1. a person who believes in or advocates diffusionism, the theory that cultural traits spread from one society to another through contact and borrowing
Usage: anthropology; archaeology

Examples

• The diffusionist argued that pottery techniques spread from ancient Mesopotamia to neighboring regions.
• Early anthropologists were often diffusionists who traced cultural practices to single origins.
• The diffusionist theory helped explain similarities in art styles across distant civilizations.
• As a diffusionist, she studied how agricultural methods traveled along trade routes.
• The debate between diffusionists and independent invention theorists continues in archaeology.
• Diffusionists mapped the spread of metalworking techniques across continents.