DIFFUSIONISTIC APPROACH

DIFFUSIONISTIC APPROACH

v  Diffusionism refers to the diffusion or transmission of cultural characteristics or traits from the common society to all other societies.

v  A thought that most cultural similarities are the result of diffusion. 

    Certain similar practices, inventions etc, that exists among different cultures or peoples are solely or primarily the result of diffusion as opposed to independent discovery or development.

P     Previously the theory of cultural evolution dominated the study of culture.

It was not until the validity of this theory came to be examined that the significance of the mechanism of diffusion who fully recognized and its implication explored.

 Three schools have made diffusion basic to their formulation and study of cultural history or cultural dynamics or both.

 ENGLISH DIFFUSIONIST SCHOOL

 The school's founder, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith, was a renowned anatomist whose research on the brains of Egyptian mummies was exceptional and deserving of praise.

 He visited Egypt, where he was influenced by the excellence of Egyptian civilisation.

 Much of the argument of Elliot Smith and Perry depends on interpretation of data after a manner that may be exemplified by citing the instance of pyramid.

 He started to see how many aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization appeared to be shared by cultures in other regions of the world.

 The notion that the king is descended from the sun is one of the characteristics said to have originated and spread from Egypt, according to W.J. Perry's book "THE CHILDREN OF SUN." Other characteristics included mummification, the construction of pyramids, and a high regard for precious metals like gold and pearls.

 When is a pyramid in the Egyptian sense truly a pyramid?

 Is a pyramid used as a structure on which to place a temple as the Mexican pyramids were a cultural fact identical with a pyramid shaped structure reared as a monument to a dead king and designed to contain his body for eternity?

 Once a common origin for all pyramids is postulated, the hypothesis is maintained to hold true in an increasing number of iffy situations. 

It is believed that the earthen mounds of the Ohio Valley and the stone platforms of Polynesia are remnant or peripheral forms of pyramids. 

Other aspects of Egyptian civilisation are interpreted in a manner similar to this. According to Elliot Smith, the use of a deceased African king's thighbone in rituals is a propagation of Egyptian mummification.

Any large single-stone monument is a type of megalithic monument that came from the same source.

GERMAN AUSTRALIAN ‘CULTURAL HISTORICAL SCHOOL (THE KULTURKREISE SCHOOL)

German Australian schools are regarded as having better outlooks, methodological techniques, and philosophies than their British counterparts.

This school accepts the notion of cultural diffusion and evolutionary theories.

They held the belief that various cultural complexes developed independently or autonomously in various regions of the world before imitating or migrating to other locations.

German schools believed that innovations and discoveries were ongoing processes. Discoveries can happen in several locations and by multiple generations. They embraced the theories of diffusion and evolution for the expansion and development of culture.

Frederich Ratzel agreed to the criteria of form theory. He concluded from it that borrowing must have occurred in certain communities, leading to similarity in cultural features. He noted that the cross section of the African bow shaft, the speeding up of the bow strings, and the feathering of the arrows were quite similar to those of Indonesia after applying this theory to African bow and arrow.

Frietz Graebner: In relation to the "culture circle" or "culture district" and the "culture strata," he proposed two fundamental rules:

CRITERION OF FORM, as defined by Graebner, or CRITERION OF QUALITY, as defined by Schimdt. It asserts that similarities between two cultural aspects that do not originate naturally from nature, material purpose of features or things, should be viewed as the outcome of diffusion, regardless of the distance between the two occurrences.

CRITERION OF QUANTITY: argues that the likelihood of a historical association between two things grows as the number of additional items exhibiting similarities increases, implying that several parallels indicate more than a single one.

Graebner reconstructed six phases of cultural evolution, which are as follows:

1.        Tasmanian culture (the earliest one)

2.        Australian Boomerang culture

3.        Totemic hunter culture

4.        Two class horticulturist culture

5.        Melanesian bow culture

6.        Polynesian patrilineal culture

W. Schmidt: he referred to himself a Graebner disciple. They both used the criterion of form or quality and the criterion of quantity to divide the world's culture into distinct strata and circles.

LIMITATION OF THEORY : It did not seek to derive conclusions regarding the mechanics of cultural change.

AMERICAN SCHOOL

Clark Wissler and L. Kroeber proposed it.

BIRTH AND DEATH OF CIVILIZATION was given by Kroeber.

He used the notion of diffusion to illustrate his theory of civilization's growth and decline.

When the climax point becomes hostile to entering qualities, the wheel of progress comes to a halt. As a result, civilization declines and open culture surpasses the original civilisatioN

 interested in macro changes, did not employ culture, but rather notions about the development and fall of civilizations.

He stated that civilisation is a cultural complex that originates by borrowing from others, borrowed elements that are refined, systematized, and transmitted so that they establish a chain of culture that evolves into civilization and so achieves the end stage termed cultural complex.  

Historical background:

Influenced by museum methodology of Germane- classified cultural elements from the same geographic region together, from here the concept of culture are (space) came into being. 

 Influenced by German school of diffusionism, link between German and American school by Franz Boas.

 Franz Boas, student of Clark Wissler an American museum curator advice on display of exhibit of American Indians in the museum both against the three stage classification of L.H. Morgan 

Premises:

Concept of age area (time)- 

The feature was discovered in a larger region than it has previously disseminated. 

Less dispersion means the element is newer.

Traits spread not just inside an area, but also from one culture area (space) to another. Traits spread centrifugally.

Center of origin: the location where all cultural features are most often found.

Cultural area: a geographical zone including a number of groups that have cultural similarities when they are gathered together.

Cultural center: Politically or socially control the entire area, i.e. economy, politics, and religion.

Cultural area construction: For example, 300 American Indian tribes in America reside in a certain ecozone. 

Typology of Diffusion:

Natural diffusion: give rise to adaptation

 Natural diffusion: long process diffuses slowly no cultural imposition e.g. Maize culture in U.S borrowed from Mexico.

 Organized diffusion: quickly transmitted by organized agencies e.g. military imposition on colony

 Give rise to rejection 

LIMITATION:

 

v  Concept of age area becomes irrelevant today because advance means of transport and communication

v  Concept of culture area as static: not have vast historical depth and too narrow because area constructed on the basis of food.

v  Uncertain if culture area is constructed on a wider region- Wissler was aware of shortcoming.




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