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 trends it is used interchangeably with social or sociocultural evolution”. The publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species profoundly influenced the biological and social sciences. However, 19th century evolutionary archaeologists were influenced by the unilineal evolutionary schemes of Herbert Spencer and others. Herbert Spencer embraced a teleological notion where evolution was seen as having an ultimate and definite goal. Spencerian theory incorporated a progressive, unilineal explanation of cultural evolution in which human societies were seen as progressing through a fixed set of stages, from “savagery” through “barbarism” to “civilization”. Thus, for much of the 19th century evolutionary theory