Perspectives on Cultural Evolution from Pioneers of the Field

Studies of cultural evolution frequently analyse deep human history, but the modern science of cultural evolution has a surprisingly short past. After briefly reviewing the last two hundred years of cultural evolutionary thinking, we highlight the work of eight pioneering scholars in a set of interviews. Each scholar reflects on their definition of cultural evolution, their journey to studying cultural evolution, their perception of changes in cultural evolutionary science, and their vision for the future of the field. Interviews show the interdisciplinary breadth of cultural evolutionary science, and the diverse perspectives that have shaped the field’s early development. We intersperse each scholar’s reflections with our own perspective as early career researchers within cultural evolution science.