Kulturkreisen

Kulturkreisen, or culture circles, is a term used in anthropology and ethnology to describe culturally coherent regions or networks in which shared traits—such as artifacts, beliefs, rituals, and social institutions—define recognizable cultural spheres. The plural form emphasizes that multiple such circles can exist and interact within a broader geographic or historical landscape. In scholarly usage, Kulturkreisen serve as a framework for analyzing patterns of similarity and diffusion across populations.

The concept originated in 19th-century German ethnology, most prominently in the work associated with Adolf Bastian and the Kulturkreislehre (culture-circle theory). It posits that cultures form core areas or circles and that innovations spread outward from these centers to surrounding regions. Within this diffusionist view, peripheral areas may adopt elements from a core Kulturkreis while contributing relatively fewer original innovations. The approach highlighted continuity with earlier cultures and emphasized cross-cultural contact as a driver of change.

Criticism of the Kulturkreis concept centers on its diffusionist assumptions and tendency to equate material styles with entire cultures. Modern anthropology tends to favor more nuanced explanations that include diffusion, independent invention, borrowing, and hybridity, as well as the roles of trade networks, migration, and social interaction. Nonetheless, the idea of Kulturkreisen remains relevant for historical analyses of how cultural traits spread and cluster, and for discussions of cultural areas and exchange networks in archaeology and museum contexts.

See also: diffusionism, cultural area, ethnology, cultural diffusion.