Chapter 4 Flashcards
What were characteristics of Hunter-Gatherers?
pre-agricultural (Paleolithic) peoples with limited toolsets who relied on animals and plants for their sustenance
Hunted and gathered all day
Had some similarities to other cultural groups because they ahd same climate food source therefore developed similar cultures
Were culturally simple, and similar with some differences attributable to different food sources and climate
Nevertheless, were able to expand throughout much of the world
Low population densities and relatively isolated
Why did hunter gathers have low population densities?
Had to have low density bc a major city couldn’t be supported by hunting and gathering
Low carrying capacity
If you relying on hunting and gathering you can only support small populations
It wasn’t until the development of agriculture that allowed for larger urban populations and higher pop. Densities and increased carrying capacity
Carrying Capacity
“The number of persons supportable within a given area by the technologies at their disposal”
What were characteristics of Mesolithic populations?
Cultures immerged Populations moved from food gathering to food production
Developed new ways of life and economy
Development of culture
Increased Cultural divergence
10 or 11000 years ago the glaciers retreated that opened up new environments for humans and led to differing rates of cultural change in different areas
Began an era of cultural divergence that continued to this day
Humans grew in populations and began to expand beyond their environments, given their technologies and cultural practices
Reached carrying capacity
Without of some change they would’ve cease increase in population and even decline
What were characteristics of Neolithic populations?
new tools, technologies and social structures developed among sedentary populations
People who didn’t need to be up and moving
Social stratification, culture emerging
Describe Agricultural Origins and Spread
Agriculture turned people into producers of food
Rewrote human culture and allowed people to exceed previous limits on carrying capacity
Describe the Domestication of animals and plants
(beginning 10-20,000 Before Present): enables exceeding previous carrying capacity
Early domestication was from hunter gathers keeping young animals as pets early plant was non food nurturing followed by food species of plants to a few regions or origin
Traced different plants and animals
Occurred at different times in different regions (earlier in Middle East, later in the Americas).
Centered on different agricultural products
What were early Culture Hearths?
Early centers of innovation that cultural traits spread
Cradle of civilization that later spread its influence beyond that hearth
Earliest hearth: Mesopotamia (followed later by Egypt), china south america
Few emerged as civilizations centered around a urban core
What were Civilizations were characterized by?
common among all hearths
highly productive local agriculture, producing surplus food (if you have farmers on agriculture and food creation that frees up everyone else to do other things and that lead to a stratified society)
stratified society- strata are layers, we are fed by farmers, artistans merchants priests, govenement
We important so people can specialize in non agriculture
the development of astronomical and mathematical knowledge
each exported its culture far beyond its culture
Diffusion
What are 2 competing theories ?
Multilinear evolution, diffusionism
Multilinear Evolution
Cultural innovations occurred independently in parallel ecological regions because there were similar Environmntal pressures
Researchers that have studied these hearths speculate that if there are similarities between 2 civilizations its not because they were in contact with each other but it was because they developed similar hunting techniques or agriculture practices because they had similar ecological regions and it was natural they developed similarities in culture
Development of agricultural characteristics was not connected between different places but was coincidental because there were similar environmental pressures
Diffusionism
Cultural traits appeared in a few hearths, spreading over time to other societies along trade routes
Most of these cultural traits would have originated in 1 or 2 hearths and spread and out and they are linked together, dependent and that would account for the appearance of similar characteristics among widespread people
What were Unintended consequences of urban development?
crowd diseases
Relatively recent appearance among humans – circa 5,000 BP
Required growth of large urban societies- dense pop.
