For decades, social singing and dance have been regarded as intrinsic elements of the human experience, presumed deeply embedded within our biological makeup. Ethnomusicological and cross-cultural studies have reinforced this belief by documenting the near-universal presence of these practices across global societies. However, groundbreaking research from the University of California, Davis, now challenges this long-held assumption, revealing that dance and infant-directed song—commonly thought to be universal—may in fact be culturally contingent rather than biologically predetermined behaviors.
This eye-opening investigation centers on the Northern Aché, an Indigenous population residing in Paraguay, whose cultural practices have been meticulously documented over a span of more than four decades. Published in the latest issue of Current Biology, the study draws upon 43 years of ethnographic fieldwork, primarily led by Arizona State University anthropologist Kim Hill. Hill’s extensive immersion within Northern Aché communities has unveiled a striking absence of two cultural forms widely accepted as ubiquitous: dancing and lullabies.
The authors report that, aside from religious singing introduced comparatively recently by missionaries, Northern Aché adults engage in song seldom, and exclusively in solitary contexts. Rather than communal or ritualistic group singing often observed in other societies, the Aché’s vocal expressions are predominantly individual endeavors. Men, who sing more frequently than women, focus their songs on themes of hunting, interspersed with occasional commentary on social events or conflicts. Women’s songs typically reflect remembrances of deceased relatives. Notably, no evidence was found of infant-directed singing, commonly understood as lullabies, within this population.
The conspicuous absence of dancing is equally perplexing. Despite the pervasiveness of dance in cultural rituals and social gatherings worldwide, Northern Aché communities exhibit no traditional dancing practices, either in celebratory or daily contexts. This discovery directly confronts entrenched anthropological theories which hold dance and infant-directed song as universal cultural expressions linked to human evolutionary biology.
To appreciate the significance of these findings, it is essential to contextualize the ethnographic methodology underpinning them. Over multiple decades, Hill invested upwards of 120 months living among the Northern Aché, combining participant observation, interviews, and detailed ethnographic documentation. These efforts offer one of the most comprehensive portraits of a relatively isolated human population, providing robust data on cultural trajectories, including musical and performative traditions.
The study provocatively suggests that behaviors such as dance and lullabies may not arise spontaneously or genetically encoded but rather require social invention, refinement, and intergenerational transmission. The hypothesis posits that these practices, much like other learned cultural skills, are vulnerable to loss when transmission chains are disrupted, whether due to demographic shifts, migration, or external influences such as forced relocation onto reservations.
Indeed, the Northern Aché’s history of population decline, coupled with cultural upheavals from settlement on reservations and missionary contact, offers plausible explanations for the erosion of these practices. Researchers propose that alongside the disappearance of dance and infant-directed song, other cultural traditions such as shamanism, horticulture, and fire-making skills diminished during periods of severe population bottlenecks.
Interestingly, the findings reveal that while lullabies are absent, Northern Aché parents do employ other forms of infant soothing, including playful vocalizations, facial expressions, and laughter. This behavioral adaptation underlines that the function of calming infants persists, even if the culturally specific medium of infant-directed song does not. Such nuances underscore the distinction between innate caregiving behaviors and culturally elaborated expressions.
This research inevitably compels a reassessment of evolutionary interpretations of music origins. Where previous models have leaned heavily on presumed universality as evidence for genetic adaptation, the Northern Aché case demonstrates a more complex interplay wherein cultural transmission exerts a potent influence. Assistant Professor Manvir Singh, a lead author on the study, acknowledges that while genetic predispositions toward music-related behaviors could exist, cultural continuity is pivotal for their persistence within populations.
Furthermore, the role of cultural loss highlighted by this work resonates with broader anthropological concerns regarding the impact of colonialism and globalization on indigenous cultural practices. The disappearance of dance, infant-directed song, and associated rituals within the Northern Aché not only reflects changes driven by demographic crises but also illustrates how cultural ecosystems are fragile and susceptible to external pressures.
The research team emphasizes that these findings do not invalidate the extensive literature supporting the human capacity for music and dance. Instead, they advocate for a more nuanced framework that integrates biology with cultural ecology, acknowledging that learned behaviors require active maintenance and can be lost or reinvented across time and societies.
The implication extends beyond scholarship, nudging ethnographers, psychologists, and evolutionary theorists to reconsider assumptions about what constitutes a “natural” human behavior. The Northern Aché case urges caution in generalizing universal cultural traits without accounting for variability introduced through cultural history, environmental context, and social dynamics.
This study opens fertile ground for future research, inviting comparative analyses across other indigenous groups and longitudinal studies tracking cultural change in real-time. Understanding the mechanisms through which dance and lullabies are invented, transmitted, or lost can illuminate fundamental questions about human cultural evolution, creativity, and resilience.
By revealing the absence and possible loss of dance and infant-directed song within a well-studied population, this work profoundly challenges how anthropologists interpret cultural universals. It suggests that, like complex technologies, these expressive forms are crafted and maintained through collective human endeavor rather than simply unfolding from innate evolutionary mechanisms.
Ultimately, this research enriches our conception of human cultural diversity, demonstrating that even the most seemingly ingrained traditions depend on cultural memory and social learning. It underscores the delicate balance between biology and culture in shaping what we broadly term human nature.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Loss of dance and infant-directed song among the Northern Aché
News Publication Date: 29-Apr-2025
Web References: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.018
References: Singh M., Hill K., et al. (2025). Loss of dance and infant-directed song among the Northern Aché. Current Biology.
Image Credits: Not provided
Keywords: Cultural anthropology, Cultural adaptation, Cultural evolution, Cultural practices
