HUMAN

CULTURAL
VARIATION
 Human Cultural Variation:
A Definition

• refers to the differences in social

behaviors that different cultures
exhibit around the world. What
may be considered good etiquette
in one culture may be considered
bad etiquette in another.
(globalsociology.pbworks.com).
Cultural Variation Between
Cultures

• If human cultures modify the

natural environment, it is also
true that the natural
environment initially shaped,
and still shapes to some extent,
the culture of society.
Variation Between Cultures
• The Japanese diet consists largely of fish, seafood
and vegetables because Japan is an archipelago
and the sea provided consistent sources of food
and, with one twentieth of the surface of the
United States, there is no room for grazing land for
raising beef cattle. Similarly, climate, soil, and
geography affect cultural aspects.
 Variation Between Cultures
• Marvin Harris (1974) has demonstrated that
the specific treatment of cows in India is in
fact an adaptation to natural and social
conditions. India is still a largely traditional
agricultural country with extremely low
mechanization. Cows are sources of male
calves that become oxen which can be used
to plow fields. Cows are also a major source
of manure, a valuable resource since India
does not have oil resources and suffers from
a shortage of wood. Manure can be used as
fertilizer and heating energy. Finally, when
cows die, they are given to Untouchables
(the lowest caste) who then tan the skin
into leather. Untouchables are also then
relieved from the prohibition of eating beef,
which provides them with a source of
proteins.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM

>> the attempt to judge

behavior according to its
cultural context
>> the principle that an
individual person’s beliefs and
activities should be understood
by others in terms of that
ETHNOCENTRISM
>> it is the perception that
arises from the fact that
cultures differ and each culture
defines reality differently
>> judging another culture
solely by the values and
standards of one’s own culture