Required development of animal domestication
Zoonoses
animal diseases jumped to domestic animals than humans
Explain the Origins - Domesticated Animals diseases
As each new species became domesticated, additional diseases appeared in population
Caused severe but relatively local short term epidemics
As species were domesticated other diseases began
Specially the case where agriculture practices dictated the closer interaction between animals
Animals had to be fed by hand everyday
Animals were in large urban markets in close contact with animals and people
In contrast where animals are kept out of urban areas and instead of being fed by hand are put out into pasteurize
Different practices will lead to contact between people and animals
for people who contact with animals periodic bouts of sickness were inevitable but sickness was short lived without a significantly large urban population to maintain diseases a epidemic would flare up and disappear because there wasn’t enough people concentrated in a dense urban area
Smallpox
Emerged from cowpox – mild disease affecting cattle
Smallpox and cowpox have cross immunity
Edward Jenner alive in 1790s noticed milkmaids often did not contract smallpox so he used that info to demonstrate if you purposely infect a person with cow pox you could prevent small pox
He invented basis of modern vaccination
Led to the eradication of naturally occurring smallpox
People in developing countries wouldve been vaccinated not in Canada
Measles
Transferred to humans from dogs
MMR shot-
In recent epidemics and outbreaks have occurred everywhere poor and good countries
Due to some parents not choosing to vaccinate kids
Influenza
Most likely sources: domesticated birds (ducks and geese) and pigs (i.e. avian and swine flu). Now both serve to allow flu virus to mutate- this is why its difficult to track and make vaccine
Rhinovirus (colds)
Probably spread to humans from horses
Everyday cold
Culture
falls in two basic categories and is defined as the body of material traits, customary beliefs, and social forms
Folk Culture
is traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in relative isolation
Group of people in a particular place who see themselves as a collective or community and share experiences customs and traits and work to preserve them
So that they can have uniqueness
Use these traits to distinguish their culture from otehrs
Popular culture
is found in large heterogeneous societies that share certain customs (frequently changes)
Wide ranging group of heterogeneous people stretching across Identies and parts of the world who embrace cultural traits music dance clothing food and change frequently and are ubiquitous on cultural landscape
Heterogeneous means different people, different places different cultures all that are embracing these trends
Changes very frequently- trend you hear Abt one day and that it goes away, ALS ice bucket challenge, new song comes along
What can Culture be distinguished from?
a habit or a custom
habit
is a repetitive act by an individual
Things people eat routines things they do everyday
custom
is a repetitive act of a group
Small group like a family or large group like a culture
Getting together with family
Local knowledge
is the collective knowledge of a community (from everyday activities)
Doesn’t exist as a single monolithic entity
Small cultural group that has one wise person
What are 3 characteristics of local knowledge?
Orally transmitted or demonstrated
Oral transmission is supplemented by activities or stories that help demonstrate a procedure or reinforce a practice
Dynamic – reflects new knowledge- continually changing, to reflect new knowledge and observations
Many people/reservoirs are involved in a single community- many people who know different knowledge
Rationality doctrine
Idea that local knowledge outdated or inferior is known as the- Rationality doctrine
Common during European colonialism when Europeans would assume non Europeans were irrational or savage or childlike and all their knowledge was dismissed
Today: local knowledge is essential- will provide a framework for community problem solving and helped inform sustainable development processes
Custom
a practice that a group of people routinely follows
Local cultures are sustained by maintaining customs
Material culture customs
Leisure activities (arts and recreation)
Material Culture
The things a group of people construct, such as art, houses, clothing, sports, dance, and food
Different cultural groups find shelter or wear food in distinctive ways
Things you can feel touch, physical tangible things
All people eat food and wear clothing and have to live somewhere
Different cultural groups will do it in different ways
Different cultural groups will emphasize different clothing food live in different houses
Nonmaterial Culture
The beliefs, practices, aesthetics, and values of a group of people
Different cultural groups having different definitions of what meaningful art is and an exciting recreation experience
Soccer ball is material culture- rules and how people are treated are non material
Non physical tangible things
What are examples of customs?
Russia sept.12 is National Day of Conception
June 12 is Russian national days
Finland wife carrying is a sport- prize is beer amount you win is size of wife
Tipping- dependent on place
Gestures
Left hand- rude in some countries
Neolocalism
having a renewed interest in sustaining and promoting uniqueness & authenticity of a place
Why does neolocalism happen?
seeking out a regional culture and reinvigorating that culture
Often a response to globalization
A response to places are becoming more similar- A cultural group may celebrate their heritage in their new area after they relocate
Statues, flags, toponyms, celebrations/holidays, etc
Try to keep heritage alive thru material and non-material means
What are two goals of local culture?
Keeping other cultures out (i.e. create a boundary around itself)
Living in rural areas allows for this
Can define their own space practice own customs
Keeping their own culture in (i.e. avoid cultural appropriation)
Cultural appropriation
process where other cultures adopt customs and knowledge and use them for their own benefit.
