What Is Cumulative Cultural Evolution?

Abstract

Abstract Within the field of cultural evolution, particular attention has been devoted to the process of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE). Much of modern human behaviour is believed to be attributable to CCE. Despite common consensus over the importance of this topic, there are disparities in how the term has been defined and interpreted (and correspondingly the breadth of phenomena it is considered to encompass). Defined broadly, CCE refers to processes of cultural change involving alterations in cultural traits occurring over multiple episodes of social transmission, but there is variation in the additional criteria considered to be defining features. This chapter will highlight points of contention by examining some key borderline cases, which illustrate how the preferred definition of CCE impacts its presumed scope (e.g. whether it is restricted to humans). It is likely that differing motivations for interest in CCE underpin some of the differences in characterization of the process.