The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling
platform

k 2025

The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform

KUNDT, Radek a Martin LANG

Základní údaje

Originální název

The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform

Autoři

KUNDT, Radek a Martin LANG

Vydání

31st EAA Annual Meeting 2025: Intertwined Pasts (Belgrade Virtual), 2025

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Prezentace na konferencích

Obor

60304 Religious studies

Stát vydavatele

Srbsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

Annual Meeting of European Association of Archaeologists

Organizační jednotka

Filozofická fakulta

Klíčová slova anglicky

collective ritual; cooperative communication; mutualistic cooperation; complex signaling systems; neurocognitive mechanisms; Pleistocene

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam, Recenzováno

Změněno: 8. 9. 2025 15:56, Mgr. et Mgr. Radek Kundt, Ph.D.

Anotace

V originále

Collective ritual is one of the universals of the human behavioral repertoire. However, its omnipresence repeatedly puzzled evolutionary scholars because ritual participation requires substantial resource investments while seemingly not providing any apparent immediate benefits. We examine whether collective ritual could have evolved as a complex signaling system facilitating mutualistic cooperation. First, we identify similarity signals, coalitional signals, and signals of commitment to collective action as the main building blocks of the contemporary signaling systems in hunter-gatherers. Second, we trace the presence of possibly homologous cooperative signals in non-human primates and review the archeological record for the earliest evidence of ritualized signals in past hominins. Subsequently, we add the proximate level to our analysis, pinpointing the distinctive neurocognitive structures necessary for human ritualized signals and compare their estimated dating with the dating of the increased socio-ecological pressures on collective action in the Pleistocene. Synthesizing this evidence, we sketch a possible timeline for the evolution of ritualized cooperative signals and identify further areas of investigation that would advance this evolutionary model.

Návaznosti

MUNI/A/1622/2024, interní kód MU

Název: Religiozita, kauzalita, a behaviorální vzorce

Investor: Masarykova univerzita, Religiozita, kauzalita, a behaviorální vzorce

Citovat

KUNDT, Radek a Martin LANG. The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform. In 31st EAA Annual Meeting 2025: Intertwined Pasts (Belgrade Virtual). 2025.

@proceedings{2516681,
   author = {Kundt, Radek and Lang, Martin},
   booktitle = {31st EAA Annual Meeting 2025: Intertwined Pasts (Belgrade Virtual)},
   keywords = {collective ritual; cooperative communication; mutualistic cooperation; complex signaling systems; neurocognitive mechanisms; Pleistocene},
   language = {eng},
   title = {The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform},
   url = {https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2025},
   year = {2025}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 2516681
AU  - Kundt, Radek - Lang, Martin
PY  - 2025
TI  - The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform
KW  - collective ritual
KW  - cooperative communication
KW  - mutualistic cooperation
KW  - complex signaling systems
KW  - neurocognitive mechanisms
KW  - Pleistocene
UR  - https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2025
N2  - Collective ritual is one of the universals of the human behavioral repertoire. However, its omnipresence repeatedly puzzled evolutionary scholars because ritual participation requires substantial resource investments while seemingly not providing any apparent immediate benefits. We examine whether collective ritual could have evolved as a complex signaling system facilitating mutualistic cooperation. First, we identify similarity signals, coalitional signals, and signals of commitment to collective action as the main building blocks of the contemporary signaling systems in hunter-gatherers. Second, we trace the presence of possibly homologous cooperative signals in non-human primates and review the archeological record for the earliest evidence of ritualized signals in past hominins. Subsequently, we add the proximate level to our analysis, pinpointing the distinctive neurocognitive structures necessary for human ritualized signals and compare their estimated dating with the dating of the increased socio-ecological pressures on collective action in the Pleistocene. Synthesizing this evidence, we sketch a possible timeline for the evolution of ritualized cooperative signals and identify further areas of investigation that would advance this evolutionary model.
ER  -

KUNDT, Radek a Martin LANG. The evolution of collective ritual as a cooperative signaling platform. In \textit{31st EAA Annual Meeting 2025: Intertwined Pasts (Belgrade Virtual)}. 2025.

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