Topic: Cultural Geography
• Aim: In what ways
can we examine
cultural elements of
geography?
• Do Now: How
would you define
culture? Is there
such a thing as
‘American
Culture”? If so,
define it…
A Homemade Culture???
• As we read the following passage
from Human Geography:
Landscapes of Human Activity
(Fellman, Getis, Getis, 10th ed.)
listen carefully and describe the
authors thesis about so-called
“American Culture”….
Culture is…
• Learned, not biological
• Transmitted within a society
to next generations by
imitation, tradition,
instruction and example
• Provides a “general
framework” as each
individual learns & adheres
to roles and general rules and
conventions
Material and Nonmaterial Culture:
Material Culture
The things a group of people
construct, such as art,
houses, clothing, sports,
dance, and food.
Nonmaterial Culture
The beliefs, practices,
aesthetics, and values of a
group of people.
Examples-religion,
language, traditions &
customs
Little Sweden, USA (Lindsborg,
Kansas): Is the Swedish Dala horse
part of material or nonmaterial
culture?
What is culture?
• Material objects (artifacts)
• Interpersonal relations
(sociofacts)
• Ideas and beliefs
(mentifacts)
• Each element has a spatial
distribution
Cultural Systems:
• What we eat, when we eat and how we eat is an example of cultural
differences
– Some Asian cultures eat with the right hand, East Asian cultures
use chopsticks, Western cultures use knife, fork and a spoon.
– Certain foods are considered delicacies by some cultures,
unclean and unfit for consumption by others. E.g. shrimp,
snails, worms, insects, etc.
• Voice-tone and level are very culturally specific.
• Body gestures-Japanese bowing, ‘slurping’ of food, Western
shaking hands, tipping of the hat, etc.
• Various marriage customs-intermarriage is accepted in some
societies, but not others
Cultural Landscape:
• The imprint of people on the
land-how humans use, alter
and manipulate the landscape
to express their identity.
• Examples;
–
–
–
–
–
Architecture of buildings
Methods of tilling the soil
Means of transportation
Clothing and adornment
Sights, sounds and smells of a
place
“The cultural landscape is fashioned from a natural
landscape by a cultural group. Culture is the agent,
the natural area the medium, the cultural landscape is
the result. Under the influence of a given culture,
itself changing through time, the landscape undergoes
development, passing through phases, and probably
reaching ultimately the end of its cycle of
development. With the introduction of a differentthat-is alien culture, a rejuvenation of the cultural
landscape sets in, or a new landscape is superimposed
on remnants of an older one.” ---Carl Sauer, 1925
• Custom – frequent
repetition of an act
until it becomes
characteristic of a
group of people..
• Taboo – a restriction
on behavior imposed
by social custom.
• Habit – repetitive act
performed by an
individual.
Left-an Apache girl
nears the end of her
Sunrise Ceremony
which is a coming of
age ceremony for
young girls reaching
puberty. The sacred
pollen on her face
invests her with healing
powers. A good
example of a cultural
trait.
Right-festival in
Tarabuco, Bolivia. The
revelers wear wool hats
that mimic the steel
helmets that were worn
by the Spanish
conquistadors of the
16th century
Cultural Complex:
• Individual cultural traits which are
functionally interrelated. Such complexes
are universal
• For the Masai (left) keeping cattle was a
cultural trait. Related traits included
measurement of personal wealth by
number of cattle owned, a diet containing
milk and the blood of the cattle, and
disdain for labor unrelated to herding. All
these together form a cultural complex
• Examples in the U.S.???
