Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, Jena, Germany.
Independent Researcher, UK (
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2020 Jul 20;375(1803):20190495. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0495. Epub 2020 Jun 1.
Traditional attempts to understand the evolution of human cognition compare humans with other primates. This research showed that relative brain size covaries with cognitive skills, while adaptations that buffer the developmental and energetic costs of large brains (e.g. allomaternal care), and ecological or social benefits of cognitive abilities, are critical for their evolution. To understand the drivers of cognitive adaptations, it is profitable to consider distant lineages with convergently evolved cognitions. Here, we examine the facilitators of cognitive evolution in corvid birds, where some species display cultural learning, with an emphasis on family life. We propose that extended parenting (protracted parent-offspring association) is pivotal in the evolution of cognition: it combines critical life-history, social and ecological conditions allowing for the development and maintenance of cognitive skillsets that confer fitness benefits to individuals. This novel hypothesis complements the extended childhood idea by considering the parents' role in juvenile development. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we show that corvids have larger body sizes, longer development times, extended parenting and larger relative brain sizes than other passerines. Case studies from two corvid species with different ecologies and social systems highlight the critical role of life-history features on juveniles' cognitive development: extended parenting provides a safe haven, access to tolerant role models, reliable learning opportunities and food, resulting in higher survival. The benefits of extended juvenile learning periods, over evolutionary time, lead to selection for expanded cognitive skillsets. Similarly, in our ancestors, cooperative breeding and increased group sizes facilitated learning and teaching. Our analyses highlight the critical role of life-history, ecological and social factors that underlie both extended parenting and expanded cognitive skillsets. This article is part of the theme issue 'Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals'.
传统的理解人类认知进化的尝试是将人类与其他灵长类动物进行比较。这项研究表明，相对大脑大小与认知技能相关，而缓冲大脑发育和能量成本的适应（例如，异体抚育），以及认知能力的生态或社会益处，对于它们的进化至关重要。为了理解认知适应的驱动因素，考虑具有趋同进化认知的遥远谱系是有益的。在这里，我们研究了鸦科鸟类认知进化的促进因素，其中一些物种表现出文化学习，重点是家庭生活。我们提出，延长亲代抚育（延长亲代-后代的联系）在认知进化中起着关键作用：它结合了关键的生活史、社会和生态条件，允许发展和维持认知技能，这些技能为个体带来适应度益处。这个新假说通过考虑父母在青少年发展中的作用，补充了延长儿童期的想法。通过系统发育比较分析，我们表明鸦科鸟类的体型较大、发育时间较长、亲代抚育时间较长、相对大脑较大，而其他雀形目鸟类则较小。来自两种具有不同生态和社会系统的鸦科物种的案例研究突出了生活史特征对幼鸟认知发展的关键作用：延长的亲代抚育为其提供了安全的避难所、接触宽容的榜样、可靠的学习机会和食物，从而提高了存活率。在进化时间上，延长的青少年学习期的好处导致选择扩展认知技能。同样，在我们的祖先中，合作繁殖和群体规模的增加促进了学习和教学。我们的分析强调了生活史、生态和社会因素的关键作用，这些因素是延长亲代抚育和扩展认知技能的基础。本文是主题为“生活史和学习：童年、抚育和老年如何塑造人类和其他动物的认知和文化”的特刊的一部分。
