The Geography of Trust and Betrayal: Moral disputes and Late Pleistocene dispersal

Penny Spikins

doi:10.5334/oq.ai

The Geography of Trust and Betrayal: Moral disputes and Late Pleistocene dispersal

Penny Spikins

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The explanations for a rapid dispersal of modern humans after 100,000 BP remain enigmatic. Populations of modern humans took new routes – crossing significant topographic and environmental barriers, including making major sea crossings, and moving into and through risky and difficult environments. Neither population increase nor ecological changes provide an adequate explanation for a pattern of rapid movement, including leaping into new regions (saltation events). Here it is argued that the structural dynamics of emotionally complex collaboration and in depth moral commitments generates regular expulsion events of founding populations. These expulsion events provide an explanation for the as yet elusive element to dispersal. Alongside cognitive and cultural complexity we should recognise the influence of emerging emotional complexity on significant behavioural changes in the Palaeolithic.

Original language	English
Number of pages	12
Journal	Open Quaternary
Volume	1
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.ai
Publication status	Published - 25 Nov 2015

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Pleistocene Dispersal
Hyper cooperation
Trust
Moral conflicts
Evolution of emotions
Hunter-gatherers
Palaeolithic Colonisations

Access to Document

10.5334/oq.ai

OQ_GeographyTrustBetrayal
© 2015 The Authors. This content is made available by the publisher under a Creative Commons CC-BY Licence
Final published version, 1.95 MB

Cite this

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title = "The Geography of Trust and Betrayal: Moral disputes and Late Pleistocene dispersal",

abstract = "The explanations for a rapid dispersal of modern humans after 100,000 BP remain enigmatic. Populations of modern humans took new routes – crossing significant topographic and environmental barriers, including making major sea crossings, and moving into and through risky and difficult environments. Neither population increase nor ecological changes provide an adequate explanation for a pattern of rapid movement, including leaping into new regions (saltation events). Here it is argued that the structural dynamics of emotionally complex collaboration and in depth moral commitments generates regular expulsion events of founding populations. These expulsion events provide an explanation for the as yet elusive element to dispersal. Alongside cognitive and cultural complexity we should recognise the influence of emerging emotional complexity on significant behavioural changes in the Palaeolithic. ",

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