Early Culture Hearth Locations

The heartlands of various cultures;From where the most dominant cultural ideas have spreadCulture Hearths and DiffusionAP Human Geog.Mr. HustonTitle1Human Geography 11eCulture HearthThe place of origin of any culture group whose developed systems of livelihood and life created a distinctive cultural landscape.

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 areas4 River Valleys

4 River Valleys4The Nile River ValleyWhy a hearth

Nile5The Wei-Huang Valley ChinaWhy a hearth?

Wei-Huang6Wei River Valley

7Wei River Valley

The Wei-Huang ValleySeparates Northern and Southern ChinaSeparates China between cold climate (north) and tropical climate (south)Connects to the famous Silk RoadThe GangesWhy?

The Ganges River Valley

The sacred Ganges River

The Ganges Delta

Indus Valleywhy?

Indus Valley

The Ganges and Indus gave us IndiaAnd eventually Pakistan and Bangladesh

Land between two rivers

Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia

AKA: Asia Minor

Mesoamerica: Middle AmericaWhy?...Whats different?

Mesoamerica

Climate diversity

West African Empires/Kingdoms

Cultural hearths or where ideas beginSuch things as religion, the use of iron tools and weapons, political organizationHighly organized social systemsDevelopment of agriculture is keyWhy?

Human Geography 11eThe Structure of CultureIdeological SubsystemMentifactsTechnological SubsystemArtifactsSociological SubsystemSociofactsCultural IntegrationFrom 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 IslamThe spread of tools, social structures, and agriculture spread in a similar manner from cultural hearthsCultural RegionsThese are areas that contain dominant cultural elementsNot everyone in the culture region has the same culture traits, they are often influenced by it in some wayFour Components of InfluenceThe CoreHeart of the areaStrongly expressed cultural traitsMost heavily populatedMost famous landmarks

The DomainSurrounds the coreHas its own cultural valuesStrongly influenced by the coreThe SphereSurrounds the domainHas its own cultural valuesStrongly influenced by the DomainThe OutlierSurrounds the sphereHas its own cultural valuesStrongly influenced by the SphereThe four components of influence

Human Geography 11eExpansion DiffusionContagious 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 behaviorSpread of the concept but not the specific system

Human Geography 11eCulture ChangeRelocation DiffusionThe idea is physically carried to new areas by migrating individuals

Acculturation A culture is modifiedAdoption of traits of another dominant groupImmigrant populations take on the values, attitudes, customs, and speech of the receiving society, which itself undergoes change from absorption of the arriving group.ExamplesFood? , Religion Santa Ria.Other Examples

Human Geography 11eContact between RegionsDiffusion BarriersAny conditions that hinder either the flow of information or the movement of people and thus retard or prevent the acceptance of an innovationSyncretismThe process of the fusion of the old and new is called syncretism and is a major feature of culture change

Cultural DiffusionDirect DiffusionOccurs when two distinct cultures are very close togetherOver time, direct contact leads to an intermingling of the culturesOccurs through trade, intermarriage, and sometimes warfareForced Diffusion (a.k.a., expansion diffusion)Often occurs when one culture defeats another and forces its beliefs and customs onto the conquered peopleExample: Spanish forcing indigenous Americans to convert to Roman Catholicism in 16th and 17th centuriesEthnocentrismOften applied to forced diffusion because it refers to the idea of looking at the world from ones own cultural vantage point

Belief in cultural superiorityForce your ideas on those that you conquerCultural Imperialism: actively promoting acculturationIndirect DiffusionIdeas spread through a middleman or another cultureExample: Popularity of Italian food throughout North AmericaForces of indirect diffusionModern Culture Hearths and diffusionCultures develop over timeNew dominant areas of culture have done so as wellExample: The United StatesExample: World Cities like London and TokyoTokyo LondonDirect diffusion from modern hearthsProducts and people travel with ease and frequencyPhysical barriers no longer hinder peoples movement and the resultant spread of cultural ideas

Indirect diffusion Largest impact on the spread of ideas from places like the USInternetAdvertisingMass mediaBlue jeans and Coca-ColaFinally: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 ConvergenceDifferences between places are being reduced by improved communications leading to homogenizationSharing of technologies so evident among widely separated societies in a modern world united by efficient communication systems

?????????????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?