American Diffusionist School
The American School of Diffusionism picked up the threads of the German School of Difussionism and tried to explain the causes of the spread of difussion. The founder of this school was Franz Boas (1858-1942) who was followed by Clark Wissler (1870-1947) and Albert L Kroeber (1876-1960). The culture area approach was a significant part of this school while trying to map and classify the tribal groups of North and South America and show the diffusion of culture traits and complexes. Diffusion as a cause for similar traits was explained by the American school as a result of adaptation and migration. Thus, the culture area approach was used to show the diffusion of traits among different tribes. The American school divided the world into different culture areas on the basis of geographical regions. This in turn led to the listing of traits found in the cultures. The list consisted of traits which might have been either adapted or migrated due to diffusion. This concept was emphasised by Wissler while Kroeber supported the approach.