Seasons Shaped Institutions, Not Genes

Using ancient genomes (AADR v66) and paleoclimate assignments (CHELSA/TraCE21k), the author tests whether cold, highly seasonal winters raised genetic proxies of cognitive ability (EA polygenic scores) and thereby produced more complex societies. The genetic association is weak and ancestry‑sensitive, while climate measures predict archaeological civilization stage even after controlling for PGS, suggesting environmental pressures shaped institutions or behaviors directly rather than primarily via selection on polygenic traits. — If true, the result shifts the conversation from hereditarian explanations toward institutional and cultural mechanisms for why some regions developed complex societies, with implications for how genetics is cited in public debates about inequality and development.