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Culture Documents
PPC Recitation
PPC Recitation
Define culture
Culture is described as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive frameworks,
and affective understanding acquired through socialization. These shared patterns identify
individuals of one culture group while separating them from those of another.
Most social scientists now consider culture to be primarily composed of the symbolic, ideational,
and intangible characteristics of human civilizations. The core of a culture is not found in its
objects, tools, or other tangible cultural elements, but in how the group interprets, uses, and
perceives them. In civilized communities, it is the ideals, symbols, interpretations, and
viewpoints that distinguish one people from another, rather than material items and other
tangible features of human society. People within a culture frequently interpret symbols,
artifacts, and behaviors in the same or similar manner.
Artifacts
The last element of culture is the artifacts, or material objects, that constitute a society’s
material culture. In the most simple societies, artifacts are largely limited to a few tools, the huts
people live in, and the clothing they wear. One of the most important inventions in the
evolution of society was the wheel.