1. Chapter 4 The World’s People
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2. Main Ideas
Culture is the set of beliefs, goals, and practices that a group of people share.
The world includes many different culture groups.
New ideas and events lead to changes in culture.

3. The BIG Idea
Culture, a group’s shared practices and beliefs, differs from group to group and changes over time.

4. BUILDING BACKGROUND
For hundreds of years, immigrants from around the world have moved to the United States to make a new home here. They have brought with them all the things that make up culture – language, religion, beliefs, traditions and more. As a result, the United States has one of the most diverse cultures in the world.

5. A Way of Life What exactly is culture?
Culture - is the set of beliefs, values, and practices that a group of people has in common.
A few examples of culture includes language, religion, clothing, music, government, art and food.
Everything in your day-to-day life is part of your culture!

6. Culture Traits
A culture trait is an activity or behavior in which people often take part.
A few examples of culture traits would be the language you speak or the sport you play.
Culture traits can be shared around the world or something unique to a certain place.

7. Development of Culture
How do cultures develop?
Culture traits are often learned or passed down from one generation to the next.
Laws, holiday customs, and foods are few examples of traits that are passed down.
Cultures may be developed as people learn new culture traits from immigrants.
History is another way that helps to shape our cultures – in the 1500’s the Spanish conquered the South American region. They brought with them the Catholic religion and Spanish as their language. Additionally, the brought with them a variety of foods, clothing, music, etc. to the new continent.

8. Development of Culture (cont.)
Environment also helps to shape our culture.
For example, the desert environment of Africa’s Sahara influences the way people who live there earn a living.
They tend to their herds of goat and sheep rather than try to plant crops in the desert heat and sand.

9. CULTURE GROUPS
People who share similar culture traits are members of the same culture group.
American teenagers could be a culture group based on location and age. They share similar tastes in music, clothing and sports.

10. Culture Regions
A culture region is an area in which people have many shared culture traits.
In a specific culture region, people share certain culture traits, such as religious beliefs, language, or lifestyle.
One well known culture region is the Arab world.
They share many traits such as language, religion, foods, clothing, music and architecture.
A culture trait many dominate an entire country. For example, Japan bow to their elders and speak the same language.
Or a culture trait may cross country/continent borders. For example, the Arab culture crosses multiple areas African, Europe and Asia.

11. Cultural Diversity
An ethnic group is a group of people who share a common culture and ancestry.
Members of ethnic groups often share certain culture traits such as religion, language and even special foods.
Countries with many ethnic groups are culturally diverse.
Tanzania has over 100 different ethnic groups!
Cultural diversity is the state of having a variety of cultures in the same area.
Having diversity within a country can often lead to conflict.
For example, French Canadians want to separate from Canada to help preserve their language and culture.

12. Changes in Culture INNOVATION
When we study cultural change, we try to find out what caused the changes and how those changes spread from place to place.
Cultures change constantly.
Changes happen rapidly, while others take many years.
Innovation and contact with other people are two key causes of cultural change.
INNOVATION
For example, inventions such as the automobile, Internet, motion picture, television and telephone have dramatically changed our culture.
CONTACT
For example, when the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they introduced firearms and horses to the region.

13. How Ideas Spread
The spread of culture traits from one region to another is called cultural diffusion.
Cultural diffusion often ocurs when people move from one place to another.
When Europeans settled in the Americas, they brought their culture along with them.
Cultural diffusion also takes place as new ideas spread from place to place.
The game of baseball started in New York and spread throughout the world.
Jeans originated in the west (California gold rush) and soon became popular throughout the world.

14. Chapter 4 Section 1 Assessment
What is culture?
What influences the development of culture?
How might the world be different if we all shared the same culture?
What are the different types of culture regions?
How does cultural diversity affect societies?
How does cultural diffusion take place?
How can the spread of new ideas lead to cultural change?
Do you think that cultural diffusion has a positive or a negative effect? Explain your answer.