Title: Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes
1Unit 3Cultural Patterns and Processes
2Cultural Landscape
- If you have ever studied the earths surface from
an airplane thousands of feet in the air, you
have observed the cultural landscape the
modification of the natural landscape by human
activities.
3Midwestern U.S.
4Big Cities
5Culture the complex mix of values, beliefs,
behaviors, and material objects that together
form a people way of life. Important
terminology follows
- Non-material Culture consists of abstract
concepts of values, beliefs and behaviors. - Values are culturally defined standards that
guide the way people assess desirability,
goodness, and beauty, and that serve as
guidelines for moral living.
Red Sonia Leslie Hovvels of Welsh died
because of infection related to nose piercings.
6- Egyptian body piercings reflected status and love
of beauty. - Romans were practical piercers. Signified
Strength and Virility. - Aztecs, Mayans and some American Indians
practiced Tongue Piercing as religious ritual. - Modern Day Mostly limited to the ears until
recently. Hippies of the 1960s traveled to
India and brought back the concept of nose rings.
The concept of body piercing has continued to
gain in popularity throughout the 80s, 90s and
today.
7- Beliefs specific statements that people hold to
be true almost always based on values. - Behaviors Actions that people take generally
based on values and beliefs as reflected in norms
the rules and expectations by which a society
guides the behavior of its members.
8Material Culture wide range concrete human
creations.
- Artifacts reflect the values, beliefs, and
behaviors or a culture. - From an airplane you can readily see material
culture as it relates to the environment. - Roads
- Houses
- Buildings,
- Car
- Farm equipment
- Airport runways
- Look beyond the objects Why does a person build
a house? Why are the houses arranged in the
patterns that you see? What purpose do
checkerboards serve, and where do the roads lead?
The answers to these questions lie in the values,
beliefs, and behaviors (non-material culture)
that humans use to guide the creation and
maintenance of their artifacts (material culture)
9Culture Regions Traits and Complexes
- Separating culture into non-material and material
types helps you begin to study its complexities. - Culture Region is an area marked by culture that
distinguishes it from other regions
non-material culture, such as clothing and
building style, reflect the values, beliefs, and
behaviors of the people that live in the region.
10Culture Trait
- A single attribute of a culture is called a
Culture Trait and a culture region consists of
countless numbers of traits. - Ex A trait may be wearing colorful clothing with
the groups own skillful weave and design.
Another culture trait may be the building of
roads and bridges across mountain ranges. Yet
another trait may be the construction of
buildings without mortar and another the
terracing of land for crop growth. Put all these
and thousands of others together, and you may
study the culture region that survives today
around the Andes Mountains in South America.
11- Culture traits are not necessarily confined to a
single culture. For example, people in many
cultures use brushes to clean their teeth and to
make their hair more attractive, and they usually
use different kinds of brushes for the two types
of activities. However, the trait combines with
others in a distinctive way, so that a culture
complex is formed. A culture complex consists of
common values, beliefs, behaviors, and artifacts
that make a group in an area distinct from
others.
12China Many Culture Complexes
- Modern City of Xian combines religions and
beliefs, such as Buddhism, Islam and Confucianism
in a way that makes it identifiable as a separate
culture complex. However, particular traits such
as following Confucian principles, are shared by
other complexes around them. Any area with
strong cultural ties that bind its people
together forms a Culture System a group of
interconnected culture complexes. - On the map, a culture region can represent an
entire culture region can represent an entire
culture system that intertwines with its
locational and environmental circumstances to
form a geographic region.
13- Cultural Hearths are the areas where
civilizations first began that radiated the
ideas, innovations and ideologies that culturally
transformed the world. - Early Cultural Hearths developed in Southwest
Asia, North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia in
the valleys and basin of great river systems. - Cultural Hearths developed much later in Central
and South America, and their geography shaped
cultural development not around river valleys,
but around mountain ranges and central highlands.
14- Another Cultural Hearth with its own culture
complex developed centuries later in West Africa,
very much influenced by earlier hearths along the
Nile River in Northeast Africa. - Another unique cultural hearth developed in the
islands of the Aegean Sea, where the inhabitants
were jointed by easy water access among islands
and mainland. - From their centers, the hearths grew until they
came into contact with one another, although
their ability to travel to and contact other
cultural hearths was limited by their levels of
technology and distance. Cultural hearths have
shifted greatly over time. For example, the
Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th
century moved cultural hearths to Europe and
North America, with modern shifts in the 21st
century continuing to occur.
15Cultural Hearths
16Cultural Diffusion
- The early cultural hearths were centers for
innovation and invention, and their non-material
and material culture spread to areas around them
through a process called cultural diffusion. - Over time, as cultural hearths have shifted,
cultural diffusion has spread culture traits to
most parts of the globe. - This long and complicated spread of culture often
makes it difficult to trace the origin, spread,
and timing of a particular trait.
