ABSTRACT
Recent studies with primates have shown that human beings are far more prepared to learn through mimicry. Aristotle considered that cultural learning capacity together with the pleasure of mimicry were typical abilities of human kind. Such imitative abilities allow young children to participate in social cultural processes and production. During childhood, kids assimilate material and symbolic productions of their cultural communities, which will be passed on to following generation in the same way. Much of cultural learning is ensured by mimicry, which is essential in countless training and self-training processes. It also reaches the social community and cultural assets, ensuring their vitality. Imitation learning, based on body and senses, fosters the learning of images, schemes and movements from the practice domain, and it happens largely unconsciously, leading to long-lasting effects in all fields of cultural evolution.
KEYWORDS:
mimicry; cultural learning; ritual; gesture; practical knowledge