Happening @ Michigan https://events.umich.edu/group/4027/rss RSS Feed for Happening @ Michigan Events at the University of Michigan. RCGD/EHAP Winter Seminar Series: Runaway Social Selection in Human Evolution (April 1, 2024 2:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/115987 115987-21835980@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, April 1, 2024 2:00pm
Location: Institute For Social Research
Organized By: Evolution & Human Adaptations Program (EHAP)

Runaway Social Selection in Human Evolution
Monday, April 1, 2024 (2 PM – 3:30 PM)

Mark Flinn
University of Missouri

Charles Darwin posited that social competition among conspecifics could be a powerful selective pressure. Richard Alexander (1989, 1990) proposed a model of human evolution involving a runaway process of social competition based on Darwin’s insight. Here we briefly review Alexander’s logic, and then expand upon his model by elucidating runaway, positive-feedback processes that were likely involved in the evolution of the remarkable combination of adaptations in humans. We discuss how these ideas fit with the hypothesis that increased inter-group interaction and cooperation among individuals in small fission-fusion groups opened the door to runaway social selection and cumulative culture during hominin evolution.

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Workshop / Seminar Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:24:24 -0500 2024-04-01T14:00:00-04:00 2024-04-01T15:30:00-04:00 Institute For Social Research Evolution & Human Adaptations Program (EHAP) Workshop / Seminar RCGD/EHAP Winter Seminar Series: Runaway Social Selection in Human Evolution
RCGD/EHAP Winter Seminar Series: A Seven Decade Lifespan? Variations on an Evolutionary Theme (April 8, 2024 2:00pm) https://events.umich.edu/event/115988 115988-21835981@events.umich.edu Event Begins: Monday, April 8, 2024 2:00pm
Location: Institute For Social Research
Organized By: Evolution & Human Adaptations Program (EHAP)

A Seven Decade Lifespan? Variations on an Evolutionary Theme
Monday, April 8, 2024 (2 PM – 3:30 PM)

The evolution of human longevity still remains a curious puzzle. Here I provide some new perspectives on the why and how of longevity over the course of human evolution, using longitudinal study of subsistence societies as an imperfect lens for gaining insight. I argue that our evolved human lifespan is about seven decades, and that the multifaceted contributions of middle-to-older aged adults is part of the reason why. I will combine ethnographic, demographic and biomedical studies to shed light on the timing and significance of the transition from “asset” to “burden” in late adulthood, with implications on the global Gray Wave of population aging.

Michael Gurven is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is Chair of Integrative Anthropological Sciences, and Associate Director of the Broom Center for Demography. His research program applies an evolutionary lens to help inform our understanding of aging and today’s complex diseases. Since 2002, Gurven has co-directed the Tsimane’ Health and Life History Project to better understand how lifestyle and the physical and social environment affect health and lifespan in subsistence-level societies.

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Workshop / Seminar Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:36:55 -0500 2024-04-08T14:00:00-04:00 2024-04-08T15:30:00-04:00 Institute For Social Research Evolution & Human Adaptations Program (EHAP) Workshop / Seminar RCGD/EHAP Winter Seminar Series: A Seven Decade Lifespan? Variations on an Evolutionary Theme