Phylogenetics is a method of inference that evaluate observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences or morphology of both present and past organisms. The method compares heritable traits in organisms of different species, and then by the use of algorithms, those traits can construct one or more hypothesis of evolutionary relationships. The result creates a phylogenetic tree – a diagrammatic hypothesis about the history of the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms. Phylogeny shows the relationships between groups of organisms (taxa) generally expressed in shared traits among them.
The phylogenetic analysis is seen as a reconstruction of the organism’s evolutiorary history considering the actual model of biological evolution and the method itself. Thus – Would be possible to non-biological entities such as cultural elements: religion, pottery or architecture be evaluated by phylogenetic method?
In the article ‘A Cosmic Hunt in the Berber sky: a phylogenetic reconstruction of a Palaeolithic mythology’ the author Julien d’Huy tries to apply the method to mythological corpus. He uses mythems (elementar unchangeable units of an idea) as an equivalent to heritable traits. Mythems in mythology or religion can be as follows – ‘an animal turns into a star’ or ‘one person resurrect from the dead’. Those “traits” of a story can be compared to other tales to reconstruct a history of cultural evolutionary relationships. In the case of Julien, the mythology’s mythems are concerned into the ‘Cosmic Hunt’, which is a general cognate myth about some animal being pursued by hunters and eventually transformed into a constellation or part of it.
Let’s say that a mythem ‘X’ is part of a Siberian tale, and the concept of this mythem ‘X’ is found on both South and North America tales each one story with their our slight variations according to the addition of other mythems, in this cenario it’s possible to compare many of them from various stories and establish related groups.
Since two taxa are more closely related when they share a more recent common ancestor, Julien states that this similarity can be used to reconstruct cultural evolutionary histories and that there are some conclusive results in mythology. The author’s conclusion says that the phylogenetic approach on the handled myths allowed at least six corroborations. Most important ones refer that was possible to reconstruct the approximate first version of the myth. Corroborated the existence of mythological common root to Berbers and European hunter-gatherers. Document at least four migrations from Eurasia into America and suggest that there was reverse migration from Eurasia to Africa.
Figure above shows a phylogenetic tree of mythological versions of Cosmic Hunt spread through peoples and regions. Red: Asia. Gray: Greece. Yellow: Basque. Orange: Africa. Light blue: Artic. Magenta: American coast-plateau/Britsh Columbia. Pink: Northeastern America. Wood: American Great Basin/Great Southwest. Green: Guiana.
The use of phylogenetic method on cultural traits can help to trace relationships between different and distant peoples. Maybe this tool can be applied to revaluate or corroborate already existing theories of human migration and colonization, or even construct new explanations.
Literature:
D’Huy, Julien. A Cosmic Hunt in the Berber sky. A phylogenetic reconstruction of Palaeolithic mythology – Les Cahiers de l’AARS, 16, 93-106
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