I find myself chuckling when I read stories about who was the first to “discover” this invention or that. Or when I see the bow and arrow arise on several continents that are not in touch with each other. In the social sciences, this is referred to as the problem of “geographical diffusion.” Is there […]
A Case of Geographical Diffusion?
When I studied cultural anthropology during my time at to the National Museum of Man (as it was then called), I came across a phenomenon called geographical diffusion. It attempted to account for the simultaneous appearance of an invention across cultures. I never thought I would see what looks like a case of one, much […]