Using a sample of 80 Austronesian societies from the Ethnographic Atlas, the study applies phylogenetic comparative methods to explore the transmission of cultural traits. The authors follow the research question: "for each possible cultural trait in each society, does the geographical (GNN) or phylogenetic nearest neighbor (PNN) best predict the state of the cultural trait?". Cultural traits in the realms of social organization, kinship, marriage, and subsistence were examined. The results show that PNN predicted slightly more traits in comparison to GNN, but there was not much variation between the different economic and social traits. In addition, 43-48% of traits were not predicted by GNN or PNN.

Is grammatical complexity shaped by sociodemographic and sociolinguistic factors? The previously accepted "linguistic niche hypothesis" claims that with an increased number of nonnative speakers in a social group (high exotericity), grammatic complexity decreases; on the other hand, grammatical complexity increases amongst isolated linguistic communities (low exotericity). Through the use of spatiophylogenetic modelling of 1314 languages, the authors of this study do not find adequate evidence to support the linguistic niche hypothesis. Instead, they suggest that linguistic complexity is better predicted by phylogeny and geographic contiguity.

The authors examine correlations between slavery and variables that can potentially be detected archaeologically. The authors do not test specific hypotheses, but aim to explore the variables in a broader sense. As such, the authors use a grounded theory approach to data analysis in order to examine trends that emerge from the data itself.

The present study examines 70 Austronesian cultures to test whether political hierarchy, population size, and social inequality have been influential in the conversion of populations to Christianity. Cultural isolation and year of missionary arrival are control variables. Using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS), the researchers test the effect of the three predictor variables on conversion to Christianity and also conduct a multivariate analysis with all variables. The results do not offer support for what is expected by top-down and bottom-up theories of conversion but instead for the general dynamics of cultural transmission.

The authors investigate environmental reasons for cross-cultural variation in the permissibility of cousin marriages. In particular, they test whether higher levels of pathogen prevalence and geographic isolation increase the likelihood that cousin marriage will be allowed. The authors' underlying theory is that cousin marriages provide protective homozygosity against some pathogens and provide more options when mate choices are limited.

This article suggests that societies are not passive receivers of traits, but rather that diffusion is purposive, sensitive to its environmental outcomes and thus influenced by trait content. Findings support this hypothesis.

Using phylogenetic comparative methods, the study explores the evolution of kinship terminologies within 176 societies in Austronesian, Bantu, and Uto-Aztecan language families. The authors consider 18 theories in the anthropological record that suggests that change in kinship terminologies is predicted by some social structures: marriage, residence, and descent. Only 19 of the 29 statistical hypotheses are supported, while none of the theories are supported in all three language families. This statistical irregularity means that the results are lineage-specific, instead of showing a universal driver of change in kinship terminology types.

The authors investigate environmental reasons for cross-cultural variation in the permissibility of cousin marriages. In particular, they test whether higher levels of pathogen prevalence and geographic isolation increase the likelihood that cousin marriage will be allowed. The authors' underlying theory is that cousin marriages provide protective homozygosity against some pathogens and provide more options when mate choices are limited.

This book provides a summary of data available in the Ethnographic Atlas. Social, political, economic, and kinship variables are included, as well as information about religious beliefs, social restrictions, and games. Data is divided into world areas for the purposes of regional comparison.

This study retests the work by Ember, Ember and Low (2007) on male mortality and pathogen stress as predictors of nonsororal polygyny. The authors argue that the work of Ember, Ember, and Low is biased because it does not include a variable for cultural trait transmission. Restesting the original Ember, Ember and Low data, including a variable for cultural trait transmission, authors find that male mortality and pathogen stress loose their significance and cultural trait transmission is the only significant predictor of nonsororal polygyny.