Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 83 (4): 501-510, 2010
Emergence of Darwinian theories on evolution of Homo sapiens (Catarrhini:
Hominidae) and their relevance for social sciences
Despite the great impact that the Darwinian theories on organic evolution have had in the
development and consolidation of biology as an autonomous scientific discipline, their relevance in social sciences, and particularly in
archaeology and anthropology still remain ambiguous. This ambiguity is reflected in the classical interpretation of Darwin’s work
pervading Social Sciences during more than one century, according to which the same ideas that contributed to the understanding of
natural processes from a scientific perspective would be at the basis of a misleading interpretation of the evolution of human societies
due to the application of the principle of natural selection to the social processes. Here we show how the works of T.H. Huxley and A.R.
Wallace positively stimulated Darwin to answer to the question about the origin of human populations considering culture from an
evolutionary perspective as a factor opposed to the negative action of natural selection on human societies, thus refuting the classical
interpretation of Darwin’s work made by Social Sciences. The role played by the biocultural approach in understanding human evolution
as well as in promoting the integrative thinking in Social Sciences is also discussed.
Key words:
Darwin, human
evolution, social sciences
