Megger’s Article Response Essay

Betty J. Meggers article, Environmental Limitation on the Development of Culture, examines how environsal habitats directly affect and influence culture. Meggers discusses the differing environmental types and its resulting effect on the people and their heathen development. Her theoretical framework is grounded on the idea that the relationship mingled with culture and its environment is not only based in terms of subsistence (802), but largely to a cultures experience with diffusion (822). Diffusion can best be defined as a process in which a cultural trait, idea, or behavior is spread from one fellowship to another.While she does believe that the sexual congress strength or weakness of an environment to provide a desirable means for food production affects the adaptation and advancement of a culture, she also believes that cultural diffusion plays a vital role as well. According to Meggers, the general belief is that environmental potentiality is the sole conditioner of cult ural development (801). The span of environmental habitats into classified into 4 environmental types, ranging from event 1 environments, which have the least(prenominal) agricultural potential, to Type 4 environments, which have unbounded agricultural potential.Meggers does generally seem to agree that the environmental type can set limitations on the level of development a culture is able to receive (816). Because Type 1 environments have the least agricultural potential, tribes must subsist mainly by hunting, fishing, and gathering. Cultures that stick up in Type 1 environments are relatively small in population size and draw to lead more of a wandering(a) lifestyle, a necessary part of life because they must continually follow their food source.As a result, their existence is noticeably simplistic because their primary focus is on satisfying only their very basic needs such as shelter and food. This type of environment results in a culture where social organization and te chnology is very limited in scope. The nomadic lifestyle necessitates that tribes remain relatively small, therefore making the single family the basic social unit. Additionally, technology rest limited to only the most essential tools and utensils due to the limited resources available.According to Meggers, Type 1 and Type 2 environments seem to prohibit cultural advancement because of the limitations imposed on a culture by the environment and the general lack of a suitable source of diffusion. Conversely, Type 4 environments have unlimited agricultural potential because they possess all the ideal conditions necessary for sustaining agriculture. Meggers calls Type 4 environments the cradles of civilization (804) because of their tycoon to develop and implement the technology necessary to sustain an agriculturally based lifestyle.Type 4 environments are typified by their complex social organization and cultural advancements. Meggers states that Type 4 civilizations are elaborate due to their intense production of food and the necessary means of distribution. However, Meggers also believes that success of Type 3 and Type 4 environments to advance culturally is also heavily influenced by diffusion across cultures, or a cultures relative exposure and adoption of differing cultural norms, beliefs, and behaviors.