Culture

1. Culture The way of life of a group of people who share beliefs and similar customs

2. 2 Kinds of culture: • Material culture – things people make; food, clothing, art, architecture, technology • Nonmaterial culture – things that are necessary for society, but not objects – religion, language, government systems, patterns of behavior, education systems & attitudes about the roles of men & women

3. Cultural Diffusion • Spreading of knowledge, skills, and ideas from one group or individual to another. Examples: trade, migration, war

4. Cultural Convergence • Occurs when skills, arts, ideas, habits, and institutions of one culture come in contact with those of another culture. • Things blend

5. Cultural Divergence • When there are restrictions on a culture from outside influences. • Repressive governments often restrict • Movement into and out of the country • Transportation & communication (radio transmissions, newspapers, internet, etc.) into a country

6. Culture Hearths • Where civilizations began and spread. • Mesopotamia – between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Iraq • Nile River Valley – along Nile River, Egypt • Indus River Valley – along Indus River, Pakistan • Shang – along the Yellow River, China Also – Ganges (India) and Mesoamerica (Mexico) a little later.

8. Social Groups • A group that works together to meet the basic needs (food, water, and shelter) of a society. • The most important social group is the family.

9. Major elements of culture • Language is #1 unifying force • Government • Economics • Social groups

10. Language Families • Diverse languages with similar roots. • We share the same language family – Indo European as Germany, Mexico, and most of India. • See map page 81

11. Acculturation • Adapting some traits from other cultures into your own culture

12. Ethnic Groups • People who share a common language, history, and place of origin (or a combination of these traits)

13. 5 major religions – sometimes called 5 “Great” religions. • Buddhism • Christianity • Hinduism • Islam • Judaism

14. World Religions • See map on page 82

15. Ethnocentrism • Belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group. • When taken to extreme – can be racism.

16. Migration • Movement of people from place to place

17. Push Factors • Factors that would promote migration AWAY from an area (famine, war, poverty)

18. Pull Factors • Factors that would promote migration TO an area (jobs, better schools, family)

19. Population Distribution • Pattern of human settlement – where do people actually live • Main factor in distribution is geography • Population DENSITY does not take into consideration uneven settlement patterns.

21. Culture Region • An area that includes many different cultures that have certain traits in common (economic systems, religion, government systems, and social groups) • See map on page 83 for our text. We will use: • US & Canada • Europe & Russia • Latin America • Southwest Asia & North Africa • Africa South of the Sahara • South Asia • East and Southeast Asia • Oceania

22. Civilization • Highly organized, city-based society with and advanced knowledge of farming, trade, government, art, and science.

23. Agricultural / Neolithic Revolution • 10,000 years ago, humans began growing crops on permanent settlements.

24. Industrial Revolution • Late 1700s AD – industrialization and mass production. Factories and machines replaced agriculture. • Started in Britain because of availability of iron ore, coal, and workers

25. Information Revolution • End of the 1900s (20th Century) • Computers began to make it possible to store huge amounts of information and send it instantly around the world • Computers aided humans in jobs

26. Demographics • Study of human population statistics

27. ZPG – Zero Population Growth • When birth rates and death rates are equal. • This is the goal of developed nations.

28. Doubling Time • The amount of time it will take for a population to double in size • At current rate – the world will have 12 billion by 2050