Major concern for local cultures
Local knowledge has been privatized by people outside the culture- someone learns something at one place and take that and go back and make huge profit out of it
hearth
a center of innovation
culture originates here
What are the hearths of folk culture and pop culture?
Folk culture often has anonymous hearths from anonymous sources, sometimes multiple hearths
We don’t know where the hearth was
Could be multiple
Popular culture is typically traceable to a specific person or corporation in a particular place, very often the originator is a product of developed countries
Originator might take elements of folk culture and appeal to a wider audience
Take a song they heard in folk song and get famous singer to sing it
Product of more developed countries, NA and europe
Expansion
Idea or item moves to a new place but also remains behind
Describe the different types of diffusion
Contagious Diffusion – nearest source affected first
Hierarchical Diffusion – from larger to smaller communities (for example)
Stimulus Diffusion – when an idea is brought to a new population and stimulates related development (not a duplication of the original)
Relocation Diffusion – idea carried by migrants (when individual part of new pop, no longer associated with source area)
Describe the diffusion of pop culture and folk culture
Folk culture is transmitting slowly on a small scale
Mainly through relocation diffusion
Popular culture typically spreads rapidly from hearths or nodes of innovation with the help of modern communications
Typically hierarchical diffusion
What are some barriers to Diffusion?
Absorbing
- Prevent diffusion entirely (i.e. physical feature like mountain), today its distance to much money, absence of vector, in Canada we don’t see malaria because we don’t have mosquito to spread it so no malaria
Permeable
- May allow diffusion to continue in a reduced form or after a substantial delay
Ex- you want to mail something to the USA but gets stuck in customs, till get there but just take longer
What are categories of Barriers?
Time
- The longer diffusion takes, the less likely it will occur
Space
- Additional space defeats diffusion (distance decay)
- Less likely further from hearth
- Amount of interaction decreases as distance between 2 places increases
- More likely to shop at store close to you than farther away
Culture
- Difference in culture
- Language, religion, or economic foundations can prevent diffusion of an idea, object or disease
- Closer two cultures are, the more likely that diffusion is
Physical barriers
Local conditions must favour diffusion
Local environment must Favour it
Pathways/networks
Both barriers and aids to diffusion
Networks channel the idea or object along its paths
Work against diffusion away from paths
The more closer a person lives to a international airport more likely they will experience the disease first
More closer you are to networks more likely you will experince
Distance Decay
the likelihood of diffusion decreases as time and distance from the hearth increases
Space-Time Compression
the likelihood of diffusion depends upon the connectedness among places
Applies to pop culture today
Commodification
the process through which something is given monetary value- name good idea, wasn’t perviously thought of as an object that could be bought or sold but now is sold on world market antiques
Material culture tends to be commodified first, though non-material culture can also be commodified- non member sellign something from culture
Slavery commodifies people dating
Describe the characteristics of folk music
Folk songs may tell a story or convey information about life-cycle events, such as birth, death, and marriage, or environmental features, such as agriculture and climate
A song may be modified from one generation to the next as conditions change, but the content is most often derived from events in daily life that are familiar to the majority of the people.
Describe the characteristics of pop music
is written by specific individuals for the purpose of being sold to or performed in front of a large number of people
It frequently displays a high degree of technical skill through manipulation of sophisticated electronic equipment
popular musicians have more connections with performers of similar styles, regardless of where in the world they happen to live, than they do with performers of different styles who happen to live in the same community
Nashville is also a leading center for musicians, especially those performing country and gospelCompared with New York and Los Angeles, Nashville has the highest concentration of musicians, as a percentage of its much smaller population.
Describe the history of many sports.
Many sports originated as isolated folk customs and were diffused like other folk culture, through the migration of individuals. The contemporary diffusion of organized sports, however, displays the characteristics of popular culture.
Describe the folk culture origins of soccer
Soccer, originated as a folk custom in England during the 11th century
It was transformed into a part of global popular culture beginning in the nineteenth century
Early football games resembled uncontrolled mob scenes. A large number of people from two villages would gather to kick the ball. The winning side was the one that kicked the ball into the center of the rival village. Because football disrupted village life, English kings issued several bans between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. At this point, football was an English folk custom rather than a global popular custom.
