interesting research on the history of music and religion

Dor Shilton@dorshilton.bsky.social · last yr.

Our findings suggest that the scale and religiosity of collective action may be the most important explanatory factors for the prevalence of collective music-making, but other factors, like cultural loss and religious expertise, also play a role (see table for a summary of findings)

Delighted to announce the publication of a collaborative effort, co-led by @limorraviv.bsky.social @mpi-nl.bsky.social, showcasing the ways in which researchers have made language evolution an empirical issue: A handbook of experimental approaches to the fascinating problem of language evolution 🧪

New postdoc positions at the (DISI-affiliated) Center for Possible Minds at Indiana University. Looking for scholars interested in interdisciplinary research on the nature of biological, artificial, and collective intelligence. Please share widely! indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/29547

Kostas Kampourakis' "Darwin Mythology" book is a very interesting read. A strong cast of authors deconstruct myths and misunderstandings about Darwin. I particularly appreciated historian Erik Peterson's analysis of why Darwin's dislike of slavery does not equate to a belief in racial equality.

The Dissenter@thedissenteryt.bsky.social · last yr.

New episode (1097), my second interview with Dr. Kostas Kampourakis (@kampourakisk.bsky.social). We talk about his book, Darwin Mythology: Debunking Myths, Correcting Falsehoods. #Biology #Science YouTube: youtu.be/LP5JxFryDKc Podcast: bit.ly/3S5zllS

Many think that music evolved to promote social cohesion - but group singing and dancing is extremely rare in some societies. Why is that the case, and what does it mean? Check out the new paper by me, Aniruddh Patel, Kim Hill, and @chrisvonrueden.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Why collective music-making is sometimes rare: A study of four indigenous societies

Current prominent music evolution theories suggest music evolved as a participatory group activity, whose adaptive functions were strengthening and/or…

sciencedirect.com

My book SHAMANISM: THE TIMELESS RELIGION will be out on May 20, 2025! Shamanism characterized the earliest religions, echoes in often unappreciated ways in the world around us, and will long outlive us. Pre-order it here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339...

Two new music papers by @dorshilton.bsky.social et al. (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...) and by Steingo & Ghazanfar (doi.org/10.1177/2059...). Together with @manvir.bsky.social and Hill's recent paper (doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...), an interesting (partial) push back against musical universals...

Why collective music-making is sometimes rare: A study of four indigenous societies

Current prominent music evolution theories suggest music evolved as a participatory group activity, whose adaptive functions were strengthening and/or…

sciencedirect.com

How are humans able to make sense of time? Not with special biology but with “time tools”—ideas, practices, and artifacts that render time more concrete. My new paper explores this vast, varied toolkit—one that makes use of knots, nuts, hands, flowers, mountains, shadows, and much more. (link 👇)

My baby daughter is happy & apparently developing normally, yet, according to pediatric growth curves, she has been “wasted,” indicating severe malnourishment. In my new @newyorker.com essay, I argue that universal health benchmarks need to better account for biological variation.

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · last yr.

We acknowledge the fact that different environments have the power to change us. Yet international organizations continue to operate on the assumption of a universal human physiology—one that corresponds strikingly with a Euro-American model.

If you're interested in this study by Manvir and Kim be sure to check out our forthcoming comparative study of four cultures (inc. Ache) in which collective music-making is rare: osf.io/preprints/so... Full thread once it's published...

manvir singh@manvir.bsky.social · last yr.

Are dance & infant-directed song human universals? Like many people, I've long thought so. But in a new paper in Current Biology, Kim Hill & I report that the Northern Aché (Paraguay) lacked both behaviors, likely losing them after cultural collapse. Open-access link: www.cell.com/current-biol...

"Considering its common use across nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, and what it represents—as a tool to enable the carrying of more tools—the belt may be a bit of an unsung hero of human history." traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/handy-man

Handy man

In praise of the humble tool belt!

traditionsofconflict.substack.com

In a new essay from our "Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms" series, @randomwalker.bsky.social & @sayash.bsky.social make the case for thinking of #AI as normal technology, instead of superintelligence. Read here: knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a...

AI as Normal Technology

knightcolumbia.org

New episode!! 📣📣 A chat w/ @arikkershenbaum.bsky.social about vocal communication in animals. The tree of life is a noisy place, bursting with howls, grunts, whines, snorts, and songs. What does it all mean? Does any of this hubbub merit the label of "language"? Listen: disi.org/howl-grunt-s...

