Adaptation and Cultural Diffusion

Abstract

Adaptation, a concept of increasing interest to cultural geographers, plays an important role in shaping patterns of cultural diffusion. In particular, selection processes test an innovation' s suitability at each new place it enters and help shape the final diffusion pattern. Assessments of suitability by potential adopters control the local acceptance, rejection, or modification of the diffusing innovation, yet these effects have typically been ignored in diffusion research. The systematic inclusion of adaptation concepts in studies of diffusion increases our understanding of the process and improves our explanations of its effects and patterns.

Key Words:

• cultural diffusion
• adaptation
• selection
• diffusion niche