Social Studies Chapter 5 Section One

Culture

Aspects of Culture

• Approximately 200 countries in the world

– Hundreds of different languages

– Dress in different ways

– Eat different foods

All Societies Share Basic Institutions

• Government

• Educational System

• Economic System

• Religious Institutions

Institutions Vary from Society to Society

Culture is a learned system of shared beliefs and way of doing things that guides a person’s daily behavior

National Culture

• Is shared with people of their own country

• Yet, their beliefs are in other countries as well

Culture Region

• When a culture dominates a particular area of a country and their culture traits

• Dress• Food• Religious beliefs

– West Africa is a cultural region– Southern area of the United States– Northern area of the United States

Some people may be multicultural

• People can belong to more than one culture

• Each person can choose which culture they want to emphasize

• President Obama

– ½ White and ½ Black

» The president chooses to emphasize his black heritage

Race and Ethnic Groups• Cultural groups learn their practices and

beliefs from their ancestors they share:

• Religion

• History

• Language

• Holiday traditions

• Special foods

Multicultural or Multiethnic

• People from different cultures live in the same country

• Many countries in the world are multicultural

– Houston in the United States

– Toronto in Canada

– Belgium in Europe

Peace or Conflict?• Different ethnic groups can come together and live peacefully to form

a united country

• Others, such as Quebec, Canada, choose not to unite the French and Canadian cultures and in many areas they are in conflict with one another

Wars

• Many wars are fought because of ethnic disagreements all over the world

Ethnic Groups

• Ethnic groups can be spread out in 2 or more countries, they are not in just one spot in the world

• Germans• Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia

• Kurds (have no country)– Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey

Race

• Race is based on inherited physical or biological traits

– Race and ethnic groups are not the same

• Hispanic ethnic group in USA

– Looks different from other Hispanics in different parts of the world

– Yet, they share a Spanish or Latin heritage

• Each culture defines “race” in its own way paying attention to:

– Biological characteristics

– Ethnic characteristics

• Rwanda, a country in East Africa

– Two groups, Hutu and Tutsi are in a civil war, both are East African, but they consider each other differently

Cultural Change• Diffusion: The spread of a cultures ways or beliefs to another culture

– Moving from one place to another

• English Language– England helped settle

the 13 colonies, bringing the English language to the area

Acculturation• Acculturation is when another culture or person is in long

term contact with another they will:

– Adopt the culture of the areas they live in

• Farmer becomes a Muslim– Farmer refuses to raise pigs on his farm because Islam forbids

eating pork

Cultural Differences

• People learn symbols from their culture

– A symbol is a sign that stands for something else

• Word

• Shape

• Color

• Flag

Symbols Have Different Meanings in Some Cultures

• Visiting other countries we notice many differences

• Language

• Clothing

• Celebrate different holidays

• Salute a different flag

• Symbols reflect the:

– Artistic, literary, and religious expressions of a society or culture

– Help people communicate with each other and form a cohesive group

Development of Culture• Culture is Shaped by History

• Conquered by outsiders the citizens will adopt same language or religion

• Cultures Shape History• The way a people react to historical events

Environment• Environment of a region can influence the development

of culture

• In Egypt the Nile River is central to people’s lives

– Egyptians believe the gods brought floods to the area bringing the fertile soil

– Mountain people of Tibet, Japan and the Andes believed “Mountain Spirits” were important to their lives

Culture Determines How People Use and Shape the Land

• City plans are cultural

• Spain and their colonies cities are built around a central plaza or square with a church and a courthouse

• China’s cities are developed by the four compass points

• French city streets grow out from a central core

Development of Culture

• For most of human history people ate wild plants and animals

• When the food ran out they migrated or moved to another place

• Humans began to help their favorite plants to grow

• Cleared land and put seeds in their refuse or trash and plants took root and grew

• May have dug water holes to encourage wild cattle to come and drink

• People began to cultivate the largest plants and breeding the tamest animals

• Plants and animals became domesticated, they depended on people, they couldn’t survive without their help

Domestication Happened in Many Parts of the World

• Peru: Llamas and potatoes were domesticated

• Ancient Mexico and Central America domesticated corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and hot peppers

• Africans domesticated sorghum and a type of rice

• Southwest Asia domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats

• Central Asia domesticated wheat and rye

• All of these plants and animals were not grown or lived in Europe until Columbus’ voyage to the Americas

Agriculture and Environment

• Agriculture changed the landscape

– Cut down forests to make room for growing plants

– Built fences, dug irrigation canals, and terraced their land

– Governments were created to manage the large projects and protect the area from outsiders

– People grew enough food to last a year and they stopped migrating and built permanent settlements

Types of Agriculture• Subsistence Agriculture: Farmers grow just enough food

for their own families

• Commercial Agriculture: Companies own the farms and grow enough food for everyone

Sinauga culture

inArizona

Ancient food storage In Arica, Chile Ancient food storage, Chera

Agriculture and Civilization

• The success of agriculture developed a surplus of food

• Some people did not have to grow their own food because there was a surplus, they began to make pottery and trade for their food

• More food brought more children and the population began to grow

• More people began to involve themselves in trading and manufacturing

• Traders and manufacturers began to settle in central market towns

• Towns grew into cities with churches and priests

• The priests would organize and carry out religious ceremonies

• The large cities developed in a highly complex culture called a civilization