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I agree. It remains true that most people inherit their culture in the same way that we inherit our genes (from our parents). Cultural paradigm shifts don't alw
by gnarbarian 9y ago
I agree. It remains true that most people inherit their culture in the same way that we inherit our genes (from our parents). Cultural paradigm shifts don't always imply the previous people were replaced. Ireland's conversion to Christianity is a good example of this. The added data points of genetic analysis can help us determine when a culture shift was due to a paradigm shift in the community or when the shift was due to replacement/displacement of the previous people.
America is a perfect example of the latter, where Native Americans and their culture were largely replaced by Europeans both culturally and genetically. Of course Native Americans and their cultures still exist, but they are no longer dominant in North America. A genetic analysis would confirm that Native Americans didn't simply start building European style cities in the 1500s, they were essentially displaced by another people.