Cultural Diffusion
Social Sciences
The Cultural Diffusion
Cultural diffusion. Diffusion. It's a big word, right? We are going to eliminate the confusion about diffusion. Cultural diffusion is when a product or an idea from one culture is shared with another culture. We're going to use chickens as an example. Chickens were first domesticated in Asia, but it wasn't for food that man first team chickens. Instead, it was for sport. But then, one day, someone decided to eat the chicken. It's not really known when, but someone eventually ate cooked chicken and said, mmm, that is good.
Now, since we don't really know who ate the first chicken, we are going to pretend let's say some guy in Asia each chicken and really likes it. He eats it and goes, man, that is some good chicken. So the Asian man really likes chicken. I mean really, really, really likes chicken. He likes it so much he eats it for 20 straight days. One day he cooks chicken for his friend. And his friend goes. That is some good chicken. So his friend tells a friend who tells a friend who tells a friend, and eventually everyone in this guy's village is eating chicken. And eventually everyone in this whole culture is eating chicken because it tastes so good.
Now one day, an African trader is traveling the Silk Road to buy goods from China for his king. And he comes across people selling chicken. Selling chicken to eat. He had never seen this before, and he was unsure, but the price was cheap for the chicken, so he bought some and tried it. Could he thought to himself? So he talks to the guy selling the chicken who goes on to explain to him how to raise chickens. How to sell chickens. And then finally, how to cook chickens to eat. The guy takes all of this information with him back to Africa. He says the heck with the silk, the king's gotta know about this.
The African king, who had never had chicken to eat, was unsure about the trader's idea. So the trader made a batch of tasty chicken and when the king tried it, he thought. That is good chicken. The king like the chicken so much that he held a giant feast that featured cooked chicken. Everyone at the feast just loved the chicken. It was some of the best food they had ever had in their life. The chicken was such a success that the king went on to invest gold into raising and selling chickens, and eventually all of his kingdom was eating cooked chicken.
This story about eating cooked chicken is an example of cultural diffusion. Eating cooked chicken went from Asia over to Africa. And why? Because chicken tastes good when it's cooked.