Junior Research Programs

Workshop: Human Sociality: Comparative Studies of Social Evolution and Historical Dynamics

Information

Humans are highly social animals, often referred to as "cooperative species". Our abilities to cooperate even with unknown individuals at a huge scale have been claimed as a part of human uniqueness. These abilities can be a basis of large complex societies, eventually leading to state formation. In addition to identifying human uniqueness, it has been one of the major challenges in the fields of humanities and social sciences to grasp the consequences of the uniqueness, i.e., the process and mechanisms concerning the development of large complex societies, social hierarchy, as well as political systems in human history (i.e. social evolution). However, cooperation and complex societies are ubiquitous in animal societies. Sociality in humans and animals and its consequence have been investigated in different disciplines. Thus, elucidating the uniqueness of human sociality in the animal kingdom requires cooperative and interdisciplinary research by researchers from various disciplines. This workshop aims to promote interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration to tackle these issues.

Date

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 – Thursday, August 18, 2022

Venue

  • On–site: TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity 3F, Lecture Theater, Katahira Campus, Tohoku University [Access]
  • Online: Zoom Webinar hosted by Tohoku Forum for Creativity
    • Capacity

      On–site: 40

      Invited Speakers

      Yui Arimatsu (Hiroshima University)
      Thomas Currie (University of Exeter)
      Atsushi Iriki (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research)
      Nobuyuki Kutsukake (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
      Ruth Mace (University College London)
      Takehiko Matsugi (National Museum of Japanese History)
      Naoko Matsumoto (Okayama University)
      Cedric Perret (University of Exeter)

      Registration

      Registration deadline: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 17:00 (JST)
      – Closed

      Time Schedule

      Wednesday, August 17, 2022
      13:00 – 13:10
      Opening Remark
      13:15 – 14:00
      Nobuyuki Kutsukake (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)
      Social trajectory and reproductive value in group-living mammals [Online]
      14:05 – 14:50
      Atsushi Iriki (Institute of Physical and Chemical Research)
      Phase transitions in human evolution: Triadic interactions among brain-cognition-environment
      14:50 – 15:10
      Coffee Break
      15:10 – 16:10
      Discussion
      Thursday, August 18, 2022
      09:30 – 10:15
      Ruth Mace (University College London)
      Why be a monk? Evidence for the inclusive fitness benefits of religious celibacy
      10:20 – 11:05
      Cedric Perret (University of Exeter)
      Developing a general modelling framework to compare theories of the evolution of inequality in human societies
      11:10 – 11:55
      Thomas Currie (University of Exeter)
      Assessing multiple hypotheses of the Evolution of Human Sociopolitical Complexity using quantitiatve comaprative analyses
      12:00 – 13:00
      Lunch
      13:00 – 13:45
      Yui Arimatsu (Hiroshima University)
      Reciprocity: Leveling mechanism on the evolution of social complexity towards state formation
      13:50 – 14:35
      Naoko Matsumoto (Okayama University)
      Takehiko Matsugi (National Museum of Japanese History)
      Creating a material world, society, and mind: an archaeological examination of human niche construction.
      14:35 – 15:00
      Coffee Break
      15:00 – 16:00
      Discussion

      In cooperation with

      Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University
      Humanities Program, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University

      Contact

      Email: takao.koga.a2*tohoku.ac.jp (change * to @)