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sacred language of the elite. Many of its key features were tion. Similarly, Latin America is usually mapped as its
to be challenged internally by Buddhism and externally own cultural area. But, as in the case of other culturally
by Islam, resulting in additional rounds of cultural trans- defined regions, “Latin America” is not without contro-
formation and geographical reconfiguration. Eventually, versy. Argentines, for example, have often wanted to
Southeast Asia was to be largely detached from the field emphasize their European roots at the expense of a pan–
of South Asian cultural influence. Some scholars would Latin American identity, whereas many scholars now
argue the same for present-day Pakistan, emphasizing the argue that in large portions of South and Central Amer-
distinctiveness of its overwhelming Muslim population. ica, the indigenous cultural imprint remains more sub-
Those who regard Pakistan as remaining within a cul- stantial than the “Latin” one.
turally defined South Asian region, on the other hand,
point to the fact that many aspects of everyday culture— Areas or Networks? New
such as diet, music, and language—continue to tie Geographical Approaches
together the peoples living on either side of the India- As the example of Latin America shows, the mapping of
Pakistan border. cultural areas is always ideologically fraught and intel-
lectually challenging.As a result, many scholars now pre-
The Historical Emergence fer to avoid positing discrete cultural areas of any sort,
of New Cultural Areas preferring to emphasize cross-cultural networks and pat-
The spread of Islam during and after the seventh century terns of globalization.This is especially true in regard to
demonstrates how new cultural areas can emerge explo- the contemporary world, supposedly characterized by a
sively, linking together formerly separate regions through postmodern condition of constant flux and the continual
both cultural synthesis and the spread of novel ideas. As transgression of all purported boundaries. Yet even in
Islam fused both a legal code and a set of political ideals ancient times, similar processes operated, leaving all cul-
with religious beliefs and practices, it proved particularly tural areas unstable in content and uncertain in extent.
potent for generating a new, dynamic culture area. In the Cultural areas are thus perhaps best thought of as geo-
process, the previously distinct Persian zone was sub- graphic constructions rather than as preexisting entities
stantially merged with that of the Arabic-speaking world, that can be discovered though empirical analysis.
although in many respects Iran retained its cultural dis-
Martin W. Lewis
tinctions. As Islam expanded, it came into contact with
many different cultural traditions, resulting in the devel- See also Africa; Afro-Eurasia; Cartography; Eastern
opment of numerous hybrid forms. Debates are therefore Europe; Europe; Frontiers; Inner Eurasia; Mesoamerica;
conducted over whether an “Islamic cultural area” should Mesopotamia
be limited to the historical core of the Middle East and
North Africa or whether it should cover the entire Mus-
lim world. Such disputes are made more complex by the Further Reading
contemporary spread of more orthodox forms of Islam Applegate, C. (1990). A nation of provincials: The German idea of
Heimat. Berkeley: University of California Press.
into peripheral areas, such as Java, that were formerly
Canfield, R. (Ed.). (1991). Turko-Persia in historical perspective. Cam-
marked by profound syncretism. bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
European imperialism also created in a relatively brief Christian, D. (1994). Inner Eurasia as a unit of world history. Journal of
World History, 5, 173–211.
span a number of distinctive cultural areas. Today, for Ellen, R. (1982). Environment, subsistence, and system: The ecology of
example,Africa is often divided into Francophone,Anglo- small-scale social formations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
phone, and Lusophone (i.e., Portuguese-speaking) zones,
Frank, A. G., & Gills, B. K. (Eds.). (1993). The world system: Five hun-
based on the languages of elite and official communica- dred or five thousand years? London: Routledge.