Culture: shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors transmitted by the members of a society that are not the result of biological inheritance

Cultural Traits: the specific customs that are part of the everyday life of a particular culture, such as language, religion, ethnicity, social institutions, and aspects of popular culture.

Cultural Complex: The group of traits that define a particular culture.

Cultural Hearths: The source of civilization: place where a civilization began and their ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas

Taboos: behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture

Folk Culture: culture traits of usually small, traditional, homogenous, rural communities

Globalization: the process of increased interconnectedness among countries most notably in the areas of economics, politics, and culture

Popular Culture: culture traits of large, heterogeneous, urban populations

Cultural Landscape: the combination of physical features, agricultural and industrial practices, religious and linguistic characteristics, sequent occupancy, traditional and postmodern architecture, and land use patterns 

Material Culture: the art, housing, clothing, sports, dances, foods, and other similar items constructed or created by a group of people

Nonmaterial Culture: The beliefs, practices, aesthetics, and values of a group of people.

Placelessness: loss of distinct local features (uniqueness) in favor of standardized landscapes

Ethnicity: a group of people who share a common cultural identity

Ethnic Enclaves: neighborhoods filled primarily with people of the same ethnic group

Cultural Realms: large cultural areas that include several regions that typically share language families, religious traditions, food preferences, architecture, and shared history

Cultural Regions: an area that is characterized by a group of people that typically share language families, religious traditions, food preferences, architecture, and shared history

Sacred Site: areas/places of religious/spiritual significance, including cathedrals, mosques, temples, and cemeteries

Diaspora: the scattering of Jews from their homeland by the Romans

Indigenous Peoples: the original settlers of an area who have retained their culture

Sequent Occupance: the combined imprint on an area when it has been inhabited by a succession of cultures 

Nationality: group of people who share a cultural heritage, beliefs/values, claim to a homeland, and desire to have their own country

Centripetal Forces: forces that unite a country

Centrifugal Forces: forces that divide a country

Fundamentalism: countries whose governments are run by religious leaders through the use of religious laws 

Ethnocentrism: judging another culture based on the values of one's own culture

Cultural Relativism: the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another

Cultural Appropriation: adopting traits, icons, or other elements of another culture

Cultural Diffusion: the spread of an idea, innovation, cultural trend, or disease from its source area to other areas

Relocation Diffusion: type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea spreads by the actual movement of individuals who have adopted the idea and carry it to a new place

Expansion Diffusion: type of cultural diffusion when an innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains strong there while also spreading outward the innovation or idea moves through fixed populations

Contagious Diffusion: type of expansion diffusion where nearly all individuals are affected as it spreads outward

Hierarchical Diffusion: type of expansion diffusion when particular groups are affected as it leapfrogs over areas

Reverse Hierarchical Diffusion: "bottom-up" diffusion of a cultural trait or trend beginning with a group of people who are not looked to for their opinions or expertise

Stimulus Diffusion: type of expansion diffusion where a small portion of the population adopts an idea or modifies it

Cultural Convergence: cultures become more alike as their interactions increase

Cultural Divergence: the tendency for culture groups to disassociate from others in order to protect or preserve their culture from influence or change