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dc.contributor.authorTurchin, P
dc.contributor.authorCurrie, TE
dc.contributor.authorWhitehouse, H
dc.contributor.authorFrançois, P
dc.contributor.authorFeeney, K
dc.contributor.authorMullins, D
dc.contributor.authorHoyer, D
dc.contributor.authorCollins, C
dc.contributor.authorGrohmann, S
dc.contributor.authorSavage, P
dc.contributor.authorMendel-Gleason, G
dc.contributor.authorTurner, E
dc.contributor.authorDupeyron, A
dc.contributor.authorCioni, E
dc.contributor.authorReddish, J
dc.contributor.authorLevine, J
dc.contributor.authorJordan, G
dc.contributor.authorBrandl, E
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, A
dc.contributor.authorCesaretti, R
dc.contributor.authorKrueger, M
dc.contributor.authorCeccarelli, A
dc.contributor.authorFigliulo-Rosswurm, J
dc.contributor.authorTuan, P-J
dc.contributor.authorPeregrine, P
dc.contributor.authorMarciniak, A
dc.contributor.authorPreiser-Kapeller, J
dc.contributor.authorKradin, N
dc.contributor.authorKorotayev, A
dc.contributor.authorPalmisano, A
dc.contributor.authorBaker, D
dc.contributor.authorBidmead, J
dc.contributor.authorBol, P
dc.contributor.authorChristian, D
dc.contributor.authorCook, C
dc.contributor.authorCovey, A
dc.contributor.authorFeinman, G
dc.contributor.authorJúlíusson, ÁD
dc.contributor.authorKristinsson, A
dc.contributor.authorMiksic, J
dc.contributor.authorMostern, R
dc.contributor.authorPetrie, C
dc.contributor.authorRudiak-Gould, P
dc.contributor.authorTer Haar, B
dc.contributor.authorWallace, V
dc.contributor.authorMair, V
dc.contributor.authorXie, L
dc.contributor.authorBaines, J
dc.contributor.authorBridges, E
dc.contributor.authorManning, J
dc.contributor.authorLockhart, B
dc.contributor.authorBogaard, A
dc.contributor.authorSpencer, C
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-05T09:39:12Z
dc.date.issued2018-01-09
dc.description.abstractDo human societies from around the world exhibit similarities in the way that they are structured, and show commonalities in the ways that they have evolved? These are long-standing questions that have proven difficult to answer. To test between competing hypotheses, we constructed a massive repository of historical and archaeological information known as "Seshat: Global History Databank." We systematically coded data on 414 societies from 30 regions around the world spanning the last 10,000 years. We were able to capture information on 51 variables reflecting nine characteristics of human societies, such as social scale, economy, features of governance, and information systems. Our analyses revealed that these different characteristics show strong relationships with each other and that a single principal component captures around three-quarters of the observed variation. Furthermore, we found that different characteristics of social complexity are highly predictable across different world regions. These results suggest that key aspects of social organization are functionally related and do indeed coevolve in predictable ways. Our findings highlight the power of the sciences and humanities working together to rigorously test hypotheses about general rules that may have shaped human history.en_GB
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by a John Templeton Foundation grant to the Evolution Institute, entitled "Axial-Age Religions and the Z-Curve of Human Egalitarianism," a Tricoastal Foundation grant to the Evolution Institute, entitled "The Deep Roots of the Modern World: The Cultural Evolution of Economic Growth and Political Stability," an ESRC Large Grant entitled "Ritual, Community, and Conflict" (REF RES-060-25-0085), an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No. 694986), and a grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 644055 [ALIGNED, www.aligned-project.eu]).en_GB
dc.identifier.citationVol. 115 (2), E144 - E151en_GB
dc.identifier.doi10.1073/pnas.1708800115
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10871/31309
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherNational Academy of Sciencesen_GB
dc.relation.urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29269395en_GB
dc.subjectcomparative archaeologyen_GB
dc.subjectcomparative historyen_GB
dc.subjectcultural evolutionen_GB
dc.subjectquantitative historyen_GB
dc.subjectsociopolitical complexityen_GB
dc.titleQuantitative historical analysis uncovers a single dimension of complexity that structures global variation in human social organizationen_GB
dc.typeArticleen_GB
dc.date.available2018-02-05T09:39:12Z
dc.identifier.issn0027-8424
exeter.place-of-publicationUnited Statesen_GB
dc.descriptionThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.en_GB
dc.identifier.journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesen_GB


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