Megger’s Article Response Essay

Betty J. Meggers article, Environmental Limitation on the Development of Culture, examines how environmental habitats at present affect and influence gardening. 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 between culture and its environment is not precisely based in terms of subsistence (802), exactly largely to a cultures experience with diffusion (822). scattering can best be defined as a edge in which a cultural trait, idea, or behavior is spread from unitary society to another.While she does believe that the relative strength or weakness of an environment to provide a suitable means for food employment affects the adaptation and advancement of a culture, she excessively believes that cultural diffusion plays a vital role as well. According to Meggers, the general belief is that environmental potentiality is the sole condi tioner of cultural development (801). The span of environmental habitats into separate into 4 environmental types, ranging from lawsuit 1 environments, which have the least sylvan potential, to Type 4 environments, which have un contain agricultural potential.Meggers does generally attend to agree that the environmental type can set limitations on the take aim of development a culture is able to obtain (816). Because Type 1 environments have the least agricultural potential, tribes must subsist mainly by hunting, fishing, and gathering. Cultures that live in Type 1 environments are relatively nonaged in population size and tend to lead more of a nomadic lifestyle, a inevitable part of life because they must continually follow their food source.As a result, their existence is noticeably simple because their primary focus is on satisfying only their very underlying needs such as shelter and food. This type of environment results in a culture where social organization and tech nology 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 remains 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 compel on a culture by the environment and the general need of a suitable source of diffusion. Conversely, Type 4 environments have untrammelled 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 ability 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 boo m due to their intensive 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.