Economic evolution, diversity of societies and stages of economic development: A critique of theories applied to hunters and gatherers and their successors

International audienceTheories of the economic evolution of societies and their diversity arecritically examined, paying particular attention to the evolution of hunter-gatherersocieties. An interdisciplinary approach drawing on anthropology and economicsis adopted. Currently, three main stereotypes of the nature of hunter-gatherersocieties exist. While these indicate that they were diverse, they fail to capturethe full extent of their diversity. It is argued that this diversity increased with thepassage of time and was shaped by the varied local eco-geographic conditions inwhich these societies evolved. This raises the question of whether this developmenthad the same basis as speciation in the biological theory of natural selection. Thisis discussed and then particular attention is given to Adam Smith’s vision of theeconomic evolution of human societies. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that theevolutionary path of modern economies and societies has diverged from that of prehistoricsocieties—they have become less diverse. Modern societies may also havebecome more ultrasocial, a process which accelerated following the commencementof agriculture