26 SOCIAL SCIENTIST
earlier period there was transmission to India of geometry from Greece,. Sometimes these cultural transmissions took the form of diffusion from a dominating culture, like the spread of ideas from the Graeco-Roman. ^ world then in ascendancy, to the barbarian regions of Europe.
The cultural transmission before the sixteenth century had one distinguishing feature. Between dominant and dependent peoples, it took place within an unequal relationship and regional boundaries. Thus transmission of culture within the Roman Empire was confined largely to the relatively small (in global terms) geographical area of the imperium, Transmission of cultural patterns of ancient India happened largely through the medium of Buddhism and wa§ more or less regional in scope.
Starting with the sixteenth century this pattern changes drastically with the growth of a world economy. In the sixteenth century, the Portu-guese and the Spanish made their voyages of discovery, circumnavigated the earth and developed relationships of trade, warfare and culture which can only be described as global in range.
\ With the sacking of the civilizations in Central and South America and the partial genocide that fallowed, vast quantities of wealth were transferred to Europe. This pattern of plunder was repeated in Africa and Asia with varying degrees of brutality. A global outlook began to take s shape in the European nations which grew rich on the spoils of conquest. The empire-building in far-flung territories set in motion a process whereby cultural artefacts were adopted from remote regions, legitimized in Europe and transmitted to other parts of the world. This process of collection of cultural artefacts and re-transmission supplementecl those that arose within the European countries themselves.
Coffee from North Africa
Cultural artefacts so transmitted included not only consumption items like food, clothing," furniture and art objects but also systems of ideas and concepts like religion. It is essential to study the exact fnechanism by which this transmission system was maintained in order to realize the present implications of cultural domination. We will therefore trace a few cultural artefacts that arose within the peripheral countries and trace their re-transmission patterns. In addition, we will also trace how cultural artefacts that arose within the Western countries themselves were transmitted. Such transmission and their reception were dependent on the socio-economic, political and cultural conditions of the peripheral countries, as well as of the countries in the metropolitan centre. By taking a few examples we will attempt to make clear some of the main features of this system.
In a cursory compilation, one can name literally hundreds of cul-» tural artefacts taken ftom the periphery and found acceptance in the centre, to be re-transmitted to other parts of the periphery. For example, > among foodstuffs, coffee and cocoa which are modern man^s main beverages, tobacco which is his main recreational smoking enjoy ment» spices, manioc, chillies, curries, potatoes and corn are some of the main