The structure of cross-cultural musical diversity

Proc. R. Soc. B • Vol/Iss. 279(1733) • The Royal Society • • Published In • Pages: 1606-1612 •
By Rzeszutek, Tom, Savage, Patrick E., Brown, Steven

Abstract

By analyzing patterns of between- and within-population musical variability among 16 Austronesian-speaking aboriginal groups, the researchers hope to evaluate degree of similarity to structures of human genetic diversity. As in the genetic domain, within-population variance is found to be much higher than between-population variance, leading the researchers to suggest that patterns of musical distance and divergence may serve as an indicator of cultural evolution.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Researcher's ownResearcher's own16 aboriginal populations

Hypotheses (1)

HypothesisSupported
Within-population musical variability will be greater than between-population variability (1607).Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jack.dunnington