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Accepted manuscript

Contrasting modes of cultural evolution: Kra-Dai languages and weaving technologies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2025

Christopher D. Buckley
Affiliation:
Tracing Patterns Foundation, Berkeley, CA
Emma Kopp
Affiliation:
CEREMADE, CNRS, Université Paris-Dauphine, PSL University, France
Thomas Pellard
Affiliation:
CRLAO (EHESS, CNRS, Inalco), France
Robin J. Ryder
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, london
Guillaume Jacques*
Affiliation:
CRLAO (EHESS, CNRS, Inalco), France École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL University, France
*
Corresponding author: Guillaume Jacques Email: rgyalrongskad@gmail.com

Abstract

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We investigate and compare the evolution of two aspects of culture, languages and weaving technologies, amongst the Kra-Dai (Tai-Kadai) peoples of southwest China and southeast Asia, using Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo methods to uncover phylogenies. The results show that languages and looms evolved in related but different ways, and bring some new insights into the diaspora of the Kra-Dai speakers across southeast Asia. We found that the languages and looms used by Hlai speakers of Hainan are outgroups in both linguistic and loom phylogenies, and that the looms used by speakers of closely related languages tend to belong to similar types. However, we also found discrepancies at a deep level between linguistic subgroups and loom types, in particular among widely dispersed South-Western Tai speakers, and we discuss possible reasons for this.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re- use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press