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Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution

14 September 2005

Why big men are generous and the rate at which popular culture evolves will be revealed next week at the 'Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution' conference, at UCL (University College London).

Hosted by the AHRB Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Cultural Behaviour, the conference brings together international renowned academics to examine progress in the emerging discipline of applying Darwin's theory of evolution to studying human cultural behaviour.

The Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Cultural Behaviour was set up in 2001 to explore the implications of applying methods and theory from evolutionary biology to understanding variation in human cultural behaviour as seen in the archaeological and anthropological record. The particular emphasis has been on empirical analyses of data, to counterbalance the many theoretical studies that have appeared in the last 25 years.

The papers are divided into three main themes, followed by a round table discussion. The themes are: modelling cultural transmission, approaches to adaptation and social evolution.

A copy of the abstracts can be found at: http://www.ceacb.ucl.ac.uk/2005

For further information or to register to attend, please contact:

Judith H Moore,
UCL Media Relations Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 7678
Mobile: +44 (0)77333 075 96
Email: judith.moore@ucl.ac.uk

Notes to editors

Registration for the conference begins on September 14 at 16:30. Directly afterwards, at 17:00, Rob Boyd will give a plenary talk, entitled 'Cultural Evolution: Important Things We Don't Know'.

Conference: Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution
Location: Chemistry Lecture Theatre, Christopher Ingold Building, University College London, Gordon Street, London WC1
Date: 14-16 September 2005