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Dor Shilton

@dorshilton.bsky.social
166 followers 148 following 38 posts

Postdoc Cohn Institute, Tel Aviv University Research affiliate School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Oxford University Cultural evolution of music and ritual, human social evolution www.dorshilton.com

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Reposted by Dor Shilton
Folk Emerging 🦣 stone age 4X (OUT NOW) @curiousdynamics.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
interesting research on the history of music and religion
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Cedric Boeckx @cedricboeckx.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Delighted to announce the publication of a collaborative effort, co-led by @limorraviv.bsky.social @mpi-nl.bsky.social, showcasing the ways in which researchers have made language evolution an empirical issue: A handbook of experimental approaches to the fascinating problem of language evolution 🧪
Book cover by Simon Kirby
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Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI @divintelligence.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
New postdoc positions at the (DISI-affiliated) Center for Possible Minds at Indiana University. Looking for scholars interested in interdisciplinary research on the nature of biological, artificial, and collective intelligence. Please share widely! indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/29547
indiana.peopleadmin.com
Center for Possible Minds Postdoctoral Fellow
The Center for Possible Minds at Indiana University, Bloomington, invites applications for Postdoctoral Fellows to join its Program for Advanced Research in Diverse Intelligences. The fellowship provi...
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Kevin Lala @kevinlala.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Kostas Kampourakis' "Darwin Mythology" book is a very interesting read. A strong cast of authors deconstruct myths and misunderstandings about Darwin. I particularly appreciated historian Erik Peterson's analysis of why Darwin's dislike of slavery does not equate to a belief in racial equality.
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Dor Shilton @dorshilton.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Many think that music evolved to promote social cohesion - but group singing and dancing is extremely rare in some societies. Why is that the case, and what does it mean? Check out the new paper by me, Aniruddh Patel, Kim Hill, and @chrisvonrueden.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Why collective music-making is sometimes rare: A study of four indigenous societies
Current prominent music evolution theories suggest music evolved as a participatory group activity, whose adaptive functions were strengthening and/or…
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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · 17/09/2024
My book SHAMANISM: THE TIMELESS RELIGION will be out on May 20, 2025! Shamanism characterized the earliest religions, echoes in often unappreciated ways in the world around us, and will long outlive us. Pre-order it here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/730339...
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Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Two new music papers by @dorshilton.bsky.social et al. (www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...) and by Steingo & Ghazanfar (doi.org/10.1177/2059...). Together with @manvir.bsky.social and Hill's recent paper (doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...), an interesting (partial) push back against musical universals...
sciencedirect.com
Why collective music-making is sometimes rare: A study of four indigenous societies
Current prominent music evolution theories suggest music evolved as a participatory group activity, whose adaptive functions were strengthening and/or…
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Kensy Cooperrider @kensycoop.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
How are humans able to make sense of time? Not with special biology but with “time tools”—ideas, practices, and artifacts that render time more concrete. My new paper explores this vast, varied toolkit—one that makes use of knots, nuts, hands, flowers, mountains, shadows, and much more. (link 👇)
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manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
My baby daughter is happy & apparently developing normally, yet, according to pediatric growth curves, she has been “wasted,” indicating severe malnourishment. In my new @newyorker.com essay, I argue that universal health benchmarks need to better account for biological variation.
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Dor Shilton @dorshilton.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
If you're interested in this study by Manvir and Kim be sure to check out our forthcoming comparative study of four cultures (inc. Ache) in which collective music-making is rare: osf.io/preprints/so... Full thread once it's published...
osf.io
OSF
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Will @evolvingmoloch.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
"Considering its common use across nomadic hunter-gatherer societies, and what it represents—as a tool to enable the carrying of more tools—the belt may be a bit of an unsung hero of human history." traditionsofconflict.substack.com/p/handy-man
traditionsofconflict.substack.com
Handy man
In praise of the humble tool belt!
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Knight First Amendment Institute @knightcolumbia.org · 15/04/2025
In a new essay from our "Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Freedoms" series, @randomwalker.bsky.social & @sayash.bsky.social make the case for thinking of #AI as normal technology, instead of superintelligence. Read here: knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-a...
knightcolumbia.org
AI as Normal Technology
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Many Minds podcast @manymindspod.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
New episode!! 📣📣 A chat w/ @arikkershenbaum.bsky.social about vocal communication in animals. The tree of life is a noisy place, bursting with howls, grunts, whines, snorts, and songs. What does it all mean? Does any of this hubbub merit the label of "language"? Listen: disi.org/howl-grunt-s...
