Key Issue

4.1 Where Are Cultural Groups Distributed?

Culture was defined in Chapter 1 as the body of material traits, customary beliefs, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. Geographers are interested in all three components of the definition of culture.

A consideration of culture follows logically from the discussion of migration in Chapter 3. Two locations have similar cultural beliefs, objects, and institutions because people bring along their cultural identity when they migrate. Differences emerge over time when two groups have limited interaction.

• Chapter 4 focuses on the first part of this definition (material traits)—the visible elements that a group possesses and leaves behind for the future.

• Chapters 5 and 6 examine two important components of a group’s beliefs and values—language and religion.

• Chapters 7 and 8 look at the social forms (ethnicity and political institutions) that maintain values and protect the artifacts.

Geographers search for where various elements of culture are found in the world and for reasons why the observed distributions occur. How does culture influence behavior? To answer this question, habit must be distinguished from custom:

• A habit is a repetitive act that a particular individual performs, such as wearing jeans to class every day.

• A custom is a repetitive act of a group, performed to the extent that it becomes characteristic of the group, such as many students typically wearing jeans to class.

Unlike custom, habit does not imply that the act has been adopted by most of the society’s population. A custom is therefore a habit that has been widely adopted by a group of people.

A collection of social customs produces a group’s material culture; for example, jeans are a badge of youth that typically represent American informality. In this chapter, custom may be used to denote a specific element of material culture, such as wearing jeans, whereas culture refers to a group’s entire collection of customs.

Wine Geography

The spatial distribution of wine production shows the influence of both environmental and cultural elements. The distinctive character of a wine derives from a vineyard’s unique combination of soil, climate, and other physical characteristics at the place where the grapes are grown. At the same time, wine is made today primarily in locations that have a tradition of excellence in making it and people who like to drink it and can afford to purchase it

The distribution of wine production is influenced in part by the physical environment and in part by social customs. Most grapes used for wine are grown near the Mediterranean Sea or in areas of similar climate. Income, preferences, and other social customs also influence the distribution of wine consumption, as seen in the lower production levels of predominantly Islamic countries south of the Mediterranean.

Folk & Popular Culture

Geographers divide culture into two types:

• Folk culture is traditionally practiced primarily by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated rural areas.

• Popular culture is found in large, heterogeneous societies that share certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics.

Each cultural element has a distinctive origin, diffusion, and distribution. Geographers observe that folk culture and popular culture typically differ in their processes of origin, diffusion, and distribution.

The region covered by a folk culture is typically much smaller than that covered by a popular culture. The reason why the distributions are different is connection or lack of it. A group’s distinctive culture derives from experiencing local social and physical conditions in a place that is isolated from other groups. Even groups living in close proximity to one another may adopt different folk cultures because of limited connections.

Landscapes dominated by folk culture change relatively little over time. In contrast, popular culture is based on rapid simultaneous global connections through communications systems, transportation networks, and other modern technology. Rapid diffusion facilitates frequent changes in popular culture. Thus, folk culture is more likely to vary from place to place at a given time, whereas popular culture is more likely to vary from time to time at a given place.

At a global scale, popular culture is becoming more dominant—at least for people with the income to have access to it—threatening the survival of unique folk culture (Figure 4-2). The disappearance of local folk culture reduces local diversity in the world and the intellectual stimulation that arises from differences in backgrounds.

Diffusion of Smartphones

The dominance of popular culture can also threaten the quality of the environment. Culture and the physical environment are interrelated. Each cultural group takes particular elements from the environment into its culture and in turn constructs landscapes (what geographers call “built environments”) that modify nature in distinctive ways. As discussed in Chapter 1, some of these landscapes are sustainable, and some are not. Folk culture derived from local natural elements may be more sustainable in the protection and enhancement of the environment. Popular culture is less likely to reflect concern for the sustainability of physical conditions and is more likely to modify the environment in accordance with material culture preferences.

Two elements of culture are emphasized in this chapter:

• Daily necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. All people must consume food, wear clothing, and find shelter, but different cultural groups do so in distinctive ways (Figure 4-3).

• Leisure activities, such as arts and recreation. Each cultural group has its own definition of meaningful art and stimulating recreation (Figure 4-4). For example, people in the United States and Zambia do not allocate their leisure time in the same way.

Material Culture

Leisure Activities

Pause & Reflect 4.1.1

Can you think of an entertainer, politician, or other public figure who displays a distinctive habit in choice of clothing?