Human GeographyHuman Geography

Chapter 2Chapter 2

setting the stage…

• Reviewing the meaning, components, structure of culture

• Processes of cultural change, diffusion, divergence

• Dynamic processes

culture (social science definition)

• Specialized behavioral patterns, understandings, adaptations, and social systems that summarize a group of people’s learned way of life

culture is…..

• Learned, not biological

• Transmitted within a society to next generations by imitation, tradition, instruction

culture provides….

• a “general framework”

• each individual learns & adheres to general rules

• also to specific sub-groups:– age, sex, status, occupation, nationality

• Subcultures co-exist– Masculine / feminine– Rural / rural– Different ethnicities

• Joined by common traditions, behaviors, loyalties, beliefs– Christmas– Church attendance on Sunday

culture is dynamic….

• External influences• Cultural exchange• Generational • Technology • Environmental

– HIV/AIDS– Global warming

cultural variables.. micro-macro

• 1. Cultural traits – most elementary– Expression of culture, the smallest

distinctions• Behavior• Object• Beliefs • Attitudes

– these “building blocks” = a culture complex

culture complex

• Individual cultural traits that are functionally interrelated– Masai of Kenya – cultural

traits centered on cattle– American football – sports

culture

culture region

• Portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by populations sharing recognizable distinctive cultural characteristics– Political organizations/boundaries– Religions– Economy type

cultural realm

• A set of cultural regions showing related cultural complexes and landscapes– Large region that has assumed

fundamental uniformity in its cultural characteristics and showing significant differences from surrounding realms

culture realms

globalization

• Interconnection of all parts of world• International scale of social, cultural, political,

economic processes• Homogenization of cultures

– Integrated economies– Standardization

• Persistent regional descriptions– Adaptations to accommodate cultural preferences

interaction of people and environment…..

• Cultural ecology – study of the relationship between a culture group and the natural environment it occupies– Arid regions versus humid regions– Indian acorn culture

environmental determinism…??

• The belief that the physical environment alone determines how humans are, their actions, their thoughts

• Environment alone cannot account for cultural variations– Environment places certain limitations on human

use of land– Not absolute due to technology, ideologies

• Indian acorn culture versus Inca civilization

possibilism

• Viewpoint that people, not environments are the dynamic forces that cause cultural development

• Noting world’s population location:– Evidence of nature of limits of environment– Majority of people located in regions with certain

characteristics• Mild climates, supply of fresh water, fertile soil, mineral

resources

ecumene: Major areas of permanent inhabitation

• Continental margins (coastal regions)– 2/3’s of total human population live within 300 miles of the

ocean

• Low-lying fertile delta lands (along rivers)

where DON’T humans live (without supporting technology) ???

• Rocky coasts

• Cold regions

• Areas with infertile soils

• Mountains / deserts

• Tropical lowlands, swampy land, forested disease-infected river valleys

nonecumene: Major regions in the world

• The “hollow continent” - South America

• The “empty quarter” – Arabian Peninsula

• The Amazon Basin

• The Sahara Desert

• Antarctica / Arctic / Siberia

population distribution

• 90 % of all people live north of the Equator• 2/3 of this total are in the mid-latitudes of 20 –

60 degrees north (most temperate)• More than ½ the world population lives on

only 5% of the earth’s land• 2/3 live on 10%• 9/10 on less than 20%

6.2+ billion humans – The largest concentrations (Four major regions)

• East Asia – Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea– Largest – both in

area and numbers– 25% of world

population

• South Asia – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka – Second largest– 21% of world

population

human concentrations

• Europe – southern, western, eastern through the Ukraine– 13% of the world

population

• Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada– Smallest

concentration

human impact on the environment

• Geography examines: – human reactions to environment– human impacts on environment

• Cultural landscape– the earth’s surface as modified by human action– physical record of a culture

• House types• Transportation networks• Size & distribution of settlement

human actions… deliberate & accidental

• Vegetation – Altered, replaced, denuded

• Animal species– Extinctions, marginalized

• Fertile regions transformed – unproductive, polluted, degraded

landscapes

Moa – New Zealand

17th century

fire - perhaps the first great tool

• Fire control by hunter-gather groups– Grasslands = herds of grazing animals– Chase out game– Protect themselves at night from animals

