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| Anthropology and Social Sciences Edit In anthropology,
diffusion theories explain why cultures imitate the ideas or
practices of other cultures. Some theories hold that all
cultures imitate ideas from one or a few original cultures, the
Adam of the Bible, or several cultural circles that overlap.
Evolutionary diffusion theory holds that cultures are influenced
by one another, but that similar ideas can be developed in
isolation. It has been argued by Susan Blackmore in The Meme
Machine, that imitation is what makes humans unique among
animals.[How to reference and link to summary or text] Imitation
might have been selected as fit by evolution because those who
were good at it had a wider arsenal of learned cultural behavior
at their disposal, such as tool making or even language.[How to
reference and link to summary or text] In the mid-20th century,
social scientists began to study how