Unit 3 Studyguide

Cultural practices

Shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by a society.

Cultural traits

Elements such as food preferences, architecture, and land use that characterize a culture.

Cultural relativism

The attitude that a person's beliefs and activities should be understood based on that person's own culture.

Ethnocentrism

The belief in the superiority of one's own culture.

Sequent occupancy

The use of a specific space by successive groups of people, reflecting cultural changes over time.

Diffusion

The spread of cultural practices through various processes.

Types of diffusion

Relocation, expansion (including contagious, hierarchical, and stimulus) are the categories of diffusion.

Acculturation

The process of cultural change and adaptation resulting from the interaction between cultures.

Assimilation

The process by which individuals or groups of different cultures come to adopt the practices of another culture.

Syncretism

The combination of different forms of belief or practice.

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of diverse cultures within a society.

Universalizing religion

A religion that seeks to convert non-believers and is found across many cultures.

Ethnic religion

A religion closely associated with a particular ethnic group and not actively seeking converts.

Centripetal force

A factor that promotes unity and cohesion within a society.

Centrifugal force

A factor that promotes division and fragmentation within a society.

Language family

A group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor.

Lingua franca

A language that is adopted as a common language between speakers whose native languages are different.

Pilgrimage

A journey to a sacred place for religious reasons.

Ethnic cleansing

The systematic removal of an ethnic group from a certain area.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic extermination of a racial or cultural group.