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The mechanism of culture change selected for the analysis is diffusion. Diffusion, or the transfer of ideas, habits, or customs from one culture to another, leads to significant innovations when cultures converge (Haviland et al. 115). One of the crucial causes of diffusion is migration, whether free or forced. Haviland et al. acknowledge that migration, mobility in geographic space, encompassing short- or long-term change in the usual place of residence, has always had a massive effect on global social geography (342). It contributed to cultural development and change, the diffusion of ideas and innovations, and the multifaceted combination of ethnicities and cultures found in the world presently.
An example of diffusion is the expansion of agriculture in Africa; agriculture is one of the modes of subsistence. Haviland et al. argue that communities throughout the globe have constructed cultural infrastructures that are compatible with the natural resources available to them and within the constraints of their diverse environments (225). Each mode of subsistence entails not just resources but also the technology necessary to obtain and employ them efficiently. Isern and Fort state that agriculture is generally known to have expanded over most subequatorial Africa after first appearing in West Africa. Additionally, it has been argued that this diffusion occurred concurrently with the spread of Bantu languages.
Essentially, demic diffusion refers to the migration of people, while cultural diffusion is associated with the spread of culture itself. The nature of the diffusion, whether it is demic or cultural, is an essential factor to consider when analyzing the spread of languages or innovations (Isern and Fort). The movement of Bantu-speaking tribes from the Niger River Basin in West Africa to the southeast resulted in the diffusion (Haviland et al. 115). Crops that were initially cultivated in West Africa but began expanding eastward 5 000 years ago were disseminated through migration (Haviland et al. 115). Nowadays, cultures experience diffusion primarily due to migration.
For instance, there is a diffusion of Chinese and Middle Eastern Arab countries cultures. Yellinek et al. presented an example of diffusion when journalists from Egypt and Iran were invited to participate in a Chinese language beginners course arranged for roughly eighteen international journalists who routinely cover China (9). The courses goal was to introduce international journalists to Chinese culture and build friendships between the two sides and obtain basic language skills. Another example is when the first elementary school teaching Chinese was established adjacent to Cairo in 2008 (Yellinek et al. 12). This school was the first endeavor to respond to the expanding local and global demand for Chinese language education. Diffusion also happened when students from the Middle East decided to further their studies in China (Yellinek et al. 15). Thus, the exchange of students, migration and language transfer resulted in diffusion; Chinese culture has significantly affected Middle Eastern Arab countries.
In archaeology, the concepts of invention and diffusion are experiencing a renaissance. Migration and intermarriage are critical social contexts for studying diffusion or transmission (Mills 1052). Peoples movements carry with them immense reservoirs of knowledge that may be transmitted to new homes. To conclude, diffusion generates new forms of marriage, types of household, and kindship or descent practices. Based on my perspective and experience, the migration of people to the United States changed the culture by making it more diverse, open, and inclusive.
Works Cited
Haviland, William A., et al. The Essence of Anthropology. 4th ed., Cengage Learning, 2015.
Isern, Neus, and Joaquim Fort. Assessing the Importance of Cultural Diffusion in the Bantu Spread into Southeastern Africa. Plos One, vol. 14, no. 5, 2019. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215573.
Yellinek, Roie, el al. Chinese Soft Power Pipelines Diffusion (SPPD) to the Middle Eastern Arab Countries 2000-2018: A Discursive-Institutional Study. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 48, no. 5, 2020, pp. 119. doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2020.1732870.
Mills, Barbara J. Intermarriage, Technological Diffusion, and Boundary Objects in the U.S. Southwest. J Archaeol Method Theory, vol. 25, 2018, 10511086. doi.org/10.1007/s10816-018-9392-0.
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