Objective
Human culture is cumulative, which means that beliefs, art, technology, society etc. are results of many generations of cultural change. In light of biological evolution, the rise of human culture is very rapid and so is the cultural adaptation to new environments. How this happened offers a scientific puzzle. The capacity for cumulative culture gives mankind a unique potential to change and improve life, but culture can also impoverish and even ruin human existence. Thus, understanding the dynamics of culture is of the utmost importance.
Unfortunately, cultural research has been hampered by insularity of disciplines and lack of unifying well-defined key concepts and valid mathematical models. This proposal brings together scientists with different backgrounds in a joint research effort to gain scientific understanding of the origin and dynamics of human cumulative culture. Such understanding would allow us to obtain a more integrated view of human history but also to make informed decisions concerning the future. We will take a modern evolutionary approach, combining novel and innovative theoretical and empirical research.
We ask a number of specific questions about the origins, dynamics, and outcomes of cumulative culture. Since mathematical theory of cumulative cultural evolution is lacking, we will use state-of-the-art mathematics to develop a series of methods for modeling cumulative cultural evolution. These models will be applied to our questions. Empirical research aims at exploring our questions and test specific theoretical predictions. Such studies include archaeological and historical investigations of the cultural evolution of food habits and the evolution of beliefs, moral codes and laws, as well as studies of animal cultural capacities, and laboratory experiments on human cumulative culture.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2005-NEST-PATH
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
STOCKHOLM
Sweden
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.