Introducing my new project… Your Wrong (yourwrong.co.uk). It’s all about the language rules and judgements that appear in different forms of popular culture. Films, series, podcasts, music, books, even graffiti! I’d love your help to find examples!

Where do moralizing religions come from? Useless cognitive by-products?Cultural group selection for complex societies? Our Psych Review paper argues: neither. Let’s rethink their cognitive & evolutionary origins🧵 w/ @manvir.bsky.social @nbaumard @jbaptistandre.bsky.social doi.org/10.1037/rev0...

For those who missed the @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social conference in Durham last September, the recorded talks are now freely available to watch here: underline.io/events/456/l...

Watch lectures from the best researchers.

On-demand video platform giving you access to lectures from conferences worldwide.

underline.io

So exciting to see MacaqueNet out into the world! 🤩 Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365... Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/

MacaqueNet: Advancing comparative behavioural research through large‐scale collaboration

We present MacaqueNet, a global community of macaque researchers who developed the first publicly searchable, standardised database on affiliative and agonistic behaviour. This cross-species database...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Time for fatherhood, courtesy of James Rilling and his new book. #fatherhood #testosterone #oxytocin #dad apple.news/ALmCPtGhtTb2...

Men Are More Prepared for Fatherhood Than We Think — Scientific American

In many cultures, men are not involved with hands-on childcare. But biology tells us we are perfectly capable of doing so Biology I like to tell my undergraduates that hormones predispose organisms, i...

apple.news

📣📣📣 Applications for the 2025 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI) are now open!! Are you interested in intelligence, mind, and cognition in all its forms? Early-career scholars from any discipline—and storytellers in any medium—are encouraged to apply! More info: disi.org

Enjoyed this one! In which we discuss: - the curse of knowledge & illusion of explanatory depth - why chain-of-thought prompting works (or doesn't) - "Explain Like I'm Five" - the Tower of Pisa thought experiment - representational re-description - learning by writing, talking, & presenting - etc.!

Many Minds podcast@manymindspod.bsky.social · 2y ago

New episode!! 🎙️🎙️ A conversation w/ @tanialombrozo.bsky.social about "learning by thinking." We often learn from others or from the outside world. But other times new understanding bubbles up from inside our own minds. When does this happen? And how does it work? Listen: disi.org/a-paradox-of...

Terrific review by Eva Jablonka of @kevinlala.bsky.social and colleagues new book Evolution Evolving!!!

‘A new vision for how evolution works is long overdue’ www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll

The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience.

nature.com

Major JOB ALERT! I and close colleagues have 4 (!) positions open. So if you're looking for a postdoc or PhD, do read on:

I'm shaken by the news of Frans de Waal's passing. It feels so untimely that he is gone.

Emory primatologist Frans de Waal remembered for bringing apes ‘a little closer to humans’

Beginning with his groundbreaking 1982 book “Chimpanzee Politics,” Frans de Waal pioneered studies of primate cognition and shattered long-held ideas about what it means to be an animal — and a human.

news.emory.edu

🎙️In this week’s episode of Complexity, dive into the science behind collectives. From the patterns that emerge from ant behavior to the dynamic collaboration of immune systems, we’ll delve into the importance of collective structures + their roles. 🐜 💫 www.santafe.edu/culture/podc...

Ever wondered what whale demography can tell us about the evolution of menopause? Wonder no more 👇 Whales make waves in the quest to discover why menopause evolved www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Whales make waves in the quest to discover why menopause evolved

Why do several species of whale experience menopause, and why does the phenomenon occur at all? Analysing whale data might help to answer these questions and shed light on why menopause evolved in hum...

nature.com

New essay on my Substack: 'On nature, science & culture: Part I' This is the first of a three-part essay on the prospects of a natural science of culture. Parts II and III will go out later this week. thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/on-nature-...

On nature, science & culture: Part I

Culture is interpretation all the way down.

thomscottphillips.substack.com

Part II of my Substack essay, 'On nature, science & culture' is now out. The third and final part goes out later this week. thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/on-nature-...

On nature, science & culture: Part II

Cultural interpretation is data collection.

thomscottphillips.substack.com

Geography is not destiny: quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis | "societies that share similar ecologies are more likely to share cultural traits, but Eurasian continent is not smore ecologically homogeneous than other continents" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Geography is not destiny: A quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core

Geography is not destiny: A quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis - Volume 6

cambridge.org