Where humans have multiple partners, does monkeys have multiple partners too? Where humans love sea food, does birds love seafood too?
Since Neolithic Revolution our species slowly moved away from nature (Devdutt calls Prakriti) and got driven more by culture (Sanskriti).
Studies on hunter-gatherer societies, reveal remarkable similarities between human and animal behaviour, including:
– Diet composition
– Mobility patterns
– Paternal investment
– Divorce rates
– Social group size
– Social stratification
Regions with higher polygyny rates among hunter-gatherers also have more polygynous bird and mammal species. Humans hunt terrestrial vertebrates where local mammals and birds do, and rely on aquatic organisms where local species eat fish. Humans store food where local mammals and birds hoard food. Humans have longer day ranges where mammals have longer foraging trips. Humans even migrate longer distances where birds migrate farther.
Why do we see these strange behaviours? Humans and animals are definitely not copying each other. Instead they are using the same behavioural tools to adapt to a particular environment.
These fascinating studies supports the concept of “human behavioral ecology,” suggesting that environmental factors shape behavioural patterns across species. We adapt to different environments.
However, these similarities are stronger in hunter and gatherer societies. In agricultural and industrial societies cultural influence overpower the environmental and ecological pressures. Humans are much better at cooperating than other primates, making cultural inheritance a powerful tool. We are better than even monkeys at mimicking each other.
Culture and genes are linked in a tight coevolutionary relationship, and cultural evolution leads to outcomes not predicted by non-cultural evolutionary mechanisms. Thus human behaviour starts deviating from other animals. Sanskriti over Prakriti. Linguistic distance between groups can explain variation in political organization, religious practice, and kinship organisation better than environment.
Individualistic WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) societies are very different from agricultural, kin based traditional societies, even if the environment is similar. And both of them are different from the hunters and gatherers.
Even within agricultural societies, rice cultivators behave differently from wheat cultivators.
Rice cultivation is labour intensive and needs a larger group of population to work together, unlike wheat cultivation. Rice regions require intensive, reciprocal labor exchanges, coordination of irrigation networks, and interdependent ties within families and villages. Tight, near ties prevail in such areas.
Wheat cultivation is less labor-intensive requiring fewer cooperative interactions. Such regions have looser, more distant ties
Rice regions tend to develop collectivistic cultures (emphasis on group harmony), while wheat regions foster individualistic cultures (emphasis on personal freedom).
One of the significant impacts of deviating from the lifestyle of hunters and gatherers is the present climate crisis. We are no more influenced strongly by environmental stress, and thus more ignorant of our impact on environment.
Having said that, the clear proof of human-animal behavioural convergence means that we can change our culture to be in tune with the environment for a sustainable future. Further studies might show us a better way where science, technology, culture and environment can coevolve in sync. Equal weightage to both Prakriti and Sanskriti.
The climate will keep changing, the world is going to get warmer in the inter-glacial period. However, with a reduced human impact on global warming we might just get enough time to adapt like our ancestors have done for over 300,000 years.
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