C01

Cultural evolution refers to the phenomenon in which initially highly variable skills and artifacts become regularized through transmission between individuals and across generations. This phenomenon is considered a key factor in the evolution of language, music, and bird song, yet the underlying mechanisms at the individual level remain poorly understood. This study aims to tackle this issue by focusing on birds and humans. The central hypothesis is that "cultural evolution progresses through the interaction between motor constraints on the signal sender and sensory constraints on the receiver." By manipulating these constraints, it should be possible to control whether culture converges or diverges. To test this, the study will include research on birds, examining how vocal learning plasticity affects the trajectory of cultural evolution, and experimental studies on humans, in which cultural evolution is explored through inter-individual transmission under cognitive and behavioral constraints. This research is expected to contribute to understanding contemporary societal issues, where information technology drives the expansion of sensory and motor capacities to an excessive degree.