This document discusses how cultures borrow and spread ideas through diffusion. It provides examples of cultural traits and innovations that diffused from ancient Greek, Roman, medieval, and Renaissance societies to help develop modern Western civilization. Geography, specifically living near the sea and close proximity of diverse peoples in Europe, facilitated the diffusion of ideas between these historical cultures. Today, new ideas and inventions continue to spread through cultural diffusion across societies.

1. Timeless Gifts
Through The Ages

2. Is
process of spreading
new knowledge and
skills to other cultures

3. Culture Review
 Culture – a way of life for people who share
similar beliefs and customs.
 Culture Regions – geographic areas which are
grouped by common cultural characteristics
Religion
Language
 Culture Trait – characteristics that make cultural
groups unique from all others
Religion
Government
Language
Dress
Arts

4. Architecture
Building construction
Government
Science
Technology
Sports
Painting
Sculpture
Language and Literature
Philosophy
and others…
Where do we get our ideas
about…?

5. How did our civilization become
technologically, scientifically and culturally
advanced?
We took the best of what other people
developed and it has spread throughout the
cultures of the world.
Modern Western Civilization is advanced, in
part, because we have borrowed the ideas of
people who came before us.

6. This process is called…
• When a culture group
borrows a culture trait from
another culture
• May change or adapt it to fit
the new culture group

7. We are going to study four periods in history
that have contributed many ideas that
continue to shape our modern culture.

8. From the Ancient Greeks we
have...
Theate
r
Architectural
styles
Democrac
y
Olympics
Math &
Science
Geography &
History
Language &
Literature
Philosoph
y

9. From the Ancient Romans we
have...
Road
s
Language&Literatu
Elected
officials
ArchitecturalStyles
Census
Science &
Technology
Government

10. From the Middle Ages we
have...
Limited
Government
Architectural
Styles
Spread of
Religion
Universities

11. From the Renaissance we have...
Exploration
and
Discovery
M
anyInventions
Innovations in Art &Architecture
Great Works of Art
Innovations in
Science

12. What allowed these historical erasWhat allowed these historical eras
to borrow from each other?to borrow from each other?

13. was the bridge that allowed cultures to
borrow from each other.
It is not so much when these people
lived, but where they lived.

14. Why would Europe be a good place for
people to trade ideas?
The people from these eras lived on the
continent of Europe.

15. Many peninsulas
Access to the
sea
Diverse people living
close together
Near other
continents

16. How do we communicate
new ideas and inventions
with one another in
today’s modern culture?

17. What do we call the spread
of ideas between cultures?

18. Geography influences the development of
culture.
A culture’s development is dependent upon its
ability to adapt to or modify the environment.
The foundations of modern society are
built on contributions from the past.