Describe the pop culture origins of soccer
Football and other recreation clubs were founded in the United Kingdom, frequently by churches, to provide factory workers with organized recreation during leisure hours
Sport became a subject that was taught in school Increasing leisure time permitted people not only to participate in sporting events but also to view them
With more disposable income, spectators paid to see first-class events. To meet public demand, football clubs began to hire professional players. Several British football clubs formed an association in 1863 to standardize the rules and to organize professional leagues. Organization of the sport into a formal structure in the United Kingdom marks the transition of football from folk to popular culture.
Olympics
to be included in the Summer Olympics, a sport must be widely practiced in at least 75 countries and on four continents (50 countries for women). The 2020 Summer Olympics features competition in 33 sports The two leading team sports in the United States—American football and baseball—are not included.
Describe regionally distinctive sports
cricket- is popular in the UK and british colonies
ice hockey- Canada northern USA and Russia and Europe
Wushu- martial arts that combine kicking and jumping with combat striking and wrestling- china
basebal- North America and Japan- after world war 2
lacrosse- played by iroquois and picked up by european colonists
Describe folk culture clothing
People in folk cultire have worn clothing in response to agricultural practices and climate in area- also religious beliefes
Popular culture clothing refelcts occupation rather than particular enviroments
People wear folk clothing for environmental protection
Folk clothing preferences are in part a response to agricultural practices, climate conditions (e.g. Netherlands wooden shoes), and cultural factors
Folk clothing can be exported to other countries, such as the poncho from South America
Difficulties in coexisting between wearing traditional and popular clothing are evident in places such as Southwest Asia and North Africa
Increased travel and diffusion have exposed Europeans and north Americans to other forms of dress
Just like people in other part of the world have come into contact with western forms of dress
Describe pop culture clothing
Change quickly especially in women’s fashion
Individual clothing habits reveal that popular culture can be distributed across the landscape with little regard for distinctive physical features
Instead, popular clothing habits are more likely to reflect occupation and income
Modern communications have permitted rapid diffusion of clothing styles
Fashion is very highly influenced by pop culture
Ideological Subsystem
ideas, beliefs and knowledge that comprise our belief systems and out matter of communicating these things
Mentifacts
are specific abstract beliefs passed down from generation to generation.
Non tangible things you have learned things you know
Ex- language- you learnt it when you were younger it was passed on from generation to generation
Religion science, anything you go to class to learn
Recipe you have memorized
Value beliefs morals
Can work to unite to identify or divide different groups
Technological Subsystem
material objects
Artifacts are physical objects we use in daily life
Ex- cellphone, clothes, computer, fake plant
Sociological Subsystem
patterns of interpersonal relation, ways people interact with each other
Sociofacts
are customs or rules we use to define our society (expressly related to group interactions) different from mentifacts because they are related to how you interact with other people mentifacts are general knowledge you get about anything from anywhere
Could be political religious or military
Specifically about how people interact with each other, rules
Ex-if you meet someone you don’t know you shake hand say name stay a little distance apart with friends you would hug punch
In the military you act different towards different people according to their rank
They are unspoken
Can change over time
If a police over come up to you and tells you to do something you would do it but if some random person came up to you wouldn’t do it
Folk Food Customs
Characteristic of particular environments influence folk food customs
Ex between regional identity and sense of place is winde producing regions
Wine crops and wine grapes and wine produced will vary from place to place
In folk cultures, society deems certain foods as desirable or to be avoided.
