Shifting balance theory Shifting balance theory The shifting balance theory is a theory of evolution proposed in 1932 by Sewall Wright, suggesting that adaptive evolution may proceed most quickly when a population divides into subpopulations with restricted gene flow. The name of the theory is borrowed from Wright's metaphor of fitness landscapes (evolutionary landscapes), attempting to explain how a population may move across an adaptive valley to a higher adaptive peak. According to the theory, this movement occurs in three steps: Although shifting balance theory has been influential in evolutionary biology, inspiring the theories of quantum evolution and punctuated equilibrium, little empirical evidence
Evolutionary archaeology an evolutionary framework. Mesoudi et al. (2004), argues that Darwinian theory became successful without the knowledge of Mendelian inheritance, therefore cultural evolution does not have to rely on memes or “or particulate cultural transmission, a topical issue but one of great contention”. Evolutionary Archaeology is based on the notion that claims culture exhibits key Darwinian evolutionary properties. Therefore, on this basis, EA should follow the same, methods, and approaches that are used to study biological evolution and by doing so it can productively be applied to the study of human culture. By incorporating a comparison with the biological sciences, EA