Projetos
The origins of collective action: mobbing and primate evolution
Daniel Barreiros
Mobbing is a form of cooperative behavior observed in primates, in which individuals collectively confront and repel potential threats, most often predators. This form of collective action does not require the existence of permanent social groups, and even solitary extant species such as spectral tarsiers (Tarsius spectrum) and gray lemurs (Microcebus murinus) temporarily gather unrelated individuals to scare off or physically attack snakes and other threats with which they share territory. Primates such as Homo sapiens are also known to practice mobbing, both in an anti-predatory context and in social contexts. The occurrence of mobbing in non-gregarious primates challenges the idea that anti-predatory cooperation depends exclusively on permanent social structures or kinship ties. Furthermore, the ability to recognize and respond to alarm signals from other individuals indicates a level of social cognition that favors cooperation even in solitary species. Although direct evidence of mobbing in extinct species is unavailable, its occurrence in small, insectivorous, and largely solitary primates today suggests that such behavior may have deeper evolutionary origins. Since early primates are believed to have shared these same dietary and morphological traits—being small-bodied, insectivorous, and solitary—it is plausible to hypothesize that mobbing could have emerged early in primate evolution. If so, mobbing could represent an early evolutionary milestone in the emergence of collective action among primates
Cognitive Evolution and Economic Behavior
Bernardo Sá
Since Kahneman and Tversky’s (1979) critique of expected utility theory, economics has incorporated cognitive elements into decision analysis. This project proposes a long-term perspective, investigating how the evolution of hominin cognition shaped heuristics and biases that influence present-day economic behavior. The proposal integrates evidence from evolutionary psychology, neuroeconomics, and decision theory, aiming to expand the explanatory power of economic models based on biological and institutional foundations, in line with the transdisciplinary approach to the evolution of cognition and social structures.
The Climate Question in Historical Transition Processes
Daniel Vainfas
The relationship between humanity and the environment is a dialectical one, shaped both by human impact on environmental conditions and by the environment's influence on human societies. This interplay has been a constant throughout history, though it becomes particularly evident during periods of significant climatic instability. Such periods often overlap—both temporally and geographically—with historical moments of upheaval and transition, whether political, economic, or social. This research project seeks to explore the mutual conditioning relationships between these transitional processes—such as the shift from feudalism to capitalism—and the climatic transformations unfolding during those pivotal times
Pre-Columbian long-distance exchanges: agent-based modeling of an Andean-Mesoamerican maritime route
Gabriel Ribeiro
Several socioeconomic dynamics of the pre-Columbian world are difficult or impossible to understand due to the lack of historical records, whether due to the lack of written language, interruption of oral tradition, or destruction of knowledge. Among these dynamics are long-distance exchanges that, going beyond simple subsistence, can reveal considerable details about the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural organization of various peoples. However, the lack of information about some typical elements of long-distance exchanges, such as values, pricing, taxation, means of exchange, and distribution, makes it considerably difficult to understand what the Americas were like until the mid-16th century. To deal with this problem, it is possible to generate an agent-based model that, when receiving information based on existing historical records, can be calibrated through appropriate variables and dynamics to generate the most likely data to fill archaeological gaps. The first case to be examined here is that of a sea route between the Pacific coasts of present-day Ecuador and Mexico, since it has historical records, in addition to technical and meteorological evidence, of long-distance exchanges carried out between the peoples who inhabited these regions.
Convergent Histories, Diverging Futures: Societies, Parallels and Trajectories
Felipe Aguiar
This study examines the convergence of institutional and economic complexity that emerged across various pre-industrial societies over time. Drawing upon the theoretical framework developed by Jack Goldstone and scholars associated with the California School of Economic History, the research investigates how distinct agrarian societies—each shaped by specific historical, environmental, and societal conditions—developed analogous social, political, and economic structures, as well as comparable institutional arrangements that facilitated interconnection. The analysis adopts a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating comparative economic, political, and institutional history, while also engaging with perspectives from sociology, social history, and the history of technology.
Circumscription and Social Complexity
Arquimedes Celestino
This research project aims to examine Robert Carneiro’s Theory of Circumscription as an analytical tool for understanding the rise of complexity in political and economic systems. It analyzes the applicability of the factors proposed by Carneiro for the formation of early states in later cultural and historical contexts. The project proposes a conceptual expansion of circumscription, articulating it with notions of boundaries and the absence of alternatives. The study is interdisciplinary in nature, incorporating contributions from Anthropology, Political Economy, and Global Power Theory, with the goal of constructing an explanatory model for processes of sociopolitical complexity escalation.
Nomadic Empires, Money, and the Monetization of the Silk Road
Guilherme Fritz
This research explores the significance of nomadic peoples in the functioning of the Silk Road, focusing on their role in the monetization of this intercivilizational corridor. The Silk Road comprised a vast network of trade routes linking Afro-Eurasia, the cradle of diverse social formations. Among these, prominent sedentary empires—such as China, Rome, Persia, and Maurya—stood out. Yet non-sedentary but equally complex societies, including nomadic empires and peoples like the Mongols, Timurids, and Huns, also shaped this intersocietal landscape. This study aims to analyze how the interplay between these distinct social systems, money, and currency influenced the formation and operation of the Silk Road.
