Cultural inheritance is driving a transition in human evolution

Abstract Previous research on a transition in human evolution has been befuddled by the complexity of adaptive culture and made little effort toward empirical tests. We resolve these problems with a novel and testable theoretical mechanism. First, we explain how a differential in adaptive capacity between genetic and cultural inheritance could drive an evolutionary transition in both inheritance and individuality (ETII). We elaborate the ETII hypothesis and show it can resolve the prior debates, such as why genetic group selection is not a necessary precondition to transition. Next, we develop quantitative metrics of evolutionary transition in both phenotype and fitness to measure movement along this transition. We evaluate available evidence and find that patterns in gene–culture coevolution lend credence to the possibility of an ongoing transition. Finally, we derive a set of testable predictions and outline an agenda for future research.