As societies become complex systems, the consequences of change intertwine and are often unexpected. From nomadic life to agricultural, from industrial urbanization to post-industrial societies, each ...

A global study of 186 traditional societies found evidence supporting the theory that low-alcohol fermented beverages played a role in the evolution of political complexity, contributing to the ...

Comparative archaeology : a commitment to understanding variation / Robert D. Drennan ... [et al.] -- Approaches to comparative analysis in archaeology / Michael E. Smith and Peter Peregrine -- ...

Drawing on 10,000 years of data, Peter Turchin explains how competition was central in the evolution of states and civilizations The Great Holocene Transformation (Beresta Books, September 2025) ...

Termites did not evolve complex societies by adding new genetic features. Instead, scientists found that they became more social by shedding genes tied to competition and independence. A shift to ...

We live in an incredibly complex society. If you measure complexity by the number and kinds of interactions that we have with others, then the extent of that complexity quickly become apparent. Not ...

He was right. But Churchill never imagined a government that would add 10,000 year after year. That’s what we have in America. We have 160,000 pages of rules from the feds alone. States and localities ...

Learn more about termite evolution and how shedding key genes from their cockroach ancestors helped them build more complex colonies. When termites aren’t busy eating your nice wood flooring, they are ...

Seirian Sumner receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). She is an employee of University College London. Her book Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps, is published by ...