• Fire control today – – Some land reverting to forest– Also natural fires (lightening strikes) allowed to

burn• Provides opportunity for more diversity

looking at roots of culture

• Earlier humans were more impacted by physical environment

11,000 years ago retreat of massive glaciers

(end of Paleolithic period)• Ice melted – released moisture

– Expanding • Vegetation & animals• Spreading populations

3 waves of development following retreat of glaciers

• Basic hunter & gather groups

• Development of agriculture/animal husbandry

• Urbanization/industrialization

Paleolithic period – to 11,000 BC

• Hunter & gather groups

• Retreating glaciers

• Spreading & isolation = cultural divergence

hunter & gather groups

• Small, scattered groups, pre-agricultural– Dependent on natural food sources– Primitive stone tools & weapons– Population estimate: 5 to 10 million– Spread to all continents except Antarctica

human migration

carrying capacity

• Hunter & gather groups =large territories for small numbers

• Relative isolation = cultural divergence

• Some contact = trading, socializing, spouse selection

• Groups of about 20 to 40 individuals

expansion & spread

• New innovations– Encountering new environmental problems,

materials, resources

• Accelerated differentiation – Spreading increased cultural contrasts– New environments = cultural change

• New tools, words, lifestyles

hunter & gather lifestyle

• Hunting & foraging process– Not so demanding of time and energy

• Estimates for Bushmen: survival requires a 2½ day workweek

– Time available• Development of tools, art, language, religion,

trade, permanent settlements, social stratifications

impacts on environment

• Increasing populations– Depleted the large herds– Herds were migrating northward– Need for new food bases

• Plant & animal domestication

Mesolithic period – 11,000 to 5,000 BC

• Moving into the Agricultural Revolution– Transition from food collecting to food production –– Transition to sedentary lifestyle– Plant & animal domestication– Profound changes in tools, tasks, social

complexities– Foods remained regional

agricultural origins….

• Spanning 1,000s of years– Nile floodplain – 18,500 years ago– Americas (Mexico) – 5,000 years ago

• Helter-skelter fashion• Females considered primary players

– Development of crop production– Innovators of technology– Perhaps evolved out of plant gathering & nurturing

domestication – 40° N to 40° S

migration of first farmers

• 10,000 years ago

• Out of the Middle East

• Spread rate = 5/8ths mile per year

Neolithic period – 8,000 to 5,000 BC

• Agricultural Revolution – into full swing

• Cultural hearths/civilizations

• Technological & social innovations– Plow– Irrigation – Draft animals

civilizations – economies based on agriculture

• Surplus of food

• Expanding populations

• Innovations:– Spinning, weaving– Potter wheel, brick making, construction– Mining, smelting, casing metals

cultural hearths

development of civilizations… beginning around

5,000 BC

• 1. Agriculture

• 2. Government

• 3. Religion

• 4. Specialization

beginnings of urbanization

• Cultural hearths varied– Rural, urban, sea-faring, commerce based

• Development of stratified societies– Artisans, warriors/armies, merchants,

scholars, priests, administrators– Astronomy, mathematics, calendar

cultural change….

• In constant state of change– Can be dramatic, or less pronounced periods– Can be large or small

• No phones to cell phones….. less than one century• Subsistence agriculture to agro-business industry

• 3 ways of change

1. innovation

• Introduction of new ideas, practices, or objects; usually, an alteration of custom or culture that originates within the social group itself

• For example an invention:– Material: bow & arrow, gun, steam engine– Non-material: Christianity, capitalism

how does innovation happen???

• Characteristically pre-modern, traditional societies are not innovative– Equilibrium, so no motivation– Always resistance to change

• Usually innovation occurs under pressure, stress– Today gas is $3.00 +– Food pressures

2. diffusion

• Process by which an idea/innovation is transmitted from one individual/group to another across space

• 2 processes– Relocation - migration– Expansion - spread of

information/innovation

diffusion processes

• Relocation diffusion:– The innovation or idea is physically

carried to new areas by migrating individuals or populations

• Expansion diffusion:– Contagious– Hierarchical – Stimulus

3. acculturation

• Adoption of cultural traits, “borrowing”– Religion, technology

• Through force – War, subjugation

• Absorption – Most extreme– Extinction of culture can occur