Niche Construction Theory

AbstractOver the past decade, niche construction theory (NCT) has been one of the fastest-growing theories or scholarly approaches in the social sciences, especially within archaeology. It was proposed in the biological sciences 25 years ago and is often referred to as a neglected evolutionary mechanism. Given its rapid acceptance by the archaeological community, it is important that scholars consider how it is being applied and look for discrepancies between applications of the concept. Many critical discussions of NCT have already been published, but most of them are in biology journals and may be overlooked by scholars in the social sciences. In this manuscript, my goal is to synthesis the criticisms of NCT, better allowing archaeologists to independently evaluate its usefulness. I focus on the claims of novelty and differences between NCT and other approaches to conceptualizing anthropogenic ecosystem impacts and culture-evolution feedbacks. I argue that the diverse concepts currently included in the wide-reaching purview of NCT are not new, but the terminology is and may be useful to some scholars. If proponents of the concept are able to unify their ideas, it may serve a descriptive function, but given that lack of a testable explanatory mechanism, it does not have a clear heuristic function.

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Niche Construction Theory and Human Architecture

Biological Theory ◽

10.1007/s13752-012-0029-3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 283-289 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

John Odling-Smee ◽

J. Scott Turner

Keyword(s):

Niche Construction ◽

Niche Construction Theory

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Reply to Mohlenhoff et al.: Human behavioral ecology needs a rethink that niche-construction theory can provide

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1508096112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (24) ◽

pp. E3094-E3094 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Melinda A. Zeder

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Ecology ◽

Niche Construction ◽

Human Behavioral Ecology ◽

Niche Construction Theory

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Application of the Eco-field and General Theory of Resources to Bark Beetles: Beyond the Niche Construction Theory

Biosemiotics ◽

10.1007/s12304-016-9283-2 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 57-73 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

F. J. Sánchez-García ◽

V. Machado ◽

J. Galián ◽

D. Gallego

Keyword(s):

General Theory ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Niche Construction ◽

Niche Construction Theory ◽

General Theory Of Resources

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Niche Construction Theory: A Practical Guide for Ecologists

The Quarterly Review of Biology ◽

10.1086/669266 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 88 (1) ◽

pp. 3-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 175

Author(s):

John Odling-Smee ◽

Douglas H. Erwin ◽

Eric P. Palkovacs ◽

Marcus W. Feldman ◽

Kevin N. Laland

Keyword(s):

Niche Construction ◽

Niche Construction Theory ◽

Practical Guide

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Operationalizing niche construction theory with stone tools

10.31235/osf.io/yk5cd ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Radu Iovita ◽

david braun ◽

Matthew Douglass ◽

Simon Holdaway ◽

Sam C. Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Behavioral Ecology ◽

Tool Use ◽

Niche Construction ◽

Stone Tools ◽

Stone Tool ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

Extended Phenotype ◽

Niche Construction Theory ◽

Dual Inheritance Theory ◽

Dual Inheritance

One of the greatest difficulties with evolutionary approaches in the study of stone tools (lithics) has been finding a mechanism for tying culture and biology in a way that preserves human agency and operates at scales that are visible in the archaeological record. The concept of niche construction, whereby organisms actively construct their environments and change the conditions for selection, could provide a solution to this problem. In this review, we evaluate the utility of niche construction theory (NCT) for stone tool archaeology. We apply NCT to lithics both as part of the ‘extended phenotype’ and as residuals or precipitates of other niche-constructing activities, suggesting ways in which archaeologists can employ niche construction feedbacks to generate testable hypotheses about stone tool use. Finally, we compare NCT to other prominent evolutionary approaches, such as human behavioral ecology and dual-inheritance theory, concluding that NCT has several advantages.

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