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Against unitary theories of music evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2021

Peter M. C. Harrison Open the ORCID record for Peter M. C. Harrison [Opens in a new window]  and
Madeleine Seale Open the ORCID record for Madeleine Seale [Opens in a new window]
Peter M. C. Harrison
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Grüneburgweg 14, 60322Frankfurt am Main, Germany. peter.harrison@ae.mpg.de; https://www.pmcharrison.com/
Madeleine Seale
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3RB, UK. maddy.seale@plants.ox.ac.uk; https://www.plants.ox.ac.uk/people/madeleine-seale
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Abstract

Savage et al. and Mehr et al. provide well-substantiated arguments that the evolution of musicality was shaped by adaptive functions of social bonding and credible signalling. However, they are too quick to dismiss byproduct explanations of music evolution, and to present their theories as complete unitary accounts of the phenomenon.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 44 , 2021 , e76
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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