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Intro to Human
Geography
Chapter 4
Physical v. Cultural
Physical Geography
Cultural Geography
Rocks/Minerals
Population/Settlements/Urbanizati
on
Landforms
Economic and Political Systems
Animal and Plant Life
Transportation
Soils
Human Migration
Atmosphere/Climate/Weather
Social Systems
Environment
Recreation
Rivers/Oceans/Other bodies of
Water
Religion/Belief System
Defining Culture
• Can include:
• The total of knowledge,
attitudes, & behaviors
shared by and passed on by
members of a specific
group.
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Food & shelter
Religion
Family and friends
Language
Education
Political and social
organization
Creative expression
Music
Dance
Dress
Gender roles
Sport
Work ethic
• Society
– Group that shares a geographic region
• Ethnic group
– Specific group that shares a language, customs,
and a common heritage
– Can have an identity as a separate group of
people within the region where they live.
Cultural Change and
Exchange
•Innovation
– Taking existing technology and resources and
creating something new to meet a need.
• Examples:
– Smart car or hybrid car
– Ipods and iphones
– Computers
– Tools
– Refrigeration
•Diffusion
• Spread of ideas, inventions, and patterns of
behavior
• Examples:
– Businesses
– Fashion
– Food
– Internet
– You tube
– Television
• Cultural hearth
• site of innovation from which basic ideas, materials,
and technology diffuse to many cultures
• Examples:
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The seven original culture hearths are:
1) The Nile River Valley
2) The Indus River Valley
3) The Wei-Huang Valley
4) The Ganges River Valley
5) Mesopotamia
6) Mesoamerica
7) West Africa
•Acculturation
• the process of adopting the cultural traits or
social patterns of another group
• Members of one cultural group adopt the
beliefs and behaviors of another group
• Examples:
– Clothing
– Behavior
– Cell phones
Language
• Helps establish cultural identity
– Can unite and inspire nationalism
– Can divide people if more than one language is spoken
in an area and one seems to be favored
• Language families
– Today’s languages evolved from earlier ones
– Versions of a language that reflect changes in speech
patterns related to class, region, or other cultural
changes.
• Language diffusion
– May follow trade routes or even be invented
Major world religions
• Religion - a set of beliefs concerning the cause,
nature, and purpose of the universe
• Usually involves devotional and ritual observances,
and often contains a moral code governing the
conduct of human affairs
3 types
• Monotheistic - belief in one god
– Christianity (Trinitarian), Islam, Judaism
• Polytheistic – belief in many gods
– Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism
and Shintoism in the East, and also contemporary tribal
religions in Africa and the Americas
• Animistic – belief in divine forces
– The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit
natural objects and phenomena
• Mother Earth, Shinto
Judaism
• Date/location of origin:
– around 2000 BCE /Fertile Crescent region of the
Middle East
• Founder:
– Abraham
• Overview of beliefs:
– Obey God's commandments
– Live ethically
– Focus is more on this life than the next
• Important days:
– Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year
– Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement
– Hanukkah
– Passover
• Place of worship/Spiritual leader:
– Synagogue/Rabbi
• Name for God:
– Adonai
• Holy book:
– Torah
• Practices:
– Sabbath-Friday evening to Saturday evening Jews rest
and pray.
– Jews fast during Yom Kippur.
– Jews follow kosher-rules about what Jews can and can’t
eat.
• Major Sects:
– Orthodox-strict following of Jewish laws and practices
– Conservative-follows most Jewish laws and practices
– Reformed-follows only most important Jewish laws and
practices
Christianity
• Date/location of origin
– Early 1st century AD/Jerusalem, Israel
• Founder
– Began as a form of Judaism with the teachings,
miracles, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
• Overview of beliefs
– All have sinned and are separated from God.
Salvation is through faith in Christ and for some
sacraments and good works.
• Some important days:
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Christmas
Palm Sunday
Good Friday
Easter
Ash Wednesday
Lent
• Place of worship/Spiritual Leader:
– Church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, meeting hall
– Priest, bishop, archbishop, pope, pastor, minister, preacher
• Name for God:
– God is one but three distinct “persons” constitute one God:
The Father, the son and the Holy Spirit – The Trinity
– God, Lord, Christ, Messiah, Savior….
• Holy book:
– The Bible – Old and New Testament
• Practices (in general, can vary depending on
denomination)
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Baptism
Communion
Sunday Services
Prayer
Bible Study
• Major Sects
– Roman Catholic
– Eastern Orthodox
– Protestant: Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, etc.