The Masai of Kenya
Cultural Realm:
• A set of cultural regions showing related cultural
complexes and landscapes, having assumed fundamental
uniformity in its cultural characteristics and showing
significant differences from surrounding realms
Environmental influence
• Old: environmental determinism
– Physical environment shapes everything
– Prone to racist conclusions
• New: possibilism
– People are the driving force
– But environment shapes cultural activity
Architecture
• Building materials based on environment
– Wood in forested areas
– Brick in hot, dry places
– Grass or sod on prairies
– Skins for nomads
Nebraska
Syria
Dominican Republic
Newfoundland
Architecture
• House shape may depend on environment
– Interior courtyards for privacy
– Open plan for letting in air
– Tall, narrow to maximize land
– Steep roofs in snowy areas
China
Amsterdam
Massachusetts
Architecture
• House form and orientation as sociofacts
– Front porches, front stoops
– Sacred direction, sacred wall
– Sleeping orientation
Guyana
Brooklyn
Poland
Korea
Yemen
Clothing:
• Based on climate
– Warm or cold
– Wet or dry
• May reflect occupation/status
• Also reflect values, traditions
Netherlands
Samoa
Morocco
Guatemala
China
Food:
• Strong part of group identity
• Demonstrates innovation, diffusion, acculturation, and
assimilation
• Can be part of place identity
• Back and forth between culture and place
• Preferences may depend on environment
– Staple foods: rice, sorghum, maize, wheat
– Salted meats, fish
– Fresh vegetables
• Or genetics (lactose intolerance)
American foodways:
• Colonial foods (Thanksgiving)
• Foods diffused back to New World
– Potatoes to Ireland
– Tomatoes to Italy
– Chocolate to Spain
– Peanut and sweet potato to Africa
• Mixing of foods (creole) Acculturation (or not)
• Southern cooking retains strong regional identity
– African slaves cooked on plantations
– Less urban influence
– Anti-North attitudes discouraged
American foodways
• More immigrants mean more foods
• Similar diffusion pattern to place names
• Anti-immigrant attitudes through dieticians
– Chili power bad for stomach
– Common pot unsanitary
– Pickles unhealthy
– Sushi during World War II
Tomato
Vinegar
Mustard
Food and place identity:
• Historical connections
• Deliberate marketing
• Tourism and place “consumption”
– Pineapples and Hawaii
– Lobster and Maine
• Wine appellations and terroir
Pineapples and Hawaii:
• Originally South American
• Plantations since 1800s
• Dole’s national ad campaign
in 1907: Hawaiian pineapple
• Cheaper to grow in Thailand,
Philippines
• Hawaii focuses on fresh fruit
for tourists
Lobsters and Maine:
• Originally food for poor, or fertilizer
• Wealthy New Englanders in 1860s
– Summering in Maine
– Imitating the locals
– Only for wealthy vacationers
• Now negative symbol for locals
Wine geography:
• Production based on environmental factors
– Temperate climate (hot summer, wet winter)
– Hillsides allow drainage, sunlight
– Coarse, well-drained soil
• And social factors that determine consumption
Wine geography:
• Terroir: how environment shapes wine flavor
– Soil, sunlight, slope, rainfall, etc.
– Varies at the vineyard scale
• Appellation: place-of-origin label
– Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.
– Parmigiana Romano, Stilton, Camembert
Food Preferences & Taboos:
• Certain foods are consumed based on
their perceived benefits or detriments
(whether true or false)
• Abipone Indians eat jaguars and bulls to
gain bravery and strength
• Some Mediterranean cultures eat the
mandrake plant, thought to enhance
sexual prowess
• Any restriction on consumption habits
due to perceived negative effects is called
a food taboo
Food
Taboo’s
• Ainus in Japan don’t eat
otters who are thought of as
forgetful animals
• Europeans traditionally
blamed the potato for social
ills due to the way it was
grown
• In Papua, New Guinea,
couples cannot eat together
before marriage, however
premarital sex is considered
socially acceptable
Food Taboos & Religion:
• Religion plays an active role in
food taboos.
• Kosher Law, Halal Meat,
Prohibition of cow meat for
Hindus, Prohibition of pork
for Muslims
• Some of the rationales have a
basis in sanitation and
environment, however they
cannot be explained solely this
way. Social values also play an
important role
Food Taboos in U.S.
• Avoid eating insects, despite nutritional
Deep fried giant
water bugs are a
value
snack in Thailand
• Canned mushrooms and tomato paste
contain insects (though not commonly
acknowledged)
Raise your hand if this is appetizing to you!
Do Asians Eat Weird Things?
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Food Attractions:
Mandrake
Associated with
becoming a better
lover
Other food taboos:
• Before becoming pregnant, Mbum Kpau
women of Chad do not eat chicken or goat;
during pregnancy do not keep meat from
antelopes with twisted horns
• In the Trobriand Islands (near Papua New
Guinea) couples are prohibited from eating
meals together before marriage, but
premarital sexual relations are accepted
Food Taboo Against Pork:
• Jews and Muslims
• Jews: needed pigs for farming
• Muslims: pigs unsuited for dry lands of
Arabian Peninsula (would compete with
humans for food without providing other
benefits e.g. milk, wool, pulling plow)
Food Taboo Against Cows:
• Sacred for Hindus
• Environmental reason: cows are needed to pull plows
• Can only plow when monsoon rains arrive and need a
large supply of oxen
• Religious sanctions keep a large cow supply
No Reservations - Quebec
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.