Abstract
Foreword | According to Matt Rossano, the evolutionary success of the human species is based on its members’ ability to cooperate with one another, in turn allowing less militant primates to master difficult tasks such as hunting and defending their prey against other predators. Successful cooperation, however, requires a secure method of communication and it is this communication which falls within the sphere of ritualized behaviour. Even though ritualized behaviour is in no way an idiosyncrasy of the human species or even of primates, but rather can be found throughout the animal world wherever reliable communication is essential (for example during mating rituals) according to Rossano, it is this communication which plays a vital role in humanisation, by initially facilitating the survival of the group as a whole and subsequently strengthening individual groups within the species.
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Wunn, I. (2016). The Crux of a Darwinian Approach on Evolution: What is Evolution, and what did evolve?. In: Hartung, G., Herrgen, M. (eds) Interdisziplinäre Anthropologie. Interdisziplinäre Anthropologie. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-10978-3_10
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