Human and Cultural Characteristics

Cultureis acquired behavior, the way of life held in common by a

group of people

Elements of Culture1. Language2. Food3. Clothing4. Political System5. Religion6. Architecture

Language

• Is the means by which ideas and concepts are transmitted between individuals or groups

• There are 9 families of languages and thousands of dialects under each.

• Accents also add to the attraction of a language. English in the US sounds different from that of the UK and Australia

6 Official Languages in the United Nations

1. English2. French3. Spanish4. Russian5. Chinese6. Arabic• These are the languages used during UN

Meetings and UN documents

FOOD

• Religion plays an important role in the prohibition of food– Moslems don’t eat pork– Jews don’t eat meat and milk together– Hinduism has no specific proscriptions against eating meat

(however, they cannot eat cows, as they are considered to be sacred beings in their religion)

– Iglesia ni Cristo and Jehovah's Witnesses prohibit eating or drinking any blood.

Society norms or traditions play a vital role in defining what is acceptable to eat or not– Thais drink snake blood– Chinese eat the meat of monkeys, frogs– French eat snails– Filipinos eat balut, tuyo, bagoong, crickets– Dog meat is eaten in Korea, Vietnam, and China,

although it is nowhere a common dish– horse meat is rarely eaten in the Anglosphere,

although it is part of the national cuisine of countries as widespread as Kazakhstan, Japan, and France.

• Variations in food and its preparation provide further uniqueness of place

1. India – spices2. Italy – pasta and tomato dishes3. China – noodles and stir fry cooking4. Japan – sashimi, sushi5. Korea – kimchi

Ceviche – Peru - The dish is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, and spiced with ají or chili peppers.

Sate – Indonesia - is a dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce

Dim sum- Hongkong - refers to a style of Cantonese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.

Raw meat (usually but not necessarily seafood) sliced and served by itself is sashimi. Many non-Japanese use the terms sashimi and sushi interchangeably, but they are not synonymous. Sushi refers to any dish made with vinegared rice.

Couscous (/ˈkʊskʊs/ or /ˈkuːskuːs/) is a traditional dish of semolina (granules of durum wheat) which is cooked by steaming. It is traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout the North African cuisines of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya.

Kebab (also called kebap, kabab and kabob) is a traditional dish of sliced meat originating in the Middle East and later adopted in Central Asia, refers to meat that is cooked over or next to flames. The traditional meat for kebab is lamb

Borscht is a soup of Ukrainian origin that is popular in many Eastern and Central European countries. In most of these countries, it is made with beetroot as the main ingredient, giving it a deep reddish-purple color.

Clothing

• Clothing differences by way of national costume suggests a uniqueness for each country

The grand boubou/bubu is one of the names for a flowing wide sleeved robe worn by men in much of West Africa like Nigeria

The wrapper or pagne is a colorful women's garment widely worn in West Africa.

A Quadrille dress is a dress worn by women in Caribbean countries like Jamaica

The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women

Hanbok (South Korea) or Chosŏn-ot (North Korea) is the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets.

Male aristocrat men wore a dopo overcoat and gat on their head

IndiaKurta for males Sari for females

Japan - Kimono Vietnam – Ao Dai

Germany - Dirndl Scotland - kilt

Spain – Andalucian Dress Czech Republic - Kroje

Saudi Arabia - Thawb Middle East - Keffiyeh

Religion also plays a role in the way certain people clothe themselves

Burqa – Islamic (Afghanistan) Chador – Islamic (Iran)

Political System and Religion

Are two forces that institutionalize the way of life of a group

Political System

Some of the five more common political systems around the world include:

• Democracy– Republic– Federalism

• Monarchy– Absolute Monarchy– Constitutional Monarchy

• Authoritarianism– Communism– Socialism

1. Democracy

• Rule by a government chosen by election where most of the populace are enfranchised (the main qualification for enfranchisement is usually having reached a certain age).

A. Republic

• is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and

• where offices of states are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited.

• Islamic Republic – a republic governed in accordance with Islamic law - Iran, Pakistan

• Constitutional Republic is a government created and controlled by the law of a constitution – USA, Philippines

B. Federalism

• a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments – Germany, USA, Argentina, India, Switzerland

2. Monarchy

• Absolute Monarchy - a system of governance in which a monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government. Brunei, Oman, Saudi Arabia

• Constitutional Monarchy - a system of governance that has a monarch, but one whose powers are limited by law or by a formal constitution, such as that in the United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark

3. Authoritarianism

• In a Communist country, the working class, through cooperatives, owns all businesses and farms and shares the healthcare, education and welfare. Examples include Cuba, China, and Vietnam.