Islam
• Date/location of origin
– Around 622 AD/ Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• Founder
– Prophet Muhammad
• Overview of beliefs
– Submit to the will of Allah and attain paradise
after death
• Important days:
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Ramadan (month long)
Eid al-Fitr - Festival of the Breaking of the Fast
Al-Hijra - the Islamic New Year
Eid al-Adha (Arabic ‫عيد األضحى‬, "Festival of the Sacrifice)
• Place of worship/Spiritual Leader:
– Mosque (Friday service)
– Sheikh; Imam (Shi'ite)
• Name for God:
– Allah
• Holy book:
– Qur’an
• Some practices:
– Five Pillars
• 1. Confession of faith
• 2. Daily prayer (5x)
• 3. Alms tax (charity)
• 4. Pilgrimage to Mecca
• 5. Fasting during Ramadan
• Major sects:
– Sunni - followed Abu Bakr
– Shiite – followed Ali
Buddhism
• Date/location of origin
– 520 BC/ Northeastern India
• Founder
– Siddhartha Gautama
• Overview of beliefs
– Four Noble Truths:
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1. All of life is marked by suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire and attachment.
3. Suffering can be eliminated.
4. Suffering is eliminated by following the Noble Eightfold Path
– Noble Eightfold Path:
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1. Right beliefs
reincarnation,
2. Right aspirations
ultimate goal of
3. Right speech
nirvana-release from
4. Right conduct
selfishness and pain
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right meditational attainment
• Important days:
– Vary by region, but often include Buddha's birthday
• Place of worship:
– Temple, meditation hall/ monk
• Holy book:
– Pali Canon (Tripitaka), Mahayana sutras like the Lotus
Sutra
• Some practices:
– Meditation, mantras, devotion to deities (in some sects),
mandalas (Tibetan)
• Major sects:
– Theravada -closely follow the original beliefs and
practices of the Buddha and the early monastic Elders
– Mahayana - more liberal, accessible interpretation
available to people from all walks of life
– Vajrayana – Tibetan Buddhism (Dalai Lama)
Hinduism
• Date/location of origin
– Earliest forms date to 1500 BC or earlier
• Founder
– None, collection of beliefs that developed over
time
• Overview of beliefs
– Humans are in bondage to ignorance and
illusion, but are able to escape.
– Purpose is to gain release from rebirth, or at least
a better rebirth.
• Important days:
– Mahashivarati (mid-February) - Great Festival of
Shiva
– Holi (Spring) - It celebrates spring & various
events in Hindu mythology
• Place of worship/spiritual leader:
– Temple or home shrine
– Guru or sage
• Name for God(s):
– One Supreme Reality (Brahman)
manifested in many gods and goddesses
• Sacred Text:
– Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita
• Some practices:
– Yoga, meditation, worship, devotion to a god or
goddess, pilgrimage to holy cities, live according
to one's dharma (purpose/ role).
• Ideas of Karma and reincarnation
strengthened caste system.
Taoism
• Date/location of origin
– 550 bce
• Founder
– Lao-Tze (based on the teachings of the Tao Te
Ching)
• Place of worship/Spiritual Leader:
– Temple/Sage
• Sacred texts:
– Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu
• Overview of beliefs
– Purpose is inner peace, harmony, and longevity
– Achieved by living in accordance with the Tao
– Tao = Flow of the universe. It keeps the universe in
balance and in order.
– Followers sought complete harmony with the patterns of
nature.
– No gods, only one with the flow of the universe.
– Yin and yang
• Universe:
– Pantheism – the Tao encompasses all
• Some practices:
– General attitude of detachment and nonstruggle, "go with the flow" of the Tao.
– Tai-chi, acupuncture, and alchemy to help
longevity.
• Daoism and Confucianism form
complementary systems of thought.
– Daoism deals with the natural world, while
Confucianism deals more with the social world.
Confucianism
• Date/location of origin
– 6th-5th cent. BC/ China
• Founder
– Confucius
• Overview of beliefs
– Purpose of life is to fulfill one's role in society with
propriety, honor, and loyalty.
– Focus on morality and good deeds.
– Believe in Filial Piety - showing respect for family both
living and dead.
• Sacred Texts:
– The Si Shu or Four Books: including the Analects
by Confucius.
– The Wu Jing or Five Classics
• Some practices:
– Honesty, politeness, propriety, humaneness,
perform correct role in society, loyalty to family,
nation