Cultural Hearths are the areas where civilizations first

• Cultural Hearths are the areas where civilizations first began that radiated the ideas, innovations and ideologies that culturally transformed the world. • Early Cultural Hearths developed in Southwest Asia, North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia in the valleys and basin of great river systems. • Cultural Hearths developed much later in Central and South America, and their geography shaped cultural development not around river valleys, but around mountain ranges and central highlands.

Cultural Hearths

Cultural Diffusion • The early cultural hearths were centers for innovation and invention, and their non-material and material culture spread to areas around them through a process called cultural diffusion • Over time, as cultural hearths have shifted, cultural diffusion has spread culture traits to most parts of the globe. • This long and complicated spread of culture often makes it difficult to trace the origin, spread, and timing of a particular trait.

How does diffusion happen?

Acculturation • Acculturation – when smaller/weaker groups take on traits of the larger/dominant culture. Can be 2 way process – e. g. Aztecs acculturated into Spanish culture, but some Aztec traits remained and became Spanish culture.

Assimilation • Assimilation – the adoption of cultural elements can be so complete that two cultures become indistinguishable – e. g. – jeans being worn here in the Czech Republic

BARRIERS TO DIFFUSION • TIME and DISTANCE DECAY – farther from the source & the more time it takes, the less likely innovation adopted • CULTURAL BARRIERS – some practices, ideas, innovations are not acceptable/adoptable in a particular culture – e. g. pork, alcohol, women’s rights… • PHYSICAL BARRIERS – physical barriers on the surface may prohibit/inhibit adoption

Two Types of Diffusion • Expansion • Relocation

Expansion Diffusion • EXPANSION DIFFUSION – Spread of an innovation/idea through a population in an area in such a way that the # of those influenced grows continuously larger, resulting in an expanding area of dissemination. (de Blij/Murphy – 7 th ed. , page R-20)

Expansion Diffusion • This occurs when an idea or trait spreads from one place to another.

An example of diffusion • Mc. Donald’s spread to India; however, Indian Hindus do not eat beef. Indian Mc. Donald’s serve veggie burgers, which is culturally acceptable. The idea (Mc. Donald’s burgers) was acceptable, but not in its original form – hence stimulus diffusion.