New paper with @SamPassmore_ and @PatrickESavage in #RSOS
Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context
We look at the prevalence of group singing in a combined sample of over 8600 audio recordings and ethnographic texts ๐
My book is now published! ๐๐ถ๐งช
You can download it for free at https://t.co/DZw1BS65eJ - Iโd be grateful if you do!
I also published an accessible summary with audio/video today in @Nature: https://t.co/FvO6vtol0o
Try that first, then give the whole book a read if you like it!
All human societies make music, and most frequently do it in groups. There are some exceptions where collective music making is rare and we don't have a good understanding of why. Cool paper exploring this question through ethnographic case studies. @RuedenChris
New, hot-off-the-presses! Delighted to share this new paper about why the ubiquitous "Evolution vs. Learning" dichotomy is the wrong way to think about things.
Out now in American Psychologist (@APA_Journals).
The paper avoids the boring, underspecified claim that "both matter" or "the answer is in the middle".
Instead, it takes a concrete, specific look -- with lots of animal examples -- at why evo & learning are best thought of as explanatory partners rather than competitors.
A short thread ๐งต
https://t.co/G5zev8SVD7
In addition to this detailed study on the Northern Ache, please see the forthcoming paper I have written with Kim Hill, @RuedenChris, and Aniruddh Patel on the rarity of collective music-making among the Tsimane, Ache, Ayoreo, and Tuvans:
https://t.co/7vCvbRsI4l
๐งตcoming soon!
Are dancing and infant-directed song (incl. lullabies) human universals? Like many people, I've long thought so.
But in a new paper in @CurrentBiology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Achรฉ (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them during cultural declines.
@JoHenrich Indeed - our study of four cultures (Tsimane, Ache, Ayoreo, and Tuvans) in which collective music-making is rare also points to cultural loss as an important factor, though in the other three cases foreign intrusion was the main cause:
https://t.co/7vCvbRsI4l
Potentially the cutest example of non-human tool use yet: Asian elephants use water hoses in elaborate and individually-specific ways ๐ @CurrentBiology https://t.co/ynGkG11Cam