World Geography

culture

the way of life of a group of people who share similar beliefs and customs

social classes

groups of people ranked according to ancestry, wealth, education, or other criteria

ethnic group

groups of people who share a common language, history, place of origin, or combination of these elements

government

a system through which a society maintains social order, provides public services, ensures national security, and supports its economic well being

language

means of communicating information and experiences and passing on values and tradition,
one of the strongest unifying forces for a culture

religion

-system of belief and worship
-ethical values

culture region

division of earth based on a common human (cultural) characteristics

cultural diffusion

the spreading of new knowledge or skills from one culture to another

culture hearth

early centers of civilization whose ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas

hearth

family, life, and home

Middle america
Mesopatamia
Yellow river valley
Indus valley
Nile valley

5 culture hearths

diffuse

to spread or scatter

agricultural revolution

the shift from gathering food to producing food

civilization

high organized, city like societies with an advance knowledge of farming, trade, science, government, and art

linguists, language families

________- scientists who study language, divide the world's languages into ________- large groups of languages that `have similar roots

unifying, dividing

religion can serve as a ______ or _____ force

religion

shapes daily life in the aspect of moral values, religious celebrations, and holidays as well as cultural expressions such as painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and dance

family, social classes, ethnic groups

the primary types of social systems are:

economic activities

people in all cultures participate in _______________ in order to ensure that their needs are met- food shelter, water, etc..

geographers

______ analyze how a culture-
- Utilizes its natural resources to meet their needs
- Produces, obtains, uses, and sells goods and services

Includes a variety of factors such as history, government, social groups, economic systems, language, religion, clothing, housing, food, or art forms

what are human (cultural) characteristics?

new ideas, lifestyles, and inventions, trade, movement of people, war

what creates changes within a culture?

nomad

having no fixed home, moving from place to place in search of food, water, or grazing land

agricultural diffusion

cultural diffusion throughout history

sedentary

as the earth warmed about 10,000 years ago, many of these nomads settles in river valleys and on fertile plains becoming __________

sedentary

living in one area

culture hearths

the world's first civilizations arose in _________

they all emerged from farming settlements in areas with mild climates, and fertile land and were located near a major source of water

what geographic features do the five culture hearths have in common?

specialized jobs

_______ led to an increase in the creation of food for trade as well as the development of technology to facilitate trade

agricultural revolution

With more food available due to the ____________, there was less of a need for everyone to farm hence people were able to develop other ways of making a living such as specializing in specific skilled jobs.

cities

the increased wealth from trade led to the rise of ____

coordinate harvests
plan building projects
manage an army for defense

rulers of cities needed a well-organized government to.... ? (3 things)

writing system

a _______ also developed in order to record and transmit information

voluntary, forced

some people also began to internally and internationally migrate through both ______ and ______ migration

250

cultural diffusion has increased rapidly over the past _____ years

1700-1800

in the ________ many countries began to industrialize

industrialization

using power driven machines and factories to mass produce goods

economies

industrialization allowed goods to be produces more quickly and cheaply, this caused a dramatic change in the _______ of industrialized nations

computers

at the end of the 1900s, _______ made it possible to store huge amounts of possible to store huge amounts of information and send that information all around the world instantly thus linking cultures of the world more closely than ever before

acculturation

the exchange of cultural features that results when groups come into continuous firsthand contact

assimilation

the process of change that a minority group may experience when it moves to a country here another country dominates

cultural relativism

the position that the values and standard of cultures differ and deserve respect

ethnocentrism

the tendency to view one is culture as best and to judge the behavior and beliefs of culturally different people to that of your own

enculturation

the social process by which culture is learned and transmitted across generations

globalization

the accelerating interdependence of nations in a world system linked economically, w/ mass media, & modern systems

international culture

cultural tradition that extends beyond national boundaries

national culture

cultural beliefs, experiences, behavior patterns, and values shared by citizen of the same nation

sub-culture

different cultural symbol-based traditions associated with sub-groups in the same complex community

migration

the movement of people from place to place

pull factor

conditions that attract people to a new place

push factors

factors which drive people away from a place

internal migration

population movement within a country

immigration

to enter, and then settle in a country of region to which one is not native

emigration

to leave one country or region to settle in another

urbanization

the movement of people from rural areas into cities

metropolitan areas

cities and their surrounding urbanized areas

voluntary migration

a move made by choice

mobility

the quality of moving freely

forced migration

a move made against one wishes

natural disasters
conflict
development, policies and projects

what are the primary causes of forced migration?

displaced

people who are forced to migrate

refugees

people who flee to another country to escape persecution or disaster

trafficked people

people who are moved by deception or coercion for the purposes of exploitation. the profit from these people comes from the sale of their sexual services or labor in the country of destination

6.6 billion

about _______ people now live on earth

demography

the study of human populations

rates

are often used, instead of absolute numbers to determine how frequently a population or demographic event is occurring- they show how common an event is and make it possible to compare countries that vary greatly in terms of population size

birthrate

the number of births per year for 1000 people

total fertility rate

the average total number of birth per woman for a country

life expectancy

the average number of years an individual is expected to live based on statistics on current conditions

death rate

the number of deaths per year for every 1000 people

infant mortality rate

the number of deaths each year of infants under 1 year of age 1000 live births

global population

________ is growing so rapidly because birthrates have not declined as fast as death rates

annual growth rate

the change in population due to births, deaths, and net migration expressed as a percentage of the population at the beginning of the time period

natural increase

growth rate of a population; calculated as the difference between an area's birthrate and it's death rate

better medicine, technology, and living conditions

why have death rates gone down in many places throughout the world over the past 200 years?

zero population growth

the birthrate and the death rate are equal

doubling time

the number of years it takes a population to double in size

overpopulation

when an organisms numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat

-increase in the birthrates
-decline in death rates
-medical advances
-increase in immigration
-decrease in emigration

what causes overpopulation?

-inadequate fresh water
-depletion of natural resources
-increased pollution
-deforestation and loss of ecosystems
-climate change/global change
-poverty
-increased chance of new epidemics
-food shortage
-strained health care system
-elevated crime rate
-

what problems results from overpopulation?

negative population growth

occurs when the annual death rate exceeds the annual birthrate

shortage of workers to keep the population going

what problems might result from negative population growth?

population distribution

the pattern of human settlement where the people live

30%

only ____ of the earth's surface is land and roughly 2/3 of that land is inhospitable (unfavorable conditions)

europe and asia

are the most densely populated continents

asia

____ contains more than 60% of the world's people

population density

the average number of people living on a square mile or square kilometer of land

crowded

geographers use population density to measure how ______ a country of region is

divide

to calculate population density, ____ the total population of the country by it's total land area

densities

if countries have roughly the same number of people but different land areas then they will have different population _______

average

because population density is an _______, it does not account for uneven population distribution within a country- which is common

describe

some geographers prefer to _____ a country's population density in terms of land that can be used to support the population other than total land areas