Culture Patterns and Processes Chapter 5

Culture Culture is a complex concept Def#2 Def #1 A shared set of meanings that is lived through the material & symbolic practices of everyday life Could be values, beliefs, ideas, and practices Culture is a complex concept Def #1 A particular way of life, such as a set of skilled activities, values, & meanings surrounding a particular type of practice

Culture Hearths Definition: Areas where innovations in culture began, such as where agriculture, government, and urbanization originated Sources of human civilization Ancient culture hearths believed to have developed in places with the capacity for innovation Near sources of water/ arable land Not all innovations required interaction Independent innovation Ancient Hearth Direction of Diffusion of Civilization from Ancient Hearth Andean America Eastward t/out S. America Mesoamerica Eastern/Western N. America West Africa T/out Africa Nile River Valley T/out Africa and S.W. Asia Mesopotamia T/out S.W. Asia, Europe, Central and East Asia, W. Africa Indus River Valley T/out S.W., Central, East Asia Ganges River Valley T/out South, SE, and SW Asia Huang River Valley T/out East and SE Asia

STOP Come up with a list of innovations that defined these ancient cultures: Ex: Indus = grainery

Culture Hearths What other parts of culture have hearths? Music Example? Fashion Sports Religion

Layers of a Culture Culture Traits Culture Complex Culture Regions Def: A single attribute of a culture Ex: bowing to show respect Not always unique to one group Culture Complex Combination of all culture traits creates a unique set of traits No two cultures in the world have the same culture complexes Culture Regions Def: Region that includes places and peoples with similarities in their culture complexes People in culture region often share a sense of common culture and regional identity Boundaries defined by perceptions and opinions

Layers of a Culture Culture Systems Culture Realms Def: When many culture complexes share particular traits, those traits can merge into culture systems Culture Realms Def: Formed through the fusing together of culture regions that share enough in common to be merged together ex: Anglo-American realm Latin American realm Sino- Japanese realm

Cultural Convergence and Divergence Definition: Occurs when two cultures adopt each other’s traits and become more alike Cultural Divergence Occurs when two cultures become increasingly different Often one group moves away from the territory of other Acculturation Occurs when two cultures come into contact with one another and the “weaker” of the two adopts traits from the more dominant culture Assimilation Sometimes acculturation leads to assimilation When the original traits of the weaker culture are completely replaced by more dominant culture Transculturation When two cultures of just about equal power meet and exchange ideas

Acculturation Assimilation NH BMHAWK #3 BMHAWK #4