Where Were Blue Jeans Invented Timeline of the Cultural Diffusion
Diffusion is one of several transport phenomena that occur in nature. Basically, it's molecules moving through, or diffusing through the air. Diffusion is from sugar in
tea to the smell of food in your kitchen. However, diffusion does relate to history by cultural diffusion. The definition of diffusion is, according to Dictionary.com, is the
act of diffusing,
the spreading of constituents or properties by turbulent motion as well as molecular motion of the air. The definition of cultural diffusion is, according to Ask Answers, as spreading ideas from one culture to another. In Anthropology and Sociology, this term refers to the spreading out of cultural patterns from one central points. But cultural diffusion always start at the hearth. The six original culture hearths are: 1) The Nile River Valley 2) The Indus River Valley 3) The Wei-Huang Valley 4) The Ganges River Valley 5) Mesopotamia 6) Mesoamerica A map of cultural diffusion in the world. For example, Buddhism started in India(cultural hearth), but later diffused to Asia itself. According to Yahoo Answers,Buddhism spread initially through missionary efforts promoted by King Ashoka of India around the 3rd Century BCE. Under his influence, Buddhism spread into Southeast Asia in the East and as far as the Mediterranean in the West. Centuries later, Chinese travelers brought Buddhism to China via trade routes, and from there it spread to Korea and Japan. Modern travel and communication advances has helped spread Buddhism all over the world, including Europe and America.
left- Buddha right- Buddhist monks
Another example of cultural diffusion would be when the Spanish took over lands in the Americas and later forced the original inhabitants to convert to Roman
Catholicism in the 16th and 17th Centuries. The term ethnocentrism is often applied to forced diffusion because it refers to the idea of looking at the world only from
one's own cultural vantage point. As a result, people participating in this form of diffusion often believe that their cultural beliefs are superior to those of other groups
and in turn force their ideas upon those they conquer. Like pushing the Native Americans out of their land.
Modern Culture Hearths and Cultural Diffusion:
Because cultures develop over time, new dominant areas of dominant culture have done so as well. Today's modern culture hearths are places such as the United States and Tokyo and London. Areas such as these are considered modern culture hearths because of the prevalence of their cultural aspects now present throughout much of the world. Take for instance the popularity of sushi in Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, British Columbia or the presence of Starbucks in places like France, Germany, Moscow, and even in China. Left to right: New York, London, and Tokyo. Cultural diffusion is not always religion and the way modern cities look. As I mentioned above, the popularity of sushi in California is another type of diffusion. Food!! McDonald's began in Illinois, and today it serves around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. It is indirect diffusion though which has had the largest impact on the spread of ideas from places like the United States to the rest of the world. The internet and advertising through the many forms of mass media have allowed people worldwide to see what is popular in the U.S. and as a result, blue jeans and Coca-Cola products can be found even in remote Himalayan villages. However cultural diffusion occurs now or in the future, it has happened many times throughout history and will continue to do so as new areas grow in power and pass on their cultural traits to the world. The ease of travel and modern technology will only aid in speeding up the process of modern cultural diffusion. So even if the scientific form of diffusion is really a bunch of molecules and atoms, we see that cultural diffusion is the same thing only with people and our material goods. Works Cited: Google Search Google Images Ask Answers Yahoo Answers Wikipedia 
McDonald's in China, India, and Germany. 
Blue jeans and Coca- Cola
Source: https://sites.google.com/a/hsadvancement.org/diffusion-pbl/ss-component
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