For analytical purposes it is convenient to recognize subsystems of culture and their identifying components: the and subsystems are associated with respective ideological, technological, sociological sets of mentifacts, artifacts, and sociofacts. The subsystems do not stand alone; they are united into coherent integrated cultural wholes. Cultural integration implies the interlocking nature of all aspects of a culture. Innovation is cultural change initiated within the social group itself. Resistance to useful innovation is termed cultural lag. Spatial diffusion is the process by which ideas or innovations are transmitted between groups across space. Such spread may take the form of relocation or expansion diffusion. The latter type may further be subdivided into distinctive forms of contagious and hierarchical diffusion. Stimulus diffusion implies imitative response to a new idea by a receptive population not able to fully adopt the specific trait itself. is exhibited when a culture group adopts characteristics of another, dominant group. Acculturation Diffusion can be accelerated and facilitated by improvements in transportation and communication and by the intermixing of peoples and cultures. It can be limited and inhibited by diffusion barriers that may be physical or cultural in nature. The existence of similar behaviors and ideas in numerous societies despite diffusion barriers creates the possibility of multilinear evolution. Expanded Key Words List absorbing barrier diffusion Jared Diamond acculturation diffusion barrier mentifact diffusionism Mesolithic artifact distance decay multilinear evolution Neolithic Carl Sauer Paleolithic carrying capacity domestication parallel invention permeable barrier civilization environmental Pleistocene overkill determinism possibilism contagious diffusion environmental stress radio carbon dating cultural convergence expansion diffusion relocation diffusion cultural divergence friction of distance reverse hierarchal diffusion cultural ecology glaciation savanna cultural integration globalization sociofact cultural lag hierarchical diffusion sociological subsystem cultural landscape hunter-gatherer space time compression culture ideological subsystem steppe culture complex independent invention stimulus diffusion culture hearth Industrial Revolution syncretism culture realm innovation technological subsystem cultural divergence culture region interrupting barrier transculturation culture trait invention tundra
For analytical purposes it is convenient to recognize subsystems of culture and their identifying components: the ideological, technological, and sociological subsystems are associated with respective sets of mentifacts, artifacts, and sociofacts. The subsystems do not stand alone; they are united into coherent integrated cultural wholes. Cultural integration implies the interlocking nature of all aspects of a culture. Innovation is cultural change initiated within the social group itself. Resistance to useful innovation is termed cultural lag. Spatial diffusion is the process by which ideas or innovations are transmitted between groups across space. Such spread may take the form of relocation or expansion diffusion. The latter type may further be subdivided into distinctive forms of contagious and hierarchical diffusion. Stimulus diffusion implies imitative response to a new idea by a receptive population not able to fully adopt the specific trait itself. Acculturation is exhibited when a culture group adopts characteristics of another, dominant group. Diffusion can be accelerated and facilitated by improvements in transportation and communication and by the intermixing of peoples and cultures. It can be limited and inhibited by diffusion barriers that may be physical or cultural in nature. The existence of similar behaviors and ideas in numerous societies despite diffusion barriers creates the possibility of multilinear evolution. Expanded Key Words List absorbing barrier acculturation artifact Carl Sauer carrying capacity civilization contagious diffusion cultural convergence cultural divergence cultural ecology cultural integration cultural lag cultural landscape culture culture complex culture hearth culture realm culture region culture trait diffusion diffusion barrier diffusionism distance decay domestication environmental determinism environmental stress expansion diffusion friction of distance glaciation globalization hierarchical diffusion hunter-gatherer ideological subsystem independent invention Industrial Revolution innovation cultural divergence interrupting barrier invention Jared Diamond mentifact Mesolithic multilinear evolution Neolithic Paleolithic parallel invention permeable barrier Pleistocene overkill possibilism radio carbon dating relocation diffusion reverse hierarchal diffusion savanna sociofact sociological subsystem space time compression steppe stimulus diffusion syncretism technological subsystem transculturation tundra