Unit 1 Flashcards
Culture Hearths
Sources of civilization from which an idea, innovation, or ideology originates.
The seven original culture hearths are:
- The Nile River Valley
- The Indus River Valley
- The Wei-Huang Valley
- The Ganges River Valley
- Mesopotamia
- Mesoamerica
- West Africa
Cultural Diffusion
The spread of an innovation, or ideology from its source area to another culture.
RELOCATION DIFFUSION
The spread of an innovation, or ideology through physical movement of individuals.
Examples:
Christianity spread through missionaries
Indian food became popular in other countries because people from India migrated to these locations.
Spanish language spread as Spanish speakers migrated to different parts of the world
EXPANSION DIFFUSION
AN INNOVATION, OR IDEOLOGY DEVELOPS IN A SOURCE AREA AND REMAINS STRONG THERE WHILE ALSO SPREADING OUTWARD.
What are the three types of expansion diffusion?
- Contagious
- Hierarchical
- Stimulus
Contagious Diffusion
Nearly all adjacent individuals are affected. It spreads like wave or wildfire.
Hierarchical Diffusion
The idea or innovation spreads to places of power or places that are more connected first.
Stimulus Diffusion
An underlying principle spreads, but it changes in the next location to fit the cultural needs of the new place.
What are the three Diffusion Barriers?
CULTURAL
EX: Languages, Religious Beliefs, Political Factors
PHYSICAL
EX: Mountains, Rivers, Deserts, Oceans
ECONOMIC
EX: Lack of Money
Distance Decay
As the distance between two places increases, the interaction between those two places decreases.
Space-Time Compression
The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation system.
Friction of Distance
based on the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money, and/or energy to overcome.
Studying the Human-Environment Interaction
We look at the relationship between humans and the environment.
People depend, adapt, and modify the environment
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
All human-induced changes that involve the surface of the earth.
Carl Sauer - “The forms superimposed on the psychical landscape by the activities of man.”
Cultural Ecology
The multiple interactions and relationships between a culture and the natural environment.
Environmental Determinism
Human Behavior and culture is influenced by the environment and only the environment
Possibilism
The environment sets certain constraints or limitations, but culture is otherwise determined by social conditions.
Location
Where a place is
Absolute Location
The exact location of a place
Relative Location
Location of a place in relation to other places
Absolute Direction
North, East, South, West
Relative Direction
Middle East, Up North
Absolute Distance
Miles, inches, kilometers, centimeters
Relative Distance
“It’s about 10 minutes away.”
Place
Describes a location
Reference Maps
Shows locations of places and geographic features
Absolute Locations
Thematic Maps
Tell a story about the degree of an attribute, the pattern of its distribution, or it’s movement
Relative Locations
Choropleth Map
Used to represent statistical data through various shading patterns or symbols on predetermined geographic areas
Isoline Map
a thematic map with lines that connect points of equal
Dot Map
One dot represents a certain number of phenomenon such as population
Graduated Circle Map
Size of symbol shows the value of the topic of the map
Cartogram Map
takes some measurable variable and then manipulates a place’s area to be sized accordingly
Mental Map
Maps we carry in our minds of places we have been and places we have heard of
Activity Space
The places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily activity
Map Projection
The earth is round. Taking a round object and attempting to flatten it is challenging
What are the four major types of map distortions?
- Shape
- Distance
- Relative Size
- Direction
Shape
an area appears to be longer or shorter than in real life
Distance
Distance between two places can become increased or decreased
Relative Size
Size of an area in real life can appear smaller or larger than in real life
Direction
Direction from one place to another can be distorted
Mercator Projection
- Shape is distorted very little
- Direction is consistent
- Map is rectangular
Robinson Projection
- An uninterrupted projection display
- Used to display info across oceans
- Maps are curved
