Genetics can give evolving societies a leg up

Nature NewsCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Andrew J. DoigOctober 25, 2025 at 04:27 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Andrew J. Doig from the University of Manchester critiques Peter Turchin's book The Great Holocene Transformation reviewed by Laura Spinney in Nature. Turchin argues that cultural mechanisms rather than biological evolution were responsible for societal changes over the past 10,000 years due to the short timeframe being insufficient for significant genetic alterations. However, Doig points out that numerous genetic changes have occurred within similar timeframes and could have influenced societal development. The critique highlights a debate on whether genetics played a role in the evolution of human societies during the Holocene period.

Key Topics & Entities

Nature ×350% Laura Spinney 60% Peter Turchin ×270% University of Manchester 80%

Keywords

genetics 90% societal evolution 85% biological evolution 70% cultural mechanisms 65% human populations 60% the great holocene transformation 55% peter turchin 50% societal shifts 45% cultural evolution 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Neutral

Score: 0.10

Source Transparency

Source

Nature News

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

genetics societal evolution biological evolution cultural mechanisms human populations the great holocene transformation peter turchin societal shifts cultural evolution

Explore Full Topic Graph