1. Culture Hearths and Diffusion AP Human Geog. Mr. Huston
Title
The heartlands of various cultures;
From where the most dominant cultural ideas have spread

2. Culture Hearth
The place of origin of any culture group whose developed systems of livelihood and life created a distinctive cultural landscape.
Human Geography 11e

3. Multilinear Evolution
-The common characteristics of widely separated cultures developed under similar ecological circumstances
-Environmental zones tend to induce common adaptive traits in the cultures of those who exploit these areas

4. 4 River Valleys
4 River Valleys

5. The Nile River Valley…Why a “hearth”

6. The Wei-Huang Valley China…Why a hearth?

7. Wei River Valley

8. Wei River Valley

9. The Wei-Huang Valley Separates Northern and Southern China
Separates China between cold climate (north) and tropical climate (south)
Connects to the famous “Silk Road”

10. The Ganges…Why?

11. The Ganges River Valley

12. The sacred Ganges River

13. The Ganges Delta

14. Indus Valley…why?

15. Indus Valley

16. The Ganges and Indus gave us India…And eventually Pakistan and Bangladesh…

17. “Land between two rivers”

18. Mesopotamia

19. Mesopotamia

20. AKA: Asia Minor

21. Mesoamerica: Middle America…Why?...What’s different?

22. Mesoamerica

23. Climate diversity

24. West African Empires/Kingdoms

25. Cultural hearths… or where ideas begin
Such things as religion, the use of iron tools and weapons, political organization
Highly organized social systems
Development of agriculture is key…Why?

26. The Structure of Culture
Ideological Subsystem
Mentifacts
Technological Subsystem
Artifacts
Sociological Subsystem
Sociofacts
Cultural Integration
Human Geography 11e

27. From hearth to?
The spreading of ideas across time and space (obvious geography issues)
Example: Mecca is the cultural hearth for Islam and the area from which Muslims initially traveled to convert people to Islam
The spread of tools, social structures, and agriculture spread in a similar manner from cultural hearths

28. Cultural Regions
These are areas that contain dominant cultural elements
Not everyone in the culture region has the same culture traits, they are often influenced by it in some way

29. Four Components of Influence
The Core
Heart of the area
Strongly expressed cultural traits
Most heavily populated
Most famous landmarks
Core

30. The Domain Surrounds the core Has its own cultural values
Strongly influenced by the core

31. The Sphere Surrounds the domain Has its own cultural values
Strongly influenced by the Domain

32. The Outlier Surrounds the sphere Has its own cultural values
Strongly influenced by the Sphere

33. The four components of influence
Core
Domain
Sphere
Outlier

35. Expansion Diffusion
Contagious diffusion affects nearly uniformly all individuals and areas outward from the source region
Hierarchical Diffusion involves processes of transferring ideas first between larger places or prominent people, and later to smaller or less important points or people
During stimulus diffusion, a fundamental idea, not the trait itself, stimulates imitative behavior
Spread of the concept but not the specific system
Human Geography 11e

36. Culture Change Relocation Diffusion Acculturation
The idea is physically carried to new areas by migrating individuals
Acculturation
A culture is modified
Adoption of traits of another dominant group
Immigrant populations take on the values, attitudes, customs, and speech of the receiving society, which itself undergoes change from absorption of the arriving group.
Examples
Food? , Religion – Santa Ria
….Other Examples
Human Geography 11e

37. Contact between Regions
Diffusion Barriers
Any conditions that hinder either the flow of information or the movement of people and thus retard or prevent the acceptance of an innovation
Syncretism
The process of the fusion of the old and new is called syncretism and is a major feature of culture change
Human Geography 11e

38. Cultural Diffusion
Core
Diffusion
Direct
Forced
Indirect

39. Direct Diffusion
Occurs when two distinct cultures are very close together
Over time, direct contact leads to an intermingling of the cultures
Occurs through trade, intermarriage, and sometimes warfare

40. Forced Diffusion (a.k.a., expansion diffusion)
Often occurs when one culture defeats another and forces its beliefs and customs onto the conquered people
Example: Spanish forcing indigenous Americans to convert to Roman Catholicism in 16th and 17th centuries

41. Ethnocentrism
Often applied to forced diffusion because it refers to the idea of looking at the world from one’s own cultural vantage point
Belief in cultural superiority
Force your ideas on those that you conquer

42. Cultural Imperialism: actively promoting acculturation
Military/economic
force
Language
Food
Religion

43. Indirect Diffusion Ideas spread through a middleman or another culture
Example: Popularity of Italian food throughout North America

44. Forces of indirect diffusion
Mass Media
Internet
Technology

45. Modern Culture Hearths and diffusion
Cultures develop over time
New dominant areas of culture have done so as well
Example: The United States
Example: World Cities like London and Tokyo
Tokyo London

46. Direct diffusion from modern hearths
Products and people travel with ease and frequency
Physical barriers no longer hinder people’s movement and the resultant spread of cultural ideas

47. Indirect diffusion
Largest impact on the spread of ideas from places like the US
Internet
Advertising
Mass media
“Blue jeans and Coca-Cola”

48. Finally:
Cultural diffusion has happened many times throughout history and will continue to do so as new areas grow in power and pass their cultural traits to the world
Cultural Convergence
Differences between places are being reduced by improved communications leading to homogenization
Sharing of technologies so evident among widely separated societies in a modern world united by efficient communication systems

49. ????????????? What and where will be the next cultural hearth?
What ideas will be spread?
How will they be spread?
How will they be received by other cultures?