Publication
Multilevel Selection in Cultural Macroevolution
Authors
Peter Turchin
Abstract
Cultural macroevolution (CME) is a subfield of cultural evolution that studies large-scale changes in the cultural traits of whole groups. A central question in CME is how and why characteristics of polities (such as chiefdoms, states, and empires) evolve over time. Multilevel selection, and especially its application to cultural evolution, provides a very useful theoretical framework for CME because many polity-level characteristics evolve under selection pressures that act in opposite directions at different levels of hierarchical organization. In this chapter I discuss the conceptual framework that multilevel selection provides for studying CME and summarize the main empirical results from my recent book (Turchin 2025). I conclude that major predictions of cultural multilevel selection theory enjoy substantial empirical support.
Journal
SocArXiv
Cite This Publication
Peter Turchin. (2026). Multilevel Selection in Cultural Macroevolution. SocArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ud8jm_v1
Connections
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Current Research Projects
Combining quantitative analysis with large historical datasets, Peter Turchin and collaborators study how complex societies evolve, why they periodically enter crisis, and why some recover while others undergo severe breakdown.