17How do I understand Diffusion?
18Acculturation
- Acculturation when smaller/weaker groups take
on traits of the larger/dominant culture. Can be
2-way process e.g. Aztecs acculturated into
Spanish culture, but some Aztec traits remained
and became Spanish culture.
19Assimilation
- Assimilation the adoption of cultural elements
can be so complete that two cultures become
indistinguishable e.g. jeans being worn here
in the Czech Republic
20BARRIERS TO DIFFUSION
- TIME and DISTANCE DECAY farther from the source
the more time it takes, the less likely
innovation adopted - CULTURAL BARRIERS some practices, ideas,
innovations are not acceptable/adoptable in a
particular culture e.g. pork, alcohol,
contraceptives - PHYSICAL BARRIERS physical barriers on the
surface may prohibit/inhibit adoption
21Distance Decay Graph
- Learn to think about distance decay in a
spatial context - Think of distance decay in terms of an x and
y axis
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23Two Types of Diffusion
24Expansion Diffusion
- EXPANSION DIFFUSION
- Spread of an innovation/idea through a population
in an area in such a way that the of those
influenced grows continuously larger, resulting
in an expanding area of dissemination. - (de Blij/Murphy 7th ed., page R-20)
25Expansion Diffusion
- This occurs when an idea or trait spreads from
one place to another.
26Kinds of Expansion Diffusion
- Hierarchical Diffusion spread of an idea
through an established structure usually from
people or areas of power down to other people or
areas
27Examples of Hierarchical Diffusion
- AIDS is typically viewed as hierarchical because
if its historically distinctive URBAN to URBAN
diffusion pattern - Blackberries have diffused hierarchically.
Blackberries, though becoming cheaper, are too
expensive for most consumers to buy therefore
diffusing hierarchically.
28Expansion Diffusion
- Contagious Diffusion spread of an
idea/trait/concept through a group of people or
an area equally without regard to social class,
economic position or position of power.
29Diagram of Contagious Diffusion Human Geography,
deBlij Murphy, 7th ed. Page 28
- A is a diagram of contagious diffusion. Notice
virtually all adopt. - B is a diagram of hierarchical diffusion.
Notice the leapfrogging over some areas.
30Expansion Diffusion
- Stimulus Diffusion the spread of an underlying
principle even though the characteristic itself
does not spread. - OR
- Stimulus Diffusion - involves the transfer of an
underlying concept or idea, without the specific
accompanying traits due to some cultural or other
barrier to the movement of the idea
31An example of Stimulus Diffusion
- McDonalds spread to India however, Indian
Hindus do not eat beef. Indian McDonalds serve
veggie burgers, which is culturally acceptable.
The idea (McDonalds burgers) was acceptable, but
not in its original form hence stimulus
diffusion.
32RELOCATION DIFFUSION
- Sequential diffusion process in which the items
being diffused are transmitted by their carrier
agents as they evacuate the old areas and
relocate to new ones. The most common form of
relocation diffusion involves the spreading of
innovations by a migrating population. - (de Blij/Murphy 7th ed., page R-26)
- This occurs when the people migrate and take
their cultural attributes with them.
33Relocation and Expansion In Review Human
Geography, Fellmann, Getis Getis, 8th ed. Page
55
- A is relocation diffusion as the person goes.
- B is expansion diffusion as the idea/trait
moves or transports.
34AIDS and Relocation Diffusion
- Some authors suggest AIDS diffuses through
relocation diffusion. This is true by the fact
that the diffusers take the disease with them.
However, AIDS is not contracted by everyone in
its path. More importantly, the pattern of AIDS
diffusion is more classically hierarchical (and
therefore expansion).
35Migrant Diffusion (a form of Relocation Diffusion)
- Migrant Diffusion is when an innovation
originates and enjoys strong, but brief, adoption
there. The innovation may travel long distances
( be thriving), but could be faded out back at
the point of origination e.g. influenza in
China will reach the U.S., but the epidemic could
be over in China by the time it takes hold in the
U.S.
36One more lookWal-Mart as both contagious and
reverse hierarchical diffusion WHY? Human
Geography, Fellmann, Getis Getis, 8th Ed. Page
57
37How about another example of reverse hierarchical
diffusion?
38Random Thoughts on Diffusion
- Expansion Diffusion
- Contagious
- Does not need have a specific pre-existing
structure for transmission - disease contagion is a prime example
- Dont forget the orange scent spreading around
the room - Hierarchical
- requires a pre-established structure to channel
the flow ie 'chain of command' or network of
power - Relocation Diffusion
- Movement of people and things
- Europeans moved to the Americas and brought their
culture with them
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