Very few people today would doubt the existence of cultural differences. But where did these differences come from? Why did they occur?
Culture’s function is avoiding misunderstandings through shared expectations of behaviour, allowing a society to survive. Survival conditions differ across the world. Culture follows. It is transmitted to children and other newcomers through rewards, punishments, love, and millions of little acts: “It takes a village to raise a child”. Each of us also becomes a transmitter of culture by every hug or shrug we give.
By studying the details of how culture is transmitted and how it is influenced, we may become better able to understand why, and how, cultures develop. This is a vast field that has been little explored. History, anthropological studies, but also gaming and agent-based simulation, can contribute.