Cultural Universals
Culture
Definition: PATTERNS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR that include:
•ideas
•beliefs
• values
•artifacts
•ways of making a living
WHICH ANY SOCIETY TRANSMITS TO SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS TO MEET ITS FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS.
Cultural Universals
KEY ELEMENTS shared by all groups of people throughout the history of man.
ALL SOCIETIES have behaviors and objects that influence and define that culture.
Question: Can anyone think of ANYTHING (behaviors or objects) that applies to EVERY society?
Place and Time
a. Location: land, climate
b. Resources: flora, fauna, raw materials
c. Time: past, present, future
Family Life
Family Structure
Who is the head of the family? Who lives together?
Division of LaborWho does the work?
Food, ClothingShelter, Transportation
a. Food
b. Clothes
c. Dwellings
a. FoodFood
What is eaten and how is it prepared?
Clothing
What is worn every day? Are there ceremonial clothes?
Dwellings
What are the homes like and how are they made?
Transportation
Transportation
How do people move from place to place?
a. Jobs:
b. Money:
c. Existing technology
d. Trade
Economics
EconomicsMoney
What is used for currency?
Jobs
How do people earn a living?
Existing TechnologyWhat are their tools and weapons?
Trade
What do they have to trade? With whom do they trade?
Communication
Language
Spoken, written, “sign” and body language
Number Systems
How does the group count?
Institutions
A. Rules & Laws
B. Conflict Resolution
C. Education
D. Medicine
E. Military
Rules & Laws
How is the group governed? Who makes and enforces the laws? How is the government
organized?
How is conflict resolved?
EducationHow do children learn their culture?
MedicineWho heals? How?
Military
How is the group protected
from “outsiders?”
Art: Does the group have music? What kind? Do they have literature? Crafts? Dance?
Arts & Recreation
What does the group do for fun?
How does the group explain the unknown? What are the group’s birth and death rituals?
Belief Systems
The End!
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