Recent research has suggested a co-evolutionary relationship exists between religion and economic complexity. The goal of this study is to examine religion as a driver of economic complexity in the North American archaeological record. Building on and critiquing prominent theories like niche construction, Brian Hayden’s paleo-political ecology (PPE), and Watts et al. 2022 model, this study concludes that religion should not be considered a driver in this dataset but should not be left out of future considerations.

Dozens of reasons have been proposed for the emergence of professional religious specialists in human history with little general consensus. Creating a global dataset of hunter-gatherers and using a novel method of exploratory phylogenetic path analysis, this study systematically identifies factors associated with the emergence of religious specialists. Results regarding existential insecurity were generally not supported. This study emphasizes the role of food storage as one of the only significant factors despite that it has been largely overlooked in the literature and theories. The results also highlight the need for more in-depth directional dependencies to better illustrate this evolution.

This study employs factor analysis to develop a settlement pattern scale of cultural complexity. Political, economic, and religious factors are identified and implications for the structure of the cultural system are discussed.

Dozens of reasons have been proposed for the emergence of professional religious specialists in human history with little general consensus. Creating a global dataset of hunter-gatherers and using a novel method of exploratory phylogenetic path analysis, this study systematically identifies factors associated with the emergence of religious specialists. Results regarding existential insecurity were generally not supported. This study emphasizes the role of food storage as one of the only significant factors despite that it has been largely overlooked in the literature and theories. The results also highlight the need for more in-depth directional dependencies to better illustrate this evolution.

Dozens of reasons have been proposed for the emergence of professional religious specialists in human history with little general consensus. Creating a global dataset of hunter-gatherers and using a novel method of exploratory phylogenetic path analysis, this study systematically identifies factors associated with the emergence of religious specialists. Results regarding existential insecurity were generally not supported. This study emphasizes the role of food storage as one of the only significant factors despite that it has been largely overlooked in the literature and theories. The results also highlight the need for more in-depth directional dependencies to better illustrate this evolution.

Dozens of reasons have been proposed for the emergence of professional religious specialists in human history with little general consensus. Creating a global dataset of hunter-gatherers and using a novel method of exploratory phylogenetic path analysis, this study systematically identifies factors associated with the emergence of religious specialists. Results regarding existential insecurity were generally not supported. This study emphasizes the role of food storage as one of the only significant factors despite that it has been largely overlooked in the literature and theories. The results also highlight the need for more in-depth directional dependencies to better illustrate this evolution.

Expanding on the author’s previous findings, this article examines the social and economic variables that may explain the cultural evolution of religious practitioners. With a 47 society sample, the author found that subsistence activities and socio-political conditions predict magico-religious practitioner types (sorcerers/witches, priests, shamanistic healers, mediums, healers, shaman/healers, and shamans) with the strongest results being from subsistence and political organization. He then used these findings to theorize about the biogenetic bases of religion in societies.

Expanding on the author’s previous findings, this article examines the social and economic variables that may explain the cultural evolution of religious practitioners. With a 47 society sample, the author found that subsistence activities and socio-political conditions predict magico-religious practitioner types (sorcerers/witches, priests, shamanistic healers, mediums, healers, shaman/healers, and shamans) with the strongest results being from subsistence and political organization. He then used these findings to theorize about the biogenetic bases of religion in societies.

Expanding on the author’s previous findings, this article examines the social and economic variables that may explain the cultural evolution of religious practitioners. With a 47 society sample, the author found that subsistence activities and socio-political conditions predict magico-religious practitioner types (sorcerers/witches, priests, shamanistic healers, mediums, healers, shaman/healers, and shamans) with the strongest results being from subsistence and political organization. He then used these findings to theorize about the biogenetic bases of religion in societies.

Expanding on the author’s previous findings, this article examines the social and economic variables that may explain the cultural evolution of religious practitioners. With a 47 society sample, the author found that subsistence activities and socio-political conditions predict magico-religious practitioner types (sorcerers/witches, priests, shamanistic healers, mediums, healers, shaman/healers, and shamans) with the strongest results being from subsistence and political organization. He then used these findings to theorize about the biogenetic bases of religion in societies.