4-1 The Elements of Culture

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4-1: The Elements of Culture Chapter 4
Human Geography: People & Places

• Culture – set of elements that identifies a society’s way of life
1. What people care about 2. What people take care of

• Ideas, beliefs & values
– Language, religion & ethnicity

• Material wealth
– Food, clothing & shelter

Cultural Exchanges
• Inherited Culture – society’s own earlier experiences • Diffused Culture – the spread of ideas or patterns of behavior • Culture Hearth – source area in which a culture becomes so well established & advanced that its attributes are passed to future generations
– Example: Ancient Rome & Greece

Diffused Culture: McDonald’s

Language
• Language is a basic way culture is passed from generation to generation • Gives a group share a common sense of unity • There are between 3,000 – 6,500 languages spoken today • A dialect is a version of a language
– Southern accent, Boston accent, New York accent

Goode’s Languages Map

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Religion
• A belief in a supernatural power or powers that are regarded as the creators and maintainers of the universe – Monotheistic – 1 god – Polytheistic – many gods – Animistic – belief in divine nature (e.g., Shintoism) • Religion impacts the landscape through sacred structures • Shapes routines of daily life – Food – no swine for Jews or Muslims

Religious Influences

Followers Location
Judaism Jews Israel, U.S., Canada, South America & Europe Largest of all religions; 2 billion followers worldwide

Religious Book
Torah / Jewish Bible (Old Testament) Bible (New Testament)

Notes
Faith & culture are closely tied

Major World Religions

Christianity

Christians

Based on the teachings of Jesus Christ Teachings of Muhammad Polytheistic – belief in many gods Teaches the correct path to nirvana
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/02016/images/map_of_religions.png

Islam

Muslims

Middle East, Africa, Koran parts of Asia, U.S. India

Hinduism

Hindus

Buddhism

Buddhists

Asia

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The youngest and oldest age groups shown on this graph are • Between 1 and 4, and over 75 • 1 and 80 • 4 and 70 • Between 0 and 4, and over 85 Which statement is correct about people between the ages of 30 and 50 A. Their percentage of the population increases during those years B. Men decline as a percentage but women increase C. That age bracket declines steadily as a percentage of the population D. Women decline but men increase as a percentage

Population Geography

• How many brothers & sisters do you have? • How many brothers & sisters do your parents each have? • How many children do you plan to have?

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Population
• Demography – scientific study of population characteristics • Where is the world’s population distributed?
– 2/3 of the world’s population lives in 4 regions:
• East Asia (China, Japan & Korea) • South Asia (India, Pakistan) • Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos) • Western Europe

Population Cartogram

Population Density
• The number of people occupying an area of land
– Number of people / total land area

Global Population Density

• Example: United States’ population is roughly 300 million residing in 3.7 million square miles
– 300 million / 3.7 million square miles = 80 people per square mile – BUT, NYC = 70,500 per square mile!!
• 2007 Population = 1,620,867 / 22.96 square miles

• Bangladesh = 2,700 people per square mile! • India = 900 people per square mile • Canada = 8 people per square mile

China’s Population Density

Where Did All Those People Come From?! • Birthrate = total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society
–Example: A birthrate of 20 means for every 1,000 people in the country, 20 babies were born over a 1 year period
• Florida = birth rate of 12.5 or 218,034 births

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Where Did All Those People Come From?!
• Mortality (or death) rate = number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society
– A mortality rate of 20 means for every 1,000 people in the country, 20 people died over a 1 year period
• Florida = 9.6 mortality rate or 170,000 deaths

Natural Increase
• The difference between the birthrate and the mortality rate results in the % in which a population grows in a year
– Example: Florida’s birthrate = 12.5 and mortality rate = 9.6 – 12.5-9.6= 2.9 more people per 1,000 are born every year (.29% increase)

The World’s Increase
• Natural Increase Rate = 1.2% or 80 million people per year • At that rate, the world’s population will double in 54 years!! • The Natural Increase Rate is 2.0+% in most countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, & the Middle East • There is a NEGATIVE growth rate in Europe!

Natural Population Increase Rate

Life Expectancy
• Average number of years an infant can expect to live • Most favorable in wealthy countries
–Late 70s in the United States –Early 40s in sub-Saharan African countries

World Life Expectancies

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Population Pyramid
• Graphic organizer showing age and gender groups

Why Does Population Matter?
• Overpopulation = too many people for the available resources • Can lead to:
– Overuse of land = not enough food – Not enough energy capacity (i.e., oil!)

Bell Warmer: Urban Growth
City
Cairo Jakarta Lagos NYC Mexico City Bombay Sao Paulo Tokyo

Political Geography
• State – an area organized into a political unit ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and external affairs
– Also known as a country

Population (Millions) 1950 2000 2015 (est.) 2.1 10.5 14.4 2.8 9.5 21.2 1.0 12.2 24.4 12.0 16.5 17.6 3.5 17.6 19.0 2.8 2.3 6.2 16.9 17.3 27.7 27.4 20.8 28.7

• Which city grew the MOST in absolute terms between 1950 and 2000? – Mexico City – Bombay – Sao Paulo – Tokyo • Which cities are expected to grow the LEAST between 2000 and 2015? – NYC and Mexico City – Cairo and Sao Paulo – NYC and Tokyo – Bombay and Jakarta

• Nation – group of people with a common culture living in a territory
– Possible to have a nation but not be a country
• Examples: Palestinians, Basques

Boundaries
• Invisible line marking the extent of a state’s territory • Potential for conflict with neighbors
– Example: North and South Korea

Types of Boundaries
• Physical – make good boundaries because they are easily seen, both on a map on the ground
– Mountains – difficult to pass; limited contact with neighbors
• Argentina & Chile

– Desert – hard to cross & sparsely populated
• Common in Africa & Asia

– Water – Rivers, lakes, & oceans are frequently used
• Common in East Africa

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Types of Boundaries
• Artificial – fixed line following latitude or longitude
– Often defined in treaties between countries

Urban Geography
• Urbanization – increase in the number of people living in cities • Urban settlements – large size, high density

Sprawl
• Pattern of land use that is characterized by automobile-dependency outside of a compact urban centers, along highways and in the rural areas
– – – – – – Excessive land consumption Low densities in comparison with older centers Lack of transportation options Lack of choice in housing types and prices Repetitive one-story Lack of public spaces and community centers

Cookie-Cutter Homes!!

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