Types of Cultural Change

Why This Matters

Cultural change is at the heart of what anthropologists study—it's the engine that drives human societies to transform, adapt, and sometimes resist external pressures. You're being tested on your ability to recognize how and why cultures shift over time, whether through contact with other groups, internal creativity, or large-scale structural forces like colonialism and globalization. These concepts appear repeatedly in exam questions because they help explain everything from language loss to religious syncretism to the spread of technology across continents.

Don't just memorize definitions—know what mechanism each type of change represents. Is it change through contact? Through internal creativity? Through power imbalances? Understanding the underlying process will help you compare cases, analyze ethnographic examples, and tackle FRQs that ask you to explain why a particular cultural transformation occurred. The categories below are organized by the direction and nature of change, which is exactly how exam questions will frame these concepts.

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Change Through Cultural Contact

When cultures meet, exchange happens—but the nature of that exchange depends on power dynamics, duration of contact, and the specific elements being shared. Contact-driven change ranges from selective borrowing to complete cultural transformation.

Diffusion

• The spread of cultural elements between societies—this is the most basic mechanism of contact-driven change and includes everything from agricultural techniques to musical styles
• Can be direct or indirect; direct diffusion occurs through firsthand contact, while indirect diffusion passes through intermediary cultures (think of how Buddhism spread along trade routes)
• Selective adoption means societies typically borrow what fits their existing needs—technology and food spread faster than deep-rooted beliefs or kinship systems

Acculturation

• Mutual cultural change when groups maintain prolonged contact—both cultures shift, though often unequally depending on power dynamics
• Involves exchange of language, customs, and beliefs while groups retain distinct identities; this is different from assimilation because original cultures persist
• Common in migration and borderland contexts where daily interaction creates ongoing negotiation between cultural systems

Assimilation

• Absorption into a dominant culture with loss of original identity—this represents the most complete form of contact-driven change
• Can be voluntary or coerced; policies like residential schools or forced language adoption represent structural assimilation imposed through institutional power
• Results in cultural homogenization and raises critical questions about agency, resistance, and what gets lost when diversity diminishes

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Change Through Power and Domination

Not all cultural change happens through equal exchange. When power asymmetries shape contact, the resulting transformations often involve imposition, suppression, and long-term structural effects.

Colonization

• Establishment of foreign control over territory and people—involves systematic imposition of the colonizer's language, religion, governance, and economic systems
• Suppression of indigenous cultures through policies targeting language, spiritual practices, and social organization; this is forced cultural change backed by political and military power
• Long-lasting structural effects persist well beyond formal independence, shaping contemporary inequalities, identities, and cultural struggles

Modernization

• Transformation from traditional to industrial social organization—involves changes in technology, economy, urbanization, and family structures
• Often conflated with Westernization, though anthropologists distinguish between adopting specific technologies and wholesale adoption of Western values
• Can improve material conditions while causing cultural dislocation; the tension between "development" and cultural continuity is a major exam theme

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Change Through Internal Dynamics

Cultural change doesn't always come from outside. Societies generate new ideas, practices, and technologies from within, adapting to environmental pressures, solving problems, or expressing creativity.

Innovation

• Creation of new practices, ideas, or technologies within a society—this is internally-generated change rather than borrowed elements
• Arises from necessity, creativity, or recombination of existing cultural elements; resistance movements often innovate new forms of identity and organization
• Drives cultural evolution and demonstrates that cultures are dynamic systems, not static traditions waiting to be changed by outside forces

Revitalization Movements

• Organized efforts to restore or strengthen cultural identity—these are deliberate, collective responses to cultural loss or oppression
• Often arise during crisis periods when communities face existential threats to their way of life; the Ghost Dance movement and Welsh language revival are classic examples
• Can generate new cultural forms even while claiming to restore tradition; revitalization is itself a creative process that produces something new

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Change Through Blending and Loss

Cultural contact doesn't always result in one culture dominating another. Sometimes elements combine to create something new, and sometimes cultural forms disappear entirely.

Syncretism

• Blending of different cultural elements into new forms—most visible in religious contexts where beliefs and practices from multiple traditions merge
• Reflects cultural creativity and resilience; Santería, Vodou, and many folk Catholic traditions demonstrate syncretic processes
• Creates unique hybrid identities that cannot be reduced to their source cultures; syncretism challenges the idea of "pure" or "authentic" culture

Cultural Loss

• Decline or disappearance of practices, languages, or traditions—often measured through language death, abandonment of rituals, or loss of traditional knowledge
• Results from globalization, assimilation, or deliberate suppression; linguists estimate one language dies every two weeks
• Raises urgent questions about preservation and whether outside intervention to "save" cultures respects community self-determination

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Change at Global Scale

Contemporary cultural change operates within systems that connect societies worldwide. Globalization represents both the context for other types of change and a distinct process with its own dynamics.

Globalization

• Increased interconnectedness and interdependence among world cultures—involves flows of ideas, goods, people, and media across borders
• Produces contradictory effects: both cultural homogenization (global brands, English dominance) and glocalization (local adaptations of global forms)
• Transforms economic, political, and social structures while generating new forms of identity, resistance, and cultural creativity

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two types of cultural change both involve contact between groups but differ in whether original identities are maintained? Explain what determines which outcome occurs.

2. A community adopts smartphones and social media but uses them primarily to share traditional stories and organize cultural festivals. Which types of cultural change does this example illustrate, and why?

3. Compare and contrast colonization and modernization as mechanisms of cultural transformation. Under what circumstances might modernization occur without colonization?

4. If an FRQ describes a religious practice that combines elements of Christianity with indigenous spiritual beliefs, which concept best explains this phenomenon? What evidence would you look for to support your analysis?

5. Revitalization movements claim to restore traditional culture, yet anthropologists argue they also create something new. How can both statements be true? Use a specific example to explain.