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Emma Humphries (she/her) @emhumps.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Introducing my new project… Your Wrong (yourwrong.co.uk). It’s all about the language rules and judgements that appear in different forms of popular culture. Films, series, podcasts, music, books, even graffiti! I’d love your help to find examples!
yourwrong.co.uk
Your Wrong
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Léo Fitouchi @lfitouchi.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Where do moralizing religions come from? Useless cognitive by-products?Cultural group selection for complex societies? Our Psych Review paper argues: neither. Let’s rethink their cognitive & evolutionary origins🧵 w/ @manvir.bsky.social @nbaumard @jbaptistandre.bsky.social doi.org/10.1037/rev0...
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Alex Mesoudi @alexmesoudi.com · 12/02/2025
For those who missed the @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social conference in Durham last September, the recorded talks are now freely available to watch here: underline.io/events/456/l...
underline.io
Watch lectures from the best researchers.
On-demand video platform giving you access to lectures from conferences worldwide.
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Delphine De Moor @delphinedemoor.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
So exciting to see MacaqueNet out into the world! 🤩 Learn about our global community & database centralizing standardized affiliative & agonistic data from 61 populations across 14 macaque species: doi/10.1111/1365... Explore >600 networks & request data: macaquenet.github.io/database/
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
MacaqueNet: Advancing comparative behavioural research through large‐scale collaboration
We present MacaqueNet, a global community of macaque researchers who developed the first publicly searchable, standardised database on affiliative and agonistic behaviour. This cross-species database...
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Peter Gray @peterbgray.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Time for fatherhood, courtesy of James Rilling and his new book. #fatherhood #testosterone #oxytocin #dad apple.news/ALmCPtGhtTb2...
apple.news
Men Are More Prepared for Fatherhood Than We Think — Scientific American
In many cultures, men are not involved with hands-on childcare. But biology tells us we are perfectly capable of doing so Biology I like to tell my undergraduates that hormones predispose organisms, i...
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Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute #DISI @divintelligence.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
📣📣📣 Applications for the 2025 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute (DISI) are now open!! Are you interested in intelligence, mind, and cognition in all its forms? Early-career scholars from any discipline—and storytellers in any medium—are encouraged to apply! More info: disi.org
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Kensy Cooperrider @kensycoop.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Enjoyed this one! In which we discuss: - the curse of knowledge & illusion of explanatory depth - why chain-of-thought prompting works (or doesn't) - "Explain Like I'm Five" - the Tower of Pisa thought experiment - representational re-description - learning by writing, talking, & presenting - etc.!
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anthrofuentes.bsky.social @anthrofuentes.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Terrific review by Eva Jablonka of @kevinlala.bsky.social and colleagues new book Evolution Evolving!!!
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NetScience @netscience.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Has Bluesky replaced X for scientists? Take Nature’s poll
The research community has flocked to the social-media platform Bluesky. Tell us about your experience.
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Felix Riede @felixthehauskat.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Major JOB ALERT! I and close colleagues have 4 (!) positions open. So if you're looking for a postdoc or PhD, do read on:
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 17/03/2024
I'm shaken by the news of Frans de Waal's passing. It feels so untimely that he is gone.
news.emory.edu
Emory primatologist Frans de Waal remembered for bringing apes ‘a little closer to humans’
Beginning with his groundbreaking 1982 book “Chimpanzee Politics,” Frans de Waal pioneered studies of primate cognition and shattered long-held ideas about what it means to be an animal — and a human.
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Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social · 13/03/2024
🎙️In this week’s episode of Complexity, dive into the science behind collectives. From the patterns that emerge from ant behavior to the dynamic collaboration of immune systems, we’ll delve into the importance of collective structures + their roles. 🐜 💫 www.santafe.edu/culture/podc...
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 14/03/2024
Ever wondered what whale demography can tell us about the evolution of menopause? Wonder no more 👇 Whales make waves in the quest to discover why menopause evolved www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Whales make waves in the quest to discover why menopause evolved
Why do several species of whale experience menopause, and why does the phenomenon occur at all? Analysing whale data might help to answer these questions and shed light on why menopause evolved in hum...
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Thom Scott-Phillips @thomscottphillips.bsky.social · 19/02/2024
New essay on my Substack: 'On nature, science & culture: Part I' This is the first of a three-part essay on the prospects of a natural science of culture. Parts II and III will go out later this week. thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/on-nature-...
thomscottphillips.substack.com
On nature, science & culture: Part I
Culture is interpretation all the way down.
