Chapter 4 – Section 1

Elements of Culture

What is culture?Culture: the total knowledge, attitude and behaviors shared by & passed on by the members of a specific group.

Society: a group that shares a geographic region, a sense of identity, and a culture.

Ethnic Group: is a group that shares a language, customs and a common heritage.

– Has an identity as a separate group of people within the region where they live.

• Cultures/Societies are always changing; can be slow or quick

Innovation: Taking existing elements of society & creating something new; occurs to meet a new need or accidentally.

How do they change?

Diffusion: Spread of ideas, inventions, or patterns of behavior which can be spread quicker through technology.

Acculturation: Occurs when individuals in a society accept or adopt an innovation; such as substituting new ideas from other cultures for traditions.

Cultural Hearth: a site of innovation from which basic ideas, materials, and technology diffuse to many cultures.

– River civilizations: Indus, Huang He, Nile, Tigris & Euphrates are best known.

Language• One of the most important aspects of a culture.

• Helps establish cultural identity.– Can unite and divide people.

• 6,000+ known languages

• They evolve and change over time; diffusion through trade/migration.

• Dialect: versions of languages; reflects changes in speech patterns related to class, region or other cultural changes.

Old EnglishThe language of the Anglo-Saxons (up to about 1150), a highly inflected language with

a largely Germanic vocabulary, very different from modern English.

Why is English so cray cray?• Bot• Bought• Brought• Caught• Cot• Dot

• Fought• Got• Hot• Knot• Lot• Not

• Ought• Pot• Rot• Sought• Shot• Thought

• Go

• Joe

• Sew

• Bow

• Beau

• Dough

• Faux

• No

Religion: consists of a belief in a supernatural power/powers that are regarded as the creators/maintainers of the universe.

Monotheistic: one god

Polytheistic: many gods

Animistic: AKA traditional; belief in divine forces of nature.

Religions Around the World

1. Judaism

Oldest of the SW Asian religions; concentrated in Israel; oldest monotheistic religion; Torah is the holy book.

2. Christianity

Evolved from Judaism; monotheistic; based on teachings of Jesus Christ; largest of all religions; Bible is

the holy book.

3. Islam

Based on the teachings of Muhammad; followers called Muslims, monotheistic, major divisions – Sunni &

Shi’ite; Qur’an is the holy book.

4. HinduismWorld’s oldest religion, concentrated in India; polytheistic;

multiple holy books – Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita, Puranas & more

5. BuddhismOffshoot of Hinduism; teaches correct way of living in order to reach

nirvana; major groups – Theraveda, Mahayana, Lamaism & Zen; based on the teachings of Buddha; The Dharma

6. Other Asian Practices

Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto; all in East Asia

• Pale Blue Dot

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PN5JJDh78I

• Greatest Speech

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo

• Crash Course

– https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/videos

Chapter 4 – Section 2

Population Geography

Who is the most average person?

Population DistributionHabitable Lands

• About 2/3 of all people live between 20°N & 60°N

– Good climate and suitable for vegetation

• Large concentrations in river valleys & coasts

Urban-Rural Mix

• More than ½ of all people live in rural areas, but that is changing.

– People are moving into cities.

Migration

• People moving between world regions.

• Push-Pull Factors: reasons for migrating.– Push Factor: A reason that is forcing people to leave their homeland.

• War, oppression, natural disaster, etc.

– Pull Factor: Draw and attract people to another location.

• Good opportunities; education, jobs, etc.

Birthrate: The number of live births per thousand population.

Fertility Rate: Average number of children per woman’s lifetime, assuming she bears children at the current rate for her country.

Mortality Rate: Death rate – number of deaths per thousand

Infant Mortality Rate: Number of deaths under age 1 per thousand live births

Rate of Natural Increase: Birthrate – Mortality Rate = the rate at which the population is growing

Population Pyramid: Graphic device that shows gender and age distribution in a population.

Population Density: Average number of people who live in a measurable area. How heavily populated is a region?

Carrying Capacity: Number of species an area of land can support; varies with fertility of the land; can be improved with technology.

