the Middle East, and the central section of Asia, regions where this activity pre-
dominates are marked by the migration of both humans and large herds of live-
stock, which may consist of sheep, cattle, goats, horses, or even camels. Due to
government-enforced settlement policies of the last century, especially in North
Africa and Central Asia, much of the world’s nomadic herding has disappeared.
A sizable region ofmixed farming and livestockstretches across much of the
eastern United States and Central Eurasia. Farms in these belts produce grain
and other feed for livestock, which are then sold. In the United States, the feed is
often corn, which has a high caloric content, and soybeans, which are high in pro-
tein.Feedlotsare numerous, which specialize in fattening livestock for slaughter
by purchasing feed from local farms. Much of the world’s meat, especially beef,
is produced in these regions, and mostof the grain and soybeans grown there is
for livestock consumption.
The final major region of cultivation isranching. Most of the United States
west of the Rocky Mountains, almost all of Australia, and large tracts of territory
in southern South America are devoted to rangeland for cattle and sheep. These
are arid regions, and the livestock is allowed to forage on the natural grasses
present, although some ranchers will grow supplemental fodder crops and other
types of feed. With the exception of Argentina, sheep predominate in the
Southern Hemisphere, and beef cattle are the favored ranch animal in most of
the Northern Hemisphere.
Cultural Diffusion
The dispersion of ideas, practices, technologies, techniques, language, or other
cultural attributes throughout space. The process of cultural diffusion has occurred
as long as modern humans have interacted and has perhaps reached its ultimate
expression inglobalization. Many technological innovations and ideas may have
arisen independently, but a very large number of cultural attitudes and characteris-
tics originated in a single location and spread to others. Diffusion fromculture
hearthswas particularly important in the historical development of civilization.
The movement of cultural traits through space can lead to other cultural processes.
For example,religious syncretismis a direct result of cultural diffusion and typi-
cally results in a new cultural expression of faith. Indeed, diffusion is the mecha-
nism whereby culture evolves and adapts. In the modern world most cultural
diffusion is voluntary, but historically a great deal of cultural transfer and change
was effected by cultural imperialism, when cultural traits from one society were
imposed by force onto other societies.This was a common practice during the
Cultural Diffusion 79