Analysing Cultural Diffusion In Archeological Research

The process of social change is observable through the sharing of cultural elements that are spread within and between different societies. These cultural elements such as ideas, values, symbols, behaviours, language, technology and systems are spread through diffusion, where cultural elements are observable due to social contact and interaction (Shao, 2019). Evidence of these interactions can appear in the archaeological record in the form of artefact exchanges, but can also be identified through an understanding of the process of social change operating throughout societies (Herskovitz, 2019). This essay will first explore the idea that the exchange of artefacts isn’t the only means of detecting interactions between societies in the archaeological record by discussing the observable relationship between cultural diffusion as a means of social change that reflects the interaction of societies in the archaeological record (Shao, 2019). This will be reinforced by theorists Franz Boas and Vere Gordon Childe and use evidence such as artifact assemblages, settlement patterns, and art styles to thoroughly explore the idea that the exchange of artefacts between people is not the only evidence of interaction that can be detected in the archaeological record.

Cultural diffusion is the social transformative process which shows how different cultural components are transferred from one society to another. When interactions between societies occur, the exchange of knowledge, practices, behaviours and belief systems can be seen in their influence of change on society (Crossman, 2019). This is true regarding ‘cultural hearths’, where dominant cultural ideas have been established, developed and spread across demographic, geographic, and social contexts (Muscato, 2019). In antiquity, these hearths included the Nile River Valley, the Indus River Valley, Mesopotamia, and West Africa. From these societies, modern ideas such as writing, systems of law, architecture, agriculture and social codes are thought to be initially created. Although evidence of this can be seen in the trade of artefacts, the adoption of the foreign and uniquely specific social rules and beliefs of practices that had been newly introduced is also observable in the archaeological record (Herskovitz, 2019). For instance, maritime migration in human history on the eastern margins of the pacific ocean, such as Hawai’i, New Zealand, Easter Island is examinable with the use of modern-day technology. Using the trace element and isotope chemistry of stone adze recovered from the Tuamotu Archipelago, it’s been identified that they are unlike any in central Polynesia but are similar to the Kaho’olawe Island. This supports the premise of post-colonization voyaging which must have been common enough for voyaging knowledge to be passed across generations long after most voyaging practices had ceased in Eastern Polynesia. This finding is an example of direct diffusion, the hypothesis that change due to interaction has occurred because two distinct cultures are in a close geographical context (Muscato, 2019). Cultural diffusion can also be seen in the integration and overlap of religious principles over a cultural context (Shao, 2019). Such is the premise of the Great Goddess Hypothesis, where various archaeological remains of goddess figurines found in Greek paganism are thought to be representations of a singular goddess worshipped throughout prehistory (Herskovitz, 2019). This reflects the religion of the ancient peoples of Anatolia and Mesopotamia, which influenced the Greek conception of a singular ‘great goddess’ through cultural interaction. This overlap of religious conceptions infers an interrelated relationship between the two cultures that extends past a trade-based relationship (Brami, 2019).

The influence of cultures upon each other can also be seen in the stylistic changes to their unique art forms. The more distinctive the art styles within the cultures, the easier their influences upon each other are to identify. In this respect, objects can be used as markers to discern a chronological cultural sequence – seriation (Schachermeyr, 1989). This is true for the Olmec civilization, the earliest known culture in Mesoamerica. Archaeologists have long theorised the importance of the Olmec to surrounding cultures on the coast, such as Veracruz (Garbe, 2019). By using environmental analysis left behind in the archaeological record, archaeologists have found it highly probable that there was an intensive cultural flow between the Gulf of Mexico, the southern Pacific Coast of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador (Garbe, 2019). This was due to the high accessibility of the cultures to each other, with lowland tropical rainforest, and savanna (Bitto, 2019). This was reinforced by boulder sculptures found at Monte Alto which were distinctive to the Olmec civilization. The Olmec borrowed heavily from the cultures of the Shang and Chou Dynasty of China, which was understood by the stylized, refined and developed Olmec art motifs. When seriated, they were correlated with those of the Shang and Chou China . That the Olmec culture possessed extensively stylized and highly complicated motifs and motif-combinations unique only to the Olmec and the ancient Chinese, supports the hypothesis of cultural learning between the two cultures (Garbe, 2019). This can be seen in the chronological cultural sequence formed in the art styles in the archaeological record, as well as environmental archaeological evidence such as faunal analysis and soil sampling (Villajos, 2019).

Expansion diffusion is another means of identifying and understanding cultural interactions that extend past ones based solely on trade or commerce (Shao, 2019). An example of this is the link academics have established between ancient Thera and Minoan Crete, as there is ample evidence to suggest that Thera was a Minoan colony. Similarities in the language (both with the isolated use of Linear A) can be seen in the archaeological record in physical evidence such as the Phaistos Disk, tablets and frescos where writing appears. Specific architectural parallels such as lustral basins, fresco decorations and ashlar masonry exteriors point at shared influence. This applies to clothing similarities too. These include the isolated use of double aprons, open bosses, layered skirts, armbands, and distinctive hairstyles, such as those seen in the ‘blue ladies’ Villa Terra Creta fresco also indicate an Aegean monoculture between the two societies that aren’t seen anywhere else . These physical remains reflect a singular core (Crete) with an outlying periphery (Thera) that through power and authority create a set of shared beliefs based off of a main colonial body (Hardy, 1990). Another example of this in the archaeological record is the rise of Roman Catholic churches appearing in the Americas, accompanied by Roman Catholic religious texts and iconography such as crucifixes and images of Mary (Mahoney, 2019). The assimilation of indigenous people through forced conversions can also be seen in written records of the occupation. There are numerous narratives of the events by Spanish conquerors, indigenous allies, and the Aztecs. These include lengthy accounts from the indigenous viewpoint by Franciscan Bernardino de Sahagún and Dominican Diego Durán, using indigenous oral histories. Some Spanish accounts were written by Hernán Cortés and the Tlaxcalans wrote about their role assisting the Spanish Crown. This came from the imperialistic endeavours of the Spaniards, which forced Roman Catholicism through force in the 16th and 17 centuries (Mahoney, 2019). With increasing archaeological remains of colonial forces spreading their unique belief systems, and cultures assimilating due to power or control, archaeologists can understand the interactions of these cultures with each other and even the dynamics in which they occurred (Herskovitz, 2019).

Through different investigative methods such as environmental archaeology, analysis of written histories, cultural seriation, and artistic analysis, archaeologists can better understand the interactions of different cultures that surpass trade links. The archaeological record holds a grand body of physical archaeological evidence, that when thoroughly assessed, can help to understand not only who was interacting, by the specific dynamics of cultural, social, and geographic relationships. This includes the intricacies of cultural diffusion, direct diffusion and expansion diffusion, which helps understand the specifics of human interactions. Through these investigative archaeological methods, it becomes clear that the exchange of artefacts between people is not the only evidence of interaction that can be detected in the archaeological record.