Partner Activity• Use pages 108-112 in your book

• Find the following for Nevada + 4 other states:

– Population

– Infant Mortality

– Population Density

– Total Area

STATE POPULATION INFANT MORT. POP. DENSITY TOTAL AREA

NEVADA

Chapter 4 – Section 3

Political Geography

Geographic Characteristics of Nations1. Size - Small size not always a barrier; large size means more resources & maybe more power.

2. Shape - Can affect ease of governing, movement of goods, & relationships with neighboring countries

3. Location - Relative location, especially to the sea, can be important; being surrounded by hostile or friendly neighbors. A landlocked nation has no coasts.

Natural Boundaries - Can cause arguments between boarding nations, especially if boundaries shift.

Artificial Boundaries - Can cause difficulties when groups of people are divided or put together in artificial ways.

State: Independent political unit that occupies a specific territory & has full control of its internal and external affairs; country.

Nation: Group of people with a common culture living in a territory & having a strong sense of unity.

Nation-State: A territory (state) occupied by a nation (people).

Stateless Nation: A nation (people) without a territory (state).

– Ex: Kurds, Basques & Palestinians

Democracy: Type of government in which citizens hold political power either directly or through elected representatives.

Monarchy: Type of government in which a ruling family or royalty holds political power & may or may not share power with citizens.

Dictatorship: Type of government in which an individual or group holds complete political power.

Communism: Type of government in which nearly all political power & means of production are held by the government.

Chapter 4 – Section 4

Urban Geography

The First City• Ur – An ancient city in the country Sumer; 6,500+ years ago

– 34,000+ population

Growth of Urban Areas• Cities: develop around business & cultural centers.

• Suburbs: mostly residential, develop around cities; within commuting distance of central city.

• Exurbs: small towns with open land between them and the central city.

• Metropolitan Area: The city, its suburbs & exurbs link together economically.

• Megalopolis: formed when several metropolitan areas linked together.

PopulationEst. 2014 - 236,995

Metropolitan Area - 425,417

• Urbanization: the dramatic rise in the number of cities and the changes in lifestyle that result.

City Locations• Good transportation (on a river, lake or coast)

• Easy access to natural resources

• Specialization in economic activities

Land Use Patterns• Residential: Single-family homes & apartments

• Commercial: Private businesses; buying/selling of retail products

• Industrial: Areas of manufacturing goods

• Central Business District (CBD): the core of a city is almost always based on commercial activity. Business & stores are found here.

Chapter 4 – Section 5

Economic Geography

Economic Systems• Economy: the production and exchange of goods and services.

– Local, national and international

• Economic System: The way people produce & exchange goods & services; 4 types.

1. Traditional Economy: G&S are exchanged without money; barter.

2. Command Economy: Production of G&S is controlled by the government; planned economy.

3. Market Economy: Production of G&S is determined by demand from consumers; demand economy/capitalism.

4. Mixed Economy: A combination of command & market provides G&S so all people benefit.

How does our economy work?

PRODUCTION

THE MARKET

CONSUMPTIONWAGES

LABOR

Economic ActivitiesEconomic behaviors change to reflect people’s needs and are related to different levels.

1. Primary Activities: collecting raw materials for immediate use or use in making a final product.

2. Secondary Activities: adding value to raw materials by changing their form.

3. Tertiary Activities: providing business or professional services.

4. Quaternary Activities: provide information, management and research by highly skilled persons.

• Natural Resources: materials on/in the Earth (trees, minerals, coal, etc.) that have economic value.

– Not distributed equally around the world.

– 3 basic types

1. Renewable: can be replaced naturally.

– Trees, seafood, etc.

2. Non-renewable: cannot be replaced once they have been used.

– Metals, gemstones, fossil fuels, coal, natural gas, etc.

3. Inexhaustible energy sources: they are the result of solar or planetary processes & are unlimited in quantity.

– Sunlight, geothermal heat, winds, tides, etc.

• Infrastructure: the basic support systems needed to keep an economy going; including power, communications, transportation, water, sanitation & education systems.

Measuring Economic Development• Per Capita Income: the average amount of money earned by each person in a

political unit.

• Gross National Product (GNP): the total value of all G&S produced by a country over a year worldwide.

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): the total value of all G&S produced by a country over a year within the country itself.

Why do some nations have higher GNPs and GDPs compared to other nations?