What is Culture? Chapter 4, Section 1

Culture: A Total Way of Life Culture  the way of life of a group of people who share similar beliefs and customs

Elements of Culture Culture includes the work people do, their behaviors, their beliefs, and their ways of doing things –Passed on through generations Cultural Traits  a particular group’s individual skills, customs, and ways of doing things

Elements of Culture Some elements of culture are easy to see –Houses, food, clothing, sports, literature Some you cannot see or touch –Spiritual beliefs, ideals, government, ideas about right and wrong, language

People and Their Land Geographers study culture, especially activities that relate to the environment –Human-environmental interaction –Landforms, climate, vegetation, and resources affect culture

People and Their Land Geographers are also interested in the effect people have on their environment Effect is tied to technology  tools and the skills people need to use them –Used to take advantage of natural resources and change the environment –Stone tools; computers

People and Their Land Cultural landscape  any changes to the environment in which the group lives –Includes technology to make the changes Bali, Indonesia  many mountains; people carved terraces in them to create flat farmland

The Development of Culture Cultures develop over a long time Geographers say early cultures went through 4 stages: 1.the invention of tools 2.the discovery of fire 3.the growth of agriculture, or faming 4.the use of writing

Early Technology Most of history, people were hunters and gatherers Wood and stone tools and weapons Fire

The Start of Agriculture Over time, societies relied on farming for most of their good Change from following herds to farming = Agricultural Revolution –Provided a steady food supply –Birthrates rose –Death rates fell –Population increased –Creation of cities and complex societies

The Start of Agriculture Complex societies = special skills used as jobs; laws and government developed; writing Civilization  when a culture develops a writing system

The Start of Agriculture Early civilizations created unique forms of art and music –Organized their beliefs into religions –Roads and canals became features of the landscape –Irrigation and terracing allowed people to grow more and better crops People spread over more and more regions –As they moved, they made changes to the Earth’s landscape