Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Culture
What is a society?
a shared, learned, symbolic system of
values, beliefs and attitudes that
shapes and influences perception and
behavior -- an abstract "mental
blueprint" or "mental code."
A shared perception of reality
Commonly known as
“Commonly known as”
Common sense
“They say”
“Everybody knows”
Why bother with societies
and cultures?
Humans are weak
Societies are mutual support pacts
Let’s build a society
An individual
Two people
More than two…
Or twenty…
Or twenty million
1st purpose of a society: reduce
friction between people in the
society
2nd purpose: separate one society
from others
Early Human Culture
Small groups of around 25
Gatherer/hunters
Nomadic
Limited possessions
more permanent settlements
Became tribes
xenophobia
End of the Ice Age
About 12,000 BCE
The high grasslands began to dry
out
Tribes migrated down into the river
valleys looking for food
Tigris/Euphrates
Indus
Yellow
Nile
The first great change
Domestication of animals
Irrigation
Canals
Fields
Granary
Pharaoh
Pyramid of Zoser
The Torah
Class and Clothing
Class and Clothing
Chinese Fingernail
Shields
Jocks vs. Nerds
Weighing the Heart
Ramses II
Queen Hatshepsut
Nazis
Soviets
Sparta vs. Athens
Rome vs. everybody
War of the Roses
English Civil War
American Revolution
French Revolution
American Civil War
Inquisition
Women’s Suffrage
Civil Rights
Timothy McVeigh / John
Allen Muhammad / Aileen
Wuornos
James von Brunn; Scott
Roeder; Jim David Adkisson
Anders Behring Breivik