Cultural
Change
Culture Regions
• Includes diff. countries that share common
traits like…?
– Economic systems
– Forms of govn’t.
– Social groups
– History
– Religion
Cultural Change
• New ideas, lifestyles, and inventions 
Δ w/in cultures (internal Δs)
• Δ also comes from external influences
– Trade, migration, war
This is called cultural/spatial diffusion
Cultural Change
• Cultural Divergence
– Occurs when diff. cultural influences cause an
area to divide into separate parts
• Eastern vs. Western Roman Empires
• Ancient India  India & Pakistan
• Cultural Convergence
– Occurs when diff. cultures x∆ ideas and become
more similar
– More common now with globalization
1) Agricultural/Neolithic Revolution
• Earliest humans were nomads= hunters and
gatherers (no fixed home)
• Then they settled in river valleys and plains
 began farming & had permanent home
• This shift then spread throughout the world’s
regions
2) Civilizations
• By 3500 B.C., the farming villages then
shifted into civilizations…
– Highly organized
– City-based
– Advanced farming, trade, govn’t, art & science
innovations
• But how did this way of life spread?...
Culture Hearths
• Early centers of civilization
• Ideas & practices spread out from these first
as nomads passed thru
• Where were the most influential culture
hearths?
Culture Hearths
• What did those 5 places have in
common?
– Fertile land from river valleys/water sources
– Made canals/ditches to irrigate land
Allowed ppl to grow surplus crops…
3) Specialization
• Surplus food allowed fewer ppl to farm 
develop new jobs
– Metalworking & shipbuilding  more trade
• More trade led to more cities
• Now need complex govn’t
– Coordinate harvests, plan projects, manage army
• Able to create writing systems  share info.
Cultural Contacts
• Civilizations affect each other when
permanent migration occurs
– Why do ppl migrate?
• By CHOICE- for better education, jobs, more $
• By RELUCTANCE- harsh govn’t, wars, persecution,
famines
• By FORCE- slavery, exiled
– Practices & ideas then blend with one another
4) Industrial Revolution
• In 1700s, after centuries of cultural
diffusion, countries began to industrialize
– Used power-driven machines & factories 
economy boost
• Faster and cheaper production
• Less labor (cost)
– Ppl moved from farms to cities (term?)
5) Information Revolution
• At the end of 1900s: computers brought
a turning point
– Able to store huge amts. of info and share
it all over world instantly this links the
cultures even more closely & quickly