Unit 3 Cultural Patterns and Processes

Cultural Landscape If you have ever studied the earth’s 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.

Midwestern U.S.

Big Cities

Culture – 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. Add pictures of body piercing from two different cultures. Red Sonia – Leslie Hovvels of Welsh – died because of infection related to nose piercings.

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 1960’s traveled to India and brought back the concept of nose rings. The concept of body piercing has continued to gain in popularity throughout the 80’s, 90’s and today.

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.

Material 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)

Culture 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.

Culture 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 group’s 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.

Culture traits are not necessarily confined to a single culture 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.

China – 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.

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.

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.

Cultural Hearths

Cultural 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.

How do I understand Diffusion?

Acculturation 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.

Assimilation 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

BARRIERS 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

Distance Decay Graph Learn to think about distance decay in a “spatial” context Think of distance decay in terms of an ‘x’ and ‘y’ axis

Two Types of Diffusion Expansion Relocation

Expansion 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)

Expansion Diffusion This occurs when an idea or trait spreads from one place to another.

Kinds 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

Examples 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.

Expansion 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.

Diagram 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.

Expansion 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

An example of Stimulus Diffusion McDonald’s spread to India; however, Indian Hindus do not eat beef. Indian McDonald’s serve veggie burgers, which is culturally acceptable. The idea (McDonald’s burgers) was acceptable, but not in its original form – hence stimulus diffusion.                               

RELOCATION 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.

Relocation 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.

AIDS 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).

Migrant 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.

One more look…Wal-Mart as both contagious and reverse hierarchical diffusion – WHY? Human Geography, Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 8th Ed. Page 57

How about another example of reverse hierarchical diffusion?

Random Thoughts on Diffusion Expansion Diffusion Contagious Does not need have a specific pre-existing structure for transmission disease contagion is a prime example Don’t 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