In cultural anthropology, cross-cultural diffusion is a concept introduced by Leo Frobenius in his work Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis (1897/98), which refers to the expansion of the use of objects, ideas, styles, religions, technology, languages, etc. between people of different cultures. It is a different process from the diffusion of innovations within a specific culture, since cross-cultural dissemination always involves more than one culture. The phenomenon can occur by voluntary adoption, by imitation, or by cultural imposition.
