Transmitted costly signaling theory (TCS): an evolutionary perspective of inequality transmission at Liangzhu culture sites, southern coastal China

Abstract Extensive studies in multiple disciplines have discussed how materials and spatial access can serve as status indicators in human societies. Scholars interested in social inequality and its mechanisms have particularly drawn attention to how inequality is transmitted between two generations. This study presents a new framework, transmitted costly signaling (TCS), which synthesizes costly signaling theory (CST) and cultural evolution theory (CET) to explore inequality transmission in human societies. Using multi-methodologies, we investigate the Neolithic Liangzhu sites in China to test two hypotheses. Firstly, we examine if jade materials and burial space served as indicators of social status. Secondly, we explore if burial practices could be learned and transmitted by the lower class, indicating inequality transmission over time. Our findings reveal that the Liangzhu people used jade and larger burial sizes as costly signals to demonstrate social status, subsequently transmitting this burial practice as an indirect cultural feature. And the early Liangzhu period exhibited relative equality, followed by a middle period characterized by social hierarchy, and eventually, a decline in hierarchical society during the late Liangzhu. This research highlights the compatibility of TCS with biased transmission of cultural traits, particularly when social status is chosen as the demonstrator trait. By analyzing materials, spatial access, and social status, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of inequality transmission across generations in prehistorical societies.