• Socialist governments own many of the larger industries and provide education, health and welfare services while allowing citizens some economic choices – North Korea

RELIGION

Buddhism

• encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one".

1. Theravada ("The School of the Elders") has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar etc.).

2. Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle") is found throughout East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan etc.)

• Temples – place of worship• Monks - teachers

Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya, India, where Gautama Buddha attained Nirvana under the Bodhi Tree

Ginkaku-ji – A Zen temple in Kyoto, Japan

Buddhist Monks in Thailand

Christianity

• religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament.

• Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are 1. the Roman Catholic Church – Italy, France, Spain2. the Eastern Orthodox Church - Belarus, Bulgaria,

Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine

3. the various denominations of Protestantism.

St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican

Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade, Serbia – the largest Orthodox Church in the world

Orthodox priests in Bulgaria

4 Basic Forms of Protestantism

1. Lutheran Church - Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Namibia,

2. Presbyterian Church – Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, South Korea

3. Anglican Church – UK, Ireland4. Baptist Church – Nigeria, Congo, Myanmar

• Priests and Pastors – clerics• Churches and Cathedrals and Basilicas – places of

worship

The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsoe, Norway (Lutheran)

The High Kirk of Edinburgh a.k.a St. Giles Church (Presbyterian)

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England

Hinduism

• has no single founder• is often called the "oldest religion" or "oldest

living religion" in the world• is the dominant religion of the Indian

subcontinent, particularly of India and Nepal• Temple – place of worship• Guru - teacher

The Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple in Delhi, according the Guinness World Records is the World’s Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple[

Islam

• Youngest of the world’ religions• The majority of Muslims live in Asia and Africa

- Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey and Iran in the non-arab Middle East, in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria

• Mosque – place of worship• Caliph or Imam - teachers

The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia is the center of Islam

Judaism

• Religion of the Jewish people• holds that God revealed his laws and

commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai• Synagogue – place of Worship• Rabbi- spiritual leader• Majority are in Israel and USA

The Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue, located in Safed, Israel

It may be the oldest synagogue in Israel that is still in use.

Roman - The arch and the domeThe Collosseum – Rome, Italy

Egyptian - sun-baked mud brick and stonePyramids of Giza

Asian Architecture

East Asian - Roofs with a sweeping curvature that rises at the corners of the roof. Forbidden City – Beijing, China

Hwaseong Fortress, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto, Nagano,Completed in 1600

SE Asian – Stupa, is a mound-like or semi-hemispherical structure containing Buddhist relicsPhra Pathommachedi is the tallest stupa in the world in Nakhom Pathom, Thailand

Dravidian (South Indian)-are dependent on intricate carved stone in order to create a step design consisting of many statues of deities, warriors, kings, and dancers.

Islamic

• The horseshoe arch, ogees and the onion dome became a popular feature in Islamic structures

• Minarets or slender towers• Colonnaded or arcaded porticos

The Taj Mahal

The Shah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran

European Architecture

Byzantine – dome over a square area

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Romanesque - semi-circular arches, massive quality, thick walls, round arches, large towers

Lisbon Cathedral, Lisbon, Portugal Maria Laach Abbey, Germany

Gothic - the pointed arch, spires, steeples

Salisbury Cathedral, England

Oudenaarde Town Hall , Belgium

Notre Dame, Paris, France

West Side East Side

Renaissance - Orderly arrangements of columns, the use of semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, ceilings are

frequently painted or decorated.

St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

Michaelangelo Buonarotti’s masterpiece

The greatest creation of the Renaissance

A section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Baroque - an external façade often characterized by a dramatic central projection, large-scale ceiling frescoes, opulent

use of colour and ornaments

Palace of Versailles, France

The Queen’s Chamber , Versailles

Hall of Mirrors, Versailles

Rococo - ornate and made strong usage of creamy, pastel-like colours, curves and gold, had more playful and often witty

artistic themes

Ottobueren Abbey, Bavaria, Germany

American Architecture

Georgian - Chimneys on both sides of the home, Small 6-paned sash windows and/or dormer windows in the upper floors, Larger

windows with 9 or 12 panes on the main floors

Westover Plantation, Virginia, USA

Antebellum - Greek revival style plantation houses and mansions in Southern USA