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Author Stanish, Charles, 1956- author.

Title The evolution of human co-operation : ritual and social complexity in stateless societies / Charles Stanish, University of California, Los Angeles.

Publication Info. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references.
Contents The evolution of human cooperation -- Economic anthropology of stateless societies: the rise and fall of homo economicus -- Conditional cooperators: the evolutionary game theory revolution -- The role of coercion in social theory -- The ritualized economy: how people in stateless societies cooperate -- An anthropological game theory model for the evolution of ritualized economies -- The evolution of ritualized economies: the archaeological evidence -- Epilogue: "no beans, no Jesus."
Summary How do people living in small groups without money, markets, police and rigid social classes develop norms of economic and social cooperation that are sustainable over time? This book addresses this fundamental question and explains the origin, structure and spread of stateless societies. Using insights from game theory, ethnography and archaeology, Stanish shows how ritual - broadly defined - is the key. Ritual practices encode elaborate rules of behavior and are ingenious mechanisms of organizing society in the absence of coercive states. As well as asking why and how people choose to co-operate, Stanish also provides the theoretical framework to understand this collective action problem. He goes on to highlight the evolution of cooperation with ethnographic and archaeological data from around of the world. Merging evolutionary game theory concepts with cultural evolutionary theory, this book will appeal to those seeking a transdisciplinary approach to one of the greatest problems in human evolution.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Cooperation.
Cooperation.
Economic anthropology.
Economic anthropology.
Social evolution.
Social evolution.
Social groups.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Cultural Policy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
Social groups.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Popular Culture.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
Other Form: Print version: Stanish, Charles, 1956- Evolution of human co-operation. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017 9781107180550 (DLC) 2017002139 (OCoLC)985966575
ISBN 9781316854860 (electronic book)
1316854868 (electronic book)
9781316848128
1316848124
9781107180550
1107180554