Information management and cultural evolution in Aboriginal Australia (In light of the cultural heterochrony hypothesis)

Abstract

Following a recent re-evaluation of evidence from an archaeological site in  SE Australia, the possibility of a 120 thousand  years (ka) old human presence in the Fifth  Continent has been suggested. However, the commonly accepted  date for the peopling of  Australia remains within the range of 50 - 65 ka. Even if the newly proposed date were  halved,  an uninterrupted 60 ka continuity in the same territory would raise a few questions  regarding the transmission  mechanisms that have enabled the retention of the massive  amount of knowledge acquired during such an extended  period, especially when  considering the lack of demographic strength, which is believed to be a prerequisite for  effective social learning. I argue that the emergence, developmental rate, and extent of  Australian culture reflect an  ‘additive’ evolutionary strategy centred on a ritually  regulated feedback loop between the volume of information flow  and the level of social  elaboration. The model forwarded in this paper is at odds with current theoretical  approaches to  cultural evolution in which Aboriginal traditions are often portrayed as  living examples of Pleistocene cross-cultural  universals.