Evolutionary theory and archaeology, Part I: Cultural transmission, cultural evolution, and evolutionary archaeology

Once found only at the margins of the discipline, evolutionary theory has become commonplace in archaeological inquiry. Not surprisingly, evolutionary approaches to understanding past behavior from culture material have undergone an adaptive radiation, filling niches defined by different research questions and data. The research featured in this session is most closely allied with the subset of approaches that includes cultural transmission theory, cultural evolution, and evolutionary archaeology. We aim to make the powerful new methodological tools employed in these growing sub-fields accessible to a wider audience. A secondary goal is to bring together a large group of evolutionary-minded researchers to discuss outstanding problems of shared interest and to plant the seeds for future collaboration. Discussants will comment on the research presented in the context of their own ideas about where we as a group should focus our future efforts to benefit the discipline as a whole.