Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'aggression'

Shrinking Brains & Domestication of the Supernatural

December 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Cognition, Cultural Evolution, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic, Shamanism

In the September issue of Discover, Kathleen McAuliffe has written a superb article on the shrinking human brain.  Razib commented on it yesterday:
For several millions years up to ~200,000 years ago there was a study increase in hominin cranial capacities. I say hominin because it seems that this increase was evident in all branches of [...]

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Religious Wars and Nationalism

July 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Cultural Evolution, Economy, Evolutionary Adaptation, Evolutionary Byproduct, History, Power

Over at HuffPo Religion, Matt Rossano has written a thought provoking piece — which some may find surprising — on the relationship between war and religion.   In Why Religion Does Not Equal War, Rossano begins with the common knowledge that religious differences often lead to war, or that religious differences are often used to justify [...]

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Non-Religious Chimpanzees Cooperate and War for Territory

June 28th, 2010 · No Comments · Cultural Evolution, Ecology, Economy, Evolution, Evolutionary Adaptation, Evolutionary Byproduct, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Neolithic, Power, Shamanism

There have been many articles over the past week reporting that an unusually large group (150 members) of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda has been engaging in systematic territorial expansion by attacking and killing neighboring groups.  The Nature article notes that this is “cooperative behavior” and then quotes from the New York Times story:
These [...]

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