The main focus of this unit is on cultural patterns and processes that create recognized cultural identities. Students consider the physical environment to determine the effects of geographical location and available resources on cultural practices. Visuals representing artifacts, mentifacts and sociofacts all shed light on cultural landscapes and how they change over time. Practice in analyzing images of different places at different times for evidence of their ethnicity, language, religion, gender roles and attitudes, and other cultural attributes builds students’ understanding of cultural patterns and processes. This unit also considers from a temporal and spatial perspective how culture spreads, through traditional forces such as colonialism and imperialism and through contemporary influences such as social media.

Rather than emphasize the details of cultural practices associated with specific languages and religions, this unit instead focuses on the distribution of cultural practices and on the causes and effects of their diffusion. For example, students might study the distribution of Chinese versus English languages or the diffusion patterns of religions such as Hinduism and Islam, at local, national, or global scales. An understanding of the diffusion of cultural practices provides a foundation for the study of political patterns and processes in the next unit.