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Dear colleagues,
I’m currently working to unfold a full evolutionary theory of global economic activities and their evolution (from 2 million BCE to present). To kick off this journey, I’m currently looking for major evolution patterns, processes, mechanisms, emerging technologies (e.g., non-verbal languages, speaking, symbiotic thoughts, etc.) and archeological/paleontological/anthropological evidence between 2 million and 50,000 BCE.
This is the very first stage of social, organizational, and economic evolution of human activities. It begins with the emergence of group endurance running (presumably as a shared hunting strategy) as the first common human (homo) behavior that evolved homos from primates, as a direct result of natural selection (2 million BCE) (Bramble & Lieberman, 2004: 345). It ends with the emergence of long distance trade in Upper Paleolithic stage, enforced by reciprocal altruism (50,000 BCE) (Wade, 2006: 162), as the very beginning of more complex economic and transactional behaviors. The science behind this period serves as the primitive basis and a significant portion of our social psychology and behaviors today.
Finding natural basis of social behaviors is an extremely difficult and yet highly rewarding work (Chabris et al., 2013). I’d appreciate if you could share with me any studies, archives, and evidence about this period to me. I also welcome opportunities to meet any individuals and institutions that are interested in the evolutionary approach of social, economic, and organizational science.
Reference
Bramble, D.M., and Lieberman, D.E. 2004. Endurance running and the evolution of Homo. Nature, 432, 345-352.
Chabris, C. F., Lee, J. J., Benjamin, D. J., Beauchamp, J. P., Glaeser, E. L., Borst, G., Pinker, S., and Laibson, D.I. 2013. Why it is hard to find genes associated with social science traits: Theoretical and empirical considerations. American Journal of Public Health, 103(S1), 152-166.
Wade, N. 2006. Before the dawn: Recovering the lost history of our ancestors. New York, NY: The Penguin Press.
VICTOR ZITIAN CHEN, Ph.D.
T: +1 (980) 636-9207| E: [log in to unmask] | W: http://www.VictorZChen.com/
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Assistant Professor of International Management
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHARLOTTE | The Belk College of Business | 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 | http://belkcollege.uncc.edu/
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Fellow, Global Coordinator and Editor, Emerging Market Global Players (EMGP) Project
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY | Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment* | Columbia Law School - The Earth Institute | 435 West 116th Street, New York, NY 10027 | http://www.vcc.columbia.edu/
* formerly known as Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable Internatonal Investment
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Co-founder and Associate Editor
TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS REVIEW | 《跨国公司评论》
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