diffusionism

Smith's arguments later became known as his theory of diffusionism.

"Diffusionism needs to be taken seriously again," he said.

Diffusionism has largely fallen out of favor among most anthropologists and historians.

His theoretical approach blended together Marxism, diffusionism, and functionalism.

In part, they were influenced by the now-discredited anthropological theory of diffusionism and long-distance migration.

He remained best known for his boat-building, and for his emphasis on cultural diffusionism.

Further interests include cultural diffusionism, 18th century architecture of Scotland, archaeological methodology and museum design.

In the following years he began to propound diffusionism, the doctrine that cultural traits were not independently invented but carried from one area to another.

His turn to diffusionism, however, was generally seen as a misguided shift towards a method of interpretation that relied too heavily on conjecture.

This is the approach known as diffusionism, which remains part of the basic methodology of archaeologists and to some extent of historians.

Admitting to an open mind on diffusionism was a oneway ticket to oblivion for a mainstream archaeologist.

By the 1920s sufficient archaeological material had been excavated and studied to suggest that diffusionism was not the only mechanism through which change occurred.

It was intended to represent extremes of diffusionism, a theme popular in early 20th century archaeology that itself has been subject to criticism.

"Diffusionism".

The British school of diffusionism was an archaeological and anthropological movement which believed ancient Egypt was the source of all human culture.

Culture circles diffusionism (Kulturkreise)-the theory that cultures originated from a small number of cultures.

He was also interested in long-range cultural contacts, including trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic voyages ("Diffusionism").

"Diffusionism Reconsidered: Linguistic and Archaeological Evidence for Prehistoric Polynesian Contact with Southern California".

A significant consequence of the recognition of the antiquity of man was the greater scope for conjectural history, in particular for all aspects of diffusionism and social evolutionism.

J.M. Blaut: The Colonizer's Model of the World: Geographical Diffusionism and Eurocentric History.

"Diffusionism and Acculturation" by Gail King and Meghan Wright, Anthropological Theories, M.D. Murphy (ed.)

Another view was that social practices tend to develop only once, and that therefore commonalities and differences between societies could be explained by a historical reconstruction of the interaction between societies ('diffusionism').

History (1947) continued his belief that prehistory and literate history must be viewed together, and adopted a Marxist view of history, whilst Prehistoric Migrations (1950) displayed his views on moderate diffusionism.

DIFFUSIONISM: AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH?

Currently there is a revival in diffusionism, a popular scientific concept of the 1920s which asserted that many of the puzzling artifacts and ancient constructions found throughout the world were the products of a single worldwide culture.