Terroir
is the sum of the effects on a particular food item of soil, climate, and other features of the local environment
taboo
Restrictions of behavior imposed by the society is a taboo
People in Paraguay in jaguars or bulls to make them strong
Sometimes taboos are based on religious beliefs
Ex- in Jewish and Muslim cultures eating a pork is taboo, asking a women’s age, smoking
Incest is a universal taboo- some taboos are engraved into law
Social norms of one culture might be taboo in another culture
Ex- breastfeeding
Popular Food Culture
Cultural values influence popular food preferences more than environmental features
Targeted advertising of Coke or Pepsi in a given region, and in some cases religion or political influences, has shaped the global preference of these products
Coke is leader except in Quebec
An example of religious influence is when the predominantly Muslim countries boycotted Pepsi because it was sold in Jewish Israe
Describe the diffusion on Tv
Mid-Twentieth Century
Main obstacle to diffusion of popular culture is a lack of access to electronic media
Access is limited because of lack on income
Electronic media accelerates the diffusion of popular culture
TV is worlds most important form of electronic media
TV supplanted radio and telegraphy as the dominate electronic media
Watching TV is now the most popular leisure activity in the world
In 2015, the average person watched over 21 hours per week
In the 1950s, only the United States and Canada had a lot of TVs, but in the following decades much of the rest of the world adopted a high density of TVs per inhabitants
Diffusion of the Internet:
Late Twentieth Century
The average human spent 2 hours per day on the Internet in 2016, with the global spread occurring at a faster pace than TVs a generation earlier
In 1995 most countries did not have internet service
US had 66% of the world’s users (1995)
In 2017 the United States only represented only 7% of global Internet users
Diffusion of internet only took 10-15 years
Diffusion of Facebook
Found in 2004
People in the United States dominated social media in the late 20th century with social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Today Facebook has about 2 billion users globally
Trend is that as the media, tv and internet spread from USA to the world the global share of people using in the USA decreased because USA has smaller population than rest and global uptake increased
Diffusion of Smartphones
77 percent of Americans owned smartphones in 2016, with the highest percentage between 18 and 29 years old.
Today, the gap between developed and developing countries for smartphone ownership is narrowing.
Diffusion of Twitter and Instagram
USA was the source of 1/3 of all tweets in 2017
India became the 2nd biggest Twitter user, providing a preview of possible future trends, that electronic communication advances may rapidly diffuse through developing countries as well
Chinese users have primarily adopted Chinese social media systems that are permitted by the government
Explain Geographic Differences in Popular Culture
Despite the diffusion of popular culture in the United States, many differences in cultural preferences persist
Word usage on Twitter reflects the vernacular regions that exist in the United States
Vernacular- area that people exists as part of cultural identity
For example, the South uses the word “church” on Twitter more than “beer,” but the opposite is true in the Northeast
Limited Access to Media
2/3 of all Internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship
Social media users face increasing penalties
Governments feel threatened by the ability of one citizen to reach many through social media
What are Internet restrictions?
Banned technology: Governments can regulate the Internet by banning technology platforms
Blocked content: Censoring websites
Political (e.g. opposition to current government), social (sexual, drugs, etc), or security (armed conflict, militant groups, etc) content is often censored
Violated user rights: Governments are turning to harassing their citizens through physical attacks and imprisonment because of their Internet activity
Marriage in India: Challenging Cultural Values
Rapid changes in long-standing cultural values can lead to instability, even violence in a society
Global diffusion of popular social customs has had an unintended negative impact for women in India: An increase in demand for dowries
Dowry was a gift from one family to another
The Indian government enacted anti-dowry laws in 1961 but they are typically ignored
The groom’s family expects to receive significant assets (cash or goods).
Husbands (or the husbands families) killed 8,331 women in India in 2011
Most dowry deaths are not reported
Cultural homogenization (also known as placelessness)
the loss of uniqueness in a cultural landscape – one place looks like the next- one place starts to look like every other place
Uniform Cultural Experiences
Over time, the uniform landscapes of popular culture replaces folk landscapes
The diffusion of fast-food is usually organized as a franchise, which is an agreement between a corporation and businesspeople to market that corporation’s products
Gas stations, supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants are quite similar across America, giving a uniform appearance of the landscape in many areas
Very unlikely places will end up the same because of cultural variability climate variability
Ex- golf courses
Describe amish Migration
Shunning mechanical and electrical power, the Amish still travel by horse and buggy and continue to use hand tools for farming. The Amish have distinctive clothing, farming, religious practices, and other customs
Although the Amish number only about 1/4 million, their folk culture remains visible on the landscape in at least 19 US states. Shunning mechanical and electrical power, the Amish still travel by horse and buggy and continue to use hand tools for farming. The Amish have distinctive clothing, farming, religious practices, and other customs.
According to Amish tradition, every son is given a farm when he is an adult, but land suitable for farming is expensive and hard to find in Lancaster County because of its proximity to growing metropolitan areas. With the average price of farmland in southwestern Kentucky less than one-fifth that in Lancaster County, an Amish family can sell its farm in Pennsylvania and acquire enough land in Kentucky to provide adequate farmland for all the sons. Amish families are also migrating from Lancaster County to escape the influx of tourists who come from the nearby metropolitan areas to gawk at the distinctive folk cultur
