Culture Components of Culture

In prehistoric times, bands of humans that lived near

one another began to develop shared ways of doing CULTURAL DATA
things: common ways of dressing, similar hunting Annual movie attendance, 1998–2000 (per person)*5.0
practices, favorite animals to eat. These shared traits 2.9
were the first beginnings of what anthropologists and
historians call culture.
Culture is the way of life of a group of people. Culture 0.3
includes common practices of a society, its shared
understandings, and its social organization. By * UNESCO, last update 3/03 Marriage rates, 1999
overcoming individual differences, culture helps to unify
the group.
Common Practices vidu
al
• what people eat and
• clothing and co
adornment mm
unit
• sports y
• tools and technology
• government
• social customs
• economic system
• work
Shared Understandings • view of authority
(per 1,000 population)*
• language 8.6
• symbols 6.0
5.1
• religious beliefs
• values Social Organization ctur
• the arts • family e• U.S. Finland Japan
• political beliefs rela
• * Monthly Bulletin of
tion Statistics, United Nations,
clas ship October 2001
s s
and bet Divorces, 1996
cast wee (as % of marriages)*
e n
stru indi
65%
How Culture Is Learned 49%
People are not born knowing about culture. Instead,
they must learn culture. Generally, individuals learn 6%
culture in two ways. First, they observe and imitate the Russia Turkey U.S.
behavior of people in their society. Second, people in * Human Development Report, United Nations, 2000
their society directly teach the culture to them, usually
through spoken or written language. Average family size,

Media Government Religious

7.0 5.1
1980–1990* 2.6

Family Observation and Imitation

Direct Teaching

Friends
Institutions School powerful? Why?
See Skillbuilder Handbook, page R20. 2.

Making Inferences Judging from the

Workplace
Algeria Peru U.S. 1. Forming and Supporting Opinions In
* UNESCO, last update 8/17/01 U.S. culture, which shared
understanding do you think is the most
RESEARCH LINKS For more on culture, go to you think are strong in that country? Why?
classzone.com
divorce rate in Turkey, what components of culture do
6 Chapter 1