AP Human Geography Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering AP Human Geography Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes, including culture basics, folk vs. popular culture, cultural landscapes, language and religion patterns, and diffusion types and effects.

Culture

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

Material Culture

Tangible cultural components, such as architecture, clothing, tools, and food.

Nonmaterial Culture

Intangible cultural elements, including beliefs, values, language, religion, and norms.

Cultural Traits

Single elements of a culture, such as food taboos, architectural styles, and gender roles.

Cultural Relativism

The practice of judging a culture by its own standards.

Ethnocentrism

The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture.

Cultural Hearth

The origin location of a culture or cultural trait (e.g., Mecca for Islam, Mesopotamia for early writing).

Folk Culture

A homogeneous, rural culture tied to local environment and tradition that spreads slowly, resists change, and is often limited by physical barriers.

Popular Culture

A heterogeneous, urban culture with global reach that diffuses rapidly via media and technology and changes quickly.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human culture on the land, including architecture, land use, settlement patterns, sacred sites, and signage.

Sequent Occupancy

The concept that successive groups leave layers of cultural imprints on the same place over time.

Traditional Architecture

Building designs that utilize local materials and reflect climate and local culture.

Postmodern Architecture

Building designs rooted in popular culture, featuring commercial and playful designs.

Sense of Place

Distinctive features of a location that create attachment, meaning, and placemaking.

Ethnic Neighborhoods

Areas formed through spatial clustering (e.g., Chinatown, Little Italy) that help a community maintain its identity.

Indo-European Language Family

The most widespread language family globally, having spread primarily through migration and colonialism.

Lingua Franca

A common language used for communication between groups with different native tongues (e.g., English globally).

Pidgin

A simplified trade language used for communication between speakers of different native languages.

Creolization

The process by which a pidgin becomes a native language or distinct cultures blend together.

Universalizing Religions

Religions that seek converts and have a widespread global reach (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Buddhism).

Ethnic Religions

Religions closely tied to specific groups or geographical regions that do not actively seek converts (e.g., Hinduism, Judaism).

Toponyms

Place names that reveal historical and cultural influences.

Relocation Diffusion

A type of diffusion where people physically move and bring cultural traits with them (e.g., European languages and religions to the Americas).

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a cultural trait outward across an area while remaining strong at its origin.

Hierarchical Diffusion

A type of expansion diffusion where a trait spreads from elites or large cities down to smaller places (e.g., fashion, Christianity in Rome).

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, person-to-person spread of a trait throughout a population, like a virus (e.g., viral trends, diseases).

Stimulus Diffusion

A type of diffusion where an underlying idea is adopted by a new group but modified (e.g., McDonald's menu variations).

Syncretism

The blending of different cultural traits into a new cultural phenomenon (e.g., Vodou).

Acculturation

The process where a group adopts some traits of another culture while still maintaining their original cultural traits.

Assimilation

The process of full cultural absorption of a group into another culture.

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of different cultural groups within a single society.

Centripetal Forces

Forces that unify a society or group (e.g., shared language or religion).

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that divide a society or group (e.g., ethnic or linguistic tensions).

Cultural Convergence

The process of cultures becoming increasingly similar due to globalization.