CULTR X ENSKILLMENT

One way to incorporate neurological research and cultural theory is to treat culture, not as information, but rather as skill acquisition, an approach advocated by Ingold (2000 , pp. 416 – 417; see also Marchand, 2007 , 2010 ). Skill acquisition focuses on the process of enculturation, and examines the practices, settings, and interpretations that can drive the cultural patterning of the nervous system. Reconceptualizing enculturation as “ enskillment ”links to robust findings on neural architecture and functioning among highly skilled individuals: London taxi drivers (Maguire et al., 2000); musicians ( Bengtsson, Nagy, Skare, Forsman et al., 2005 ; Gaser & Schlaug, 2003 ); jugglers ( Draganski, Gaser, Busch, Schuierer et al., 2004 ; Draganski &May, 2008 ); and second-language learners ( Golestani, Molko, Dehaene, LeBihan et al., 2007 ; Green, Crinion, &Price, 2007 ), for example. Even animal models show that tool use can affect cortical reorganization; macaques trained to use rakes to get food, for instance, evidence increasing cortex dedicated to visuo-tactile neurons ( Frey, 2007 , p. 369)