Evolution is often framed as a slow process encoded into our DNA. Yet some scientists argue we may be witnessing a shift of a different kind – one driven not by biology but by culture. This idea challenges traditional views of how our species adapts and survives.
At the University of Maine, researchers Timothy M. Waring and Zachary T. Wood believe culture is overtaking genetics as the main force of human evolution. Their work suggests that humanity may be experiencing a transition rivaling some of the greatest shifts in evolutionary history.
“We find that culture solves problems much more rapidly than genetic evolution,” said Waring. “This suggests our species is in the middle of a great evolutionary transition.”
Evolution’s new driving force
From farming methods to legal codes, cultural practices adapt far faster than biological evolution. These changes allow human groups to solve problems and adjust to environments in ways genetics cannot match.
Waring and Wood argue that this transition is not new but is accelerating and could define humanity for millennia. “Cultural evolution eats genetic evolution for breakfast,” said Wood. “It’s not even close.”
Modern life illustrates this vividly. Eyeglasses, surgery, and fertility treatments intervene in challenges once governed by natural selection. Hospitals, schools, and governments have become cultural infrastructures that determine survival more than genetic traits.
“Ask yourself this: what matters more for your personal life outcomes, the genes you are born with, or the country where you live?” Waring said.
“Today, your well-being is determined less and less by your personal biology and more and more by the cultural systems that surround you – your community, your nation, your technologies. And the importance of culture tends to grow over the long term because culture accumulates adaptive solutions more rapidly.”
Culture moves faster than DNA
Culture is not just personal; it thrives on shared practices. Evidence from history and anthropology shows that group-level cultural adaptation has long shaped humanity, from the rise of agriculture to the creation of states.
Health systems, sanitation, and education now contribute more to survival than individual intelligence or genetic luck.
The researchers suggest this reliance on shared systems means humans are evolving through culture to become more group-oriented and dependent. Our survival may hinge on cultural evolution and collective adaptation rather than individual genetic advantage.
Groups evolve beyond genetics
Evolutionary history includes dramatic reorganizations of life, like single cells forming multicellular organisms or insects becoming highly cooperative colonies. Waring and Wood argue humans could be undergoing a similar individuality transition.
“Cultural organization makes groups more cooperative and effective. And larger, more capable groups adapt – via cultural change – more rapidly,” said Waring. “It’s a mutually reinforcing system, and the data suggest it is accelerating.”
Societal complexity makes even genetic engineering possible, showing how culture controls biology itself. If this transition continues, future humans may resemble societal “super-organisms” shaped more by cultural systems than genetic evolution.
Putting culture to the test
The researchers stress that their theory is testable. They are developing mathematical models and long-term data collection to measure how quickly culture is overtaking genes. Importantly, they caution against viewing cultural evolution as inevitable progress.
“We are not suggesting that some societies, like those with more wealth or better technology, are morally ‘better’ than others,” Wood said. “Evolution can create both good solutions and brutal outcomes. We believe this might help our whole species avoid the most brutal parts.”
At the University of Maine’s Applied Cultural Evolution Laboratory, Waring’s team continues to expand this work, exploring how cultural patterns can inform humanity’s future.
Future of culture and evolution
The implications are vast. If cultural inheritance keeps dominating, human destiny may rest less on DNA and more on the resilience of our communities, technologies, and institutions.
“If cultural inheritance continues to dominate, our fates as individuals, and the future of our species, may increasingly hinge on the strength and adaptability of our societies,” Waring noted.
In this view, evolution’s future may not be written in genes but in the shared systems and stories that bind us together, shaping our communities, guiding innovation, and influencing how societies survive, grow, and adapt.
The study is published in the journal BioScience.
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