Midterm Flashcards
(38 cards)
Themes of Geography are:
- Region
- Diffusion
- Cultural Ecology
- Cultural Landscape
The ways in which cultures interact with their environment reveals much about their:
- Cultural Values
- Economic Needs
- Political Circumstances
- Technological Abilities
- Environmental Perception
The three types of the Region theme of geography are:
Thematic, functional, and perceptual.
“Thematic” means:
Areas similar in one characteristic. Boundaries are defined. Easily mapped.
“Functional” means:
Interactions and connections around a central node. Boundaries can change. Most often (not always) involving economic activities.
“Region” means:
Areas defined by unifying characteristics.
“Perceptual” means:
Reflects feelings and images rather than objective data. Boundaries are not defined.
“Diffusion” means:
Movement of ideas & cultures from one place to another.
Diffusion is not a straight-line process due to what?
Time-distance decay.
“Cultural Ecology” means:
Human-environment interaction.
Cultures typically perceive their environment in two different ways. What are they?
A. Organic view
B. Western, “mechanistic” view
“Cultural landscape” means:
Man-made landscape; visual expressions of culture. Contributes to “sense of place.”
“Culture” refers to what?
A society’s beliefs, behaviours, values, artifacts, and social systems. ie, a group of people’s learned way of life
Cultures are passed down through generations by:
- Imitation
2. Instruction
Hunter/gatherer societies were what?
Mobile/nomadic.
The biggest change in all societies came with what?
The domestication of plants and animals (20k years ago).
Name the six uses for plants:
- Food
- Brewing
- Mood altering
- Poisons
- Religious/spiritual purposes
- Medicinals
What were some of the roles of women in the development of culture hearths?
Primary food gatherers, innovators of technology, medicinals.
What four factors make up a culture hearth?
- Centers of plant and animal domestication
- Centers of technology
- Centers of innovation and invention
- Source areas from which ideas radiate outward
Why are certain culture hearths where they are?
- Good source of fresh, year-round water
- Flat to semi-flat terrain/landscape
- Fertile soil
- Warm, frost-free climates
The common locations of culture hearths are called what?
River deltas.
Seven specific culture hearths were discussed. Which were they?
- Mesopotamia (present day Iraq, Syria, Coastal Turkey = the Fertile Crescent)
- Nile River Delta (present day Egypt)
- Indus River Delta (Pakistan, India)
- Southeast Asia
- Maya (present day swampy lowlands of Yucatan Peninsula)
- Aztec (present day Mexico City)
- Inca
What were some of Mesopotamia’s contributions to society?
The wheel; a writing system; code of laws; monthly calendar; the archway for support; glass, iron, & bronze.
What did the Nile River Delta culture hearth contribute to society?
Paper; writing system; cloth/textiles; pyramids for entombment.
