APHG #8

Culture

The learned, shared, and transmitted way of life of a group of people, including their knowledge, values, beliefs, customs, and technologies.

Cultural Realms

Large geographical regions where a set of cultural traits, such as language families, religious traditions, and types of economic systems, are generally homogeneous.

Cultural Traits

The specific customs, attitudes, and behaviors that are part of the daily life of a particular culture.

Cultural Hearths

The source area where innovations, ideas, and major cultures originate before diffusing outwards to other places.

Customs

Repetitive acts performed by a group of people that become a characteristic of that group.

Habit

A repetitive act that an individual performs, not necessarily shared by the wider culture.

Folk Culture

Traditional, small, and homogeneous groups of people who are often isolated and resistant to change.

Popular Culture

Found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in personal characteristics; it is dynamic and changes rapidly.

Taboo

A social or religious custom that prohibits or forbids a particular practice, behavior, or association.

Terroir

The influence of a location's unique physical environment, such as soil and climate, on a food's flavor.

Cultural Landscapes

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the natural environment.

Sequence Occupancy

The notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, with each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape.

Cultural Imperialism

The dominance of one culture over another, often leading to the erosion of local traditions and customs.

Cultural Relativism

The practice of judging a culture by its own standards, without passing judgment based on one's own cultural norms.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture is superior and is used as the standard by which to judge other cultures.

Sociofacts

The social structures and institutions that govern human interaction, such as family, education, and political systems.

Mentifacts

The core, intangible beliefs, values, and ideas that shape a culture, like religion, language, and folklore.

Artifacts

The material objects and physical items produced by a culture, such as tools, clothing, and architecture.

Cultural Extinction

The complete disappearance of a culture due to various factors like war, disease, or forced assimilation.

Cultural Pluralism

A condition where multiple cultural groups coexist and participate equally within one society while maintaining their distinct identities.

Cultural Geography

The study of how cultures vary over space and how humans interact with their environments.

Acculturation

The process where a less dominant culture adopts traits of a more dominant one, often while still retaining elements of its original culture.

Syncretic

The fusion of different cultural traits to create a new cultural expression.

Natural Landscape

The physical environment unaltered by human activity, forming the foundation upon which cultural landscapes are built.

Cultural Convergence

When different cultures become more similar over time due to increased interaction and shared ideas, often through globalization and technology.

Assimilation

The process where individuals or groups from one culture adopt the traits of another, leading to a loss of their original cultural identity.

Marginalization

The process by which individuals or groups are pushed to the edges of society, denied access to resources and excluded from meaningful participation.

Cultural Divergence

When a culture splits into distinct, separate cultures, or when different cultures become more dissimilar over time.

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of diverse cultural groups within a society, where different identities are recognized and appreciated.

Separatism

A political movement where a group with distinct cultural or ethnic characteristics seeks independence or autonomy from a larger governing body.