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Social science

Hunter-gatherer cooperation

Nature volume 481, pages 449–450 (2012)Cite this article

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A study of social networks in the hunter-gatherer Hadza people in Tanzania illuminates the evolutionary origins of humans' unique style of cooperation in groups. See Letter p.497

The social behaviour of humans poses a significant evolutionary puzzle. Influenced by 'prosocial' motivations, we routinely help our relatives and friends in ways big and small, from donating kidneys to sharing food. Perhaps most puzzlingly, and unlike other primates, we also help strangers and cooperate in large groups by, for example, giving blood, going to war, recycling and paying taxes. Yet human prosocial behaviour varies dramatically between groups — from societies with little cooperation beyond extended kin to the vast scales of cooperation found in many modern states1,2.

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Figure 1: Helping hands.

PHOTOSTOCK-ISRAEL/ALAMY

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  1. Joseph Henrich is in the Departments of Psychology and of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver VS6 1V9, Canada.,

    Joseph Henrich

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  1. Joseph Henrich
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Correspondence to Joseph Henrich.

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Henrich, J. Hunter-gatherer cooperation. Nature 481, 449–450 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/481449a

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