Core ideas
CultureCultural LandscapeIdentityDiffusionLanguageReligionGlobalization
High-priority distinctions
- Relocation diffusion: people move and carry a cultural trait.
- Contagious diffusion: rapid person-to-person spread across space.
- Hierarchical diffusion: spread through influential people, institutions, or major places.
- Stimulus diffusion: the underlying idea spreads but is adapted.
- Assimilation, acculturation, and syncretism: different degrees and forms of cultural change.
Apply it
Name the diffusion process only after identifying the mechanism. A strong explanation links transportation, migration, media, trade, power, or communication networks to the observed cultural pattern.