstract

Lew-Levy & Amir hypothesize that peer cultures have implications for the evolution and ecological adaptiveness of Homo sapiens. Here, we explore the feasibility of finding evidence of peer cultures in prehistory based on the current state of prehistoric archaeology. Accordingly, we recommend new experimental research with child knappers to improve our ability to infer children’s activities in the archaeological record.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 49 , 2026 , e248
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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