Theory and empirical data from a variety of disciplines strongly imply that recent human history involves extensive gene-culture coevolution, much of it as a direct result of human agricultural ...practices. Here we draw on niche-construction theory (NCT) and gene-culture coevolutionary theory (GCT) to propose a broad theoretical framework (NCT-GCT) with which archaeologists and anthropologists can explore coevolutionary dynamics. Humans are enormously potent niche constructors, and understanding how niche construction regulates ecosystem dynamics is central to understanding the impact of human populations on their ecological and developmental environments. We use as primary examples the evolution of dairying by Neolithic groups in Europe and Africa and the rise of the "sickle-cell allele" among certain agricultural groups in West Africa and suggest that these examples are broadly representative of much of human recent history. Although the core aspects of these case studies are familiar, we lay out the examples with a specific NCT-GCT focus, which allows us to highlight how archaeology, when coupled with genetic research, can play an important role in better understanding human history. Finally, we suggest that the NCT-GCT perspective is likely to be of widespread general utility because it inherently promotes consideration of the active agency of humans, and other organisms, in modifying their ecological and developmental niches and naturally draws attention to the various forms of feedback that flow from human activities at multiple levels, in multiple populations, and across multiple species. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The Neolithic is an archaeological period that marks transition from food-seeking to food-producing and is associated with changes that include an increase of sedentary settlements, development of ...alternative economies that focus on animal and/or plant domesticates, and technical innovations that include polished stone tools and pottery. The Neolithic transition had biological consequences on humans, including reduction in dietary breadth. When an environment-modifying human activity has been culturally transmitted for long enough, it can generate stable selection pressures that influence which genetic variants survive and are passed on to successive generations. This process is known as gene-culture co-evolution, and its study must integrate cultural data in analysis of differential transmission of genes from one generation to the next. Amongst these, the co-evolution of lactase persistence (LP) and dairying is most studied. LP evolution has been investigated by combining data from different fields namely, anthropology, archaeology, zooarchaeology, molecular biology, genetics and palaeogenetics, and by generating expectations of different data types using simulations.
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