Number of words: 284

Natural selection can act on human culture as well as on genes. Some scholars have scoffed that a scientific theory of cultural evolution that aims to ape Darwinian evolution is impossible because human beliefs and behaviors are so unpredictable and subject to historical contingencies as well as sudden breakthroughs, discoveries, and eureka moments. However, a neat way to illustrate how the forces of evolution can shape culture was put to work in research conducted in the Pacific by Deborah Rogers, Marcus Feldman, and Paul Ehrlich at Stanford University.

 Their study examined the design of canoes from Fiji and ten Polynesian island archipelagos. The Stanford group catalogued a long list of canoe features, both functional and ornamental, and compared the rates of change from initial colonization of the remote Pacific three thousand years ago until the first European explorers encountered Polynesia. Historically in the Pacific, long sea voyages were essential for fishing, transport, and island life, and good or bad canoe design was a matter of life and death. A group that used a poor design would face a higher risk of extinction.

In all, the Stanford team examined ninety-six functional features—such as how the hull was constructed or the way outriggers were attached—that could contribute to the seaworthiness of the canoes and thus have a bearing on fishing success or survival during migration or warfare. They also evaluated thirty-eight decorative, religious, or symbolic features for comparison, covering a period from around 1595 to the early 1900s. Statistical test results showed clearly that the functional canoe design elements changed more slowly over time, indicating that natural selection weeded out inferior new designs.

Excerpted from page 91 of ‘Super co-operators ’ by Martin Nowak