VI. Cultural Diffusion and Change

All cultural traits change over time In general, for a new cultural trait to be adopted by a culture, it must offer some benefit or improvement over an existing trait.

A. How Cultural Traits Spread Cultural hearth – a place where cultural traits develop Traits from cultural hearths spread to surrounding cultures and regions. Customs and ideas can spread in many ways, including settlement, trade, migration, and communication.

Cultural Diffusion – the spread of cultural traits from one culture to another for example, Spanish explorers and settlers brought horses to the Americas. Many native peoples saw the advantages of using horses for moving quickly and for hunting Horses soon became an important part of Native American culture.

Culture traits can also spread through trade traders often move among different cultures As they travel, they carry their own cultures with them and expose them to other cultures Examples include religion and food

If people find that a new culture benefits them in some way, they may decide to adopt parts of that culture. This usually happens if new cultural traits improve someone’s life.

In a similar way, migrants spread cultural traits. Migrants bring cultural traditions with them to their new homelands. The best example of this is the United States. We have become a melting pot of different cultures because of all the immigrants who have come to our country.

Immigrants brought with them foods, language, music, ideas, and other cultural traits. Many of these new cultural traits became part of American culture.

B. Technology and Culture Technology also helps spread culture. For example, the internet has made instant communication common. Today, we can easily find out thing about another culture by using an internet search. If we like certain cultures that we see online, we may adopt them and make them part of our culture.

Also, technologies such as rapid transportation have made it easier for people to move around the world. As people travel, they share their culture with other people.

Cultural change has both benefits and drawbacks. If customs change too quickly, people may feel their culture is threatened. Some people fear that global communication is making people too much alike, eliminating diversity.

Diversity – another word for cultural variety