ABSTRACT
The anthropological theory of social change can also be illustrated, not to say validated, using the Mendip case. With respect to the anthropological explanation of social innovation, a strong case can be made out for it on the basis of the Welsh Schools. In applying the anthropological theory to the Welsh case we have undertaken a systematic analysis of the catechetical schools as a social institution. The total effect of the Mendip schools was to develop a new cultural life. The Mendips altered their aspect, becoming a more friendly and hospitable place. The Mendip schools and the activities associated with them illustrate clearly how impossible it is to separate the symbolic from the material aspects of social behaviour. In the Mendips change was induced almost entirely by the process of diffusion. The diffusion and the interaction between the cultures represented a complex process of elaborately differentiated structures.
