AP HUG UNIT 3

AP Human Geography

Culture

Practices, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people, forming their collective identity.

Cultural Region

Geographic area where people share similar cultural traits, such as language and religion.

Artifacts

Material objects associated with a culture, including clothing, tools, and artwork.

Customs

Practices followed by people of a particular culture.

Tradition

A cohesive collection of customs passed down through generations.

Syncretic

A blend of cultural traits from different sources, creating a new tradition or practice.

Culture Hearth

The origin point of unique cultural traits, such as Classical Greece as the hearth of democracy.

Diffusion

The spread of cultural traits from one place to another through various methods.

Relocation Diffusion

When people migrate and carry their culture with them to a new place.

Expansion Diffusion

Culture spreads outward without the movement of people, including various diffusion types.

Contagious Diffusion

Rapid spread of a cultural trait through direct contact.

Hierarchical Diffusion

Spread of culture from influential figures or urban centers to less prominent places.

Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion

Spread of cultural traits from lower social groups to higher ones.

Stimulus Diffusion

The adoption of an idea in a modified form.

Cultural Landscape

Visible features of an area shaped by human activity, including architecture and land use.

Space-Time Compression

Advances in communication and transportation reduce the time it takes for culture to spread.

Popular Culture

Culture that arises in urban areas, spreading quickly through media.

Folk Culture

Practices of small, homogeneous groups that are rural and slow to change.

Indigenous Culture

Culture connected to ancestral lands and traditions.

Artifacts, Mentifacts, and Sociofacts

Tangible cultural attributes, beliefs and values, and reflections of social structures.

Acculturation

Process where immigrants adopt aspects of the dominant culture while retaining elements of their original culture.

Assimilation

When an ethnic group becomes indistinguishable from the dominant culture.

Multiculturalism

Coexistence of diverse cultures, potentially leading to enrichment and conflict.

Centripetal Forces

Factors that unify people within a culture, like shared religion or language.

Centrifugal Forces

Factors that divide a culture, potentially causing conflict.

Sequent Occupancy

Process by which successive cultures leave their imprint on a place.

Globalization

Increased interconnection and cultural mixing worldwide.

Time-Space Convergence

Improved technology and transportation making distances seem shorter and increasing cultural interaction.

Cultural Convergence

The blending or merging of cultures through interactions.

Cultural Divergence

The restriction of a culture from outside influences.

Taboo

A behavior or practice discouraged or forbidden in certain cultures.

Ethnic Enclave

An area where a particular ethnic group clusters to preserve cultural identity.

Cultural Homogenization

Process where diverse cultures become more similar due to globalization.

Cultural Complex

A group of interrelated cultural traits.

Language Family

A group of related languages descended from a common ancestor.

Universalizing Religion

Religion that seeks to appeal to all people and spreads through missionary work.

Ethnic Religion

Religion closely associated with a specific cultural group and not actively seeking converts.