Cultural Evolution v. Cultural Diffusion Reading Guide

Read the last article in the reading packet, “Cultural Evolution Contrasts with Cultural Diffusion.” Be sure to read the introduction which is italicized on the upper left column of text.

Be able to define:

Culture

Evolutionism

Cultural diffusion

Acculturation

Cultural evolution

Hunter-gatherers

Pastoral nomadism

Subsistence agriculture

Commercial agriculture

Historical materialism

Economic determinism (we’ll clarify this in class)

Malthusian theory (we’ll clarify this in class)

Circulation

Age-area principle

Questions to guide your reading:

1.How do the theories about cultural evolution compare to those of cultural diffusion? (look at your definitions!)

2. Why does cultural evolution explain much more about human society than biological evolution?

3. How can Roman general Varro’s theory of human stages be criticized? There are two major reasons given in the reading.

4. In what way was Karl Marx an optimist in his theory of historical materialism? In what ways can his theory be criticized?

5. How can we argue that cultural diffusion now (in the 21^st Century) explains more about human society than cultural evolution??

6. How does cultural diffusion occur? Does this theory explain everything about human invention and creativity? Why or why not?