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Thom Scott-Phillips @thomscottphillips.bsky.social · 21/02/2024
Part II of my Substack essay, 'On nature, science & culture' is now out. The third and final part goes out later this week. thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/on-nature-...
thomscottphillips.substack.com
On nature, science & culture: Part II
Cultural interpretation is data collection.
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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 29/02/2024
Geography is not destiny: quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis | "societies that share similar ecologies are more likely to share cultural traits, but Eurasian continent is not smore ecologically homogeneous than other continents" www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Geography is not destiny: A quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core
Geography is not destiny: A quantitative test of Diamond's axis of orientation hypothesis - Volume 6
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Ed Hagen @edhagen.net · 29/02/2024
The human evolutionary niche in one plot.🧪 Data from these two Davison and @mgurven.bsky.social papers (2021, 2022): * Human uniqueness? Life history diversity... journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... * The importance of elders: Extending Hamilton’s force of selection... www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
Plot showing net productivity (kcals) by age for female chimpanzees and human foragers. Chimps reach self-sufficiency by age 5, and humans by age 30 due to need to master complex skills. For humans, long-lived older adults produce a large surplus that they transfer to juveniles and younger adults (the grandmother hypothesis)
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Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 28/02/2024
New commentary led by @dorshilton.bsky.social: 'Conflicting predictions in the cross-cultural study of music and sociality: Comment on “Musical engagement as a duet of tight synchrony and loose Interpretability” by Tal-Chen Rabinowitch' doi.org/10.1016/j.pl...
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Raymond Hames @rayhames.bsky.social · 29/02/2024
Our critique of "The Myth of Man the Hunter" is now up on a preprint server. It has been submitted to PLOS One www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Woman the Hunter? Female foragers sometimes hunt, yet gendered divisions of labor are real
bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution
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Helen De Cruz @helendecruz.net · 10/12/2023
Kudos to this very able and fresh transcription of Bach's Fugue BWV998 to a German baroque 13-course lute. Bach did not write for the lute (contrary to what many think, his works "for the lute" are for the lautenwerk or lute-harpsichord. It's actually tricky to play Bach on the lute.
youtube.com
J. S. Bach lute music - Fugue BWV 998 played on the German baroque lute
#lutemusic #bachlute #bachbwv998 #bachfugue #baroqueluteJ. S. Bach's Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BWV 998 is a masterpiece and certainly one of, it not the bes...
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Anna Alexandrova @annaalexandrova.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
Strictly speaking explanation isn’t justification but, our concepts being value-laden n metaphorical, it’s not surprising that social science often functions as apologia. Here’s a special issue by Federico Brandmayr on this phenomenon. Featuring work by @unsocialtheory.bsky.social #philsky #philsci
journals.sagepub.com
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Greg Priest @gregpriest.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
David Depew in Biological Theory on Lewontin and Dobzhansky. 🌱🐋 #histsci
link.springer.com
Richard Lewontin and Theodosius Dobzhansky: Genetics, Race, and the Anxiety of Influence
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Lynda Albertson @sauterne.bsky.social · 06/12/2023
Despite frequent remonstrations, Persephone never accepted that she could not photocopy a whole book in one go.
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Sam Passmore @sampassmore.bsky.social · 28/09/2023
I gave a talk at the #grambank workshop at the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig a couple of weeks ago. You can see my and all other talks on youtube: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
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Adam Van Arsdale @apv2600.bsky.social · 27/09/2023
The cultural basis of cultural evolution: Longitudinal evidence that infant imitation develops by being imitated www.cell.com/current-biol...
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Dor Shilton @dorshilton.bsky.social · 11/09/2023
The feed on twitter is 90% poison at this point. But this one so far is pretty decent! I'm actually coming across interesting things and the vibe is scholarly-whimsical👌
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Dor Shilton @dorshilton.bsky.social · 09/09/2023
New paper with @sampassmore.bsky.social and @patrickesavage.bsky.social Looking at the prevalence of group singing in a combined sample of over 8600 audio recordings and ethnographic texts, we find that it is predominant in most societies and best predicted by social context doi.org/10.1098/rsos...
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Sam Passmore @sampassmore.bsky.social · 21/08/2023
New article with Patrick Savage looking at the most unusual songs in the Global Jukebox. journalofcognition.org/articles/10.…
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