Concepts of Culture - AP Human Geography

The only belief system mentioned in this question that was founded by Confucius was Confucianism, which included philosophical and ethical beliefs and ways of thinking.

Although all of these nations have an Islamic majority, the question asks which of them is the “cultural hearth.” A “cultural hearth” is a point from which a widespread culture originates. Islamic culture is widespread around North Africa and the Middle East - and can be found in many other areas of the world as well. But, the point of origin for this culture is Mecca and Medina, two cities found in modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Some cultural geographers divide the world into a series of macro-cultural regions. The “Slavic” culture is found predominantly in Eastern Europe and Russia. Other "macro-cultural" regions include Anglo-America, Western Europe, South Asia, and East Asia.

J.W. Powell is credited with coining the term acculturation. Powell coined this term in 1880 and served as the second director in the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Acculturation” is the term used to describe the adoption of certain cultural and social characteristics of one society by another society. It usually occurs when one society is controlled, either politically, economically, socially, or all of these, by another society. And the people are forced to adapt their cultural experiences in order to survive in this new social climate.

Acculturation affects food habits, sex norms and languages within a culture. Food habits may change based on availability of new ingredients. Different cultures have different practices for types and frequency of sex. Finally, languages change overtime to become a new, unique language.

The term “cultural appropriation” is used to describe a situation where a dominant social or cultural group takes an expression, idea, or product from an oppressed cultural group and uses it for its own benefit. So, the use of Native-American tribal names in American sports (Redskins, Blackhawks, Braves, and so on) is an example of cultural appropriation.

A “pidgin” language is a language that develops when two or more different languages meet in one geographic region- often when colonizers and the colonized live together in close proximity. The resulting language has elements of both the original languages. When a “pidgin” evolves into the primary language of a region it is called a “Creole” language.

Although Mexico sends far more immigrants to the United States than Cuba does in any given year, the majority of Mexican immigrants arrive in the southwest of the United States. Cuban immigrants tend to arrive, almost exclusively, in South Florida. This has contributed a great deal to the ethnic makeup of Miami, as well as its culture.

India was, for a long time, controlled by the British Empire. Many wealthy Indians were educated in English and English language came to take on an elitist status on the Indian subcontinent. This has led to a classic example of “acculturation,” whereby even though India has been independent from Britain since the mid-1940s the English language continues to be widely used and influential on the continent - particularly in areas of elite culture like law, economics, and business.

Culture hearth is the area where innovations in culture began and from which such cultural elements spread out to other regions.

Acculturation is the term for the process of change that occurs after two cultures meet. Acculturation can have effects in areas of the two groups' culture, customs and social habits. These changes can also occur at an individual level.

Enculturation describes the process of first culture learning, whereas acculturation describes the process of second culture learning. Through first culture learning, individuals learn about their surrounding culture and shape their values and behaviors based on their learnings. This term is related to socialization.

Acculturation has been studied in the Psychology, Anthropology and Sociology fields. Scientific studies regarding the term have been studied since 1918. A variety of theories and definitions have been created throughout the years. Current studies focus around individuals and adaption to their cultures.

The earliest recorded existence of acculturation was in 2370 BC during the time of the ancient Sumerians. These people had a set of instructions for interacting with other cultures through commerce. These instructions were created in order to limit major changes in their culture due to foreign exposure.

The “Conquest Theory” was developed to explain the dominance of the Indo-European language family. More than half of the world’s population speaks some form of an Indo-European language. According to the Conquest Theory this is because the original speakers of this language group spread westward, rapidly overpowering previous inhabitants of much of Europe and Asia. The people of this region then, several hundred years, spread outwards around the world conquering new territories and spreading their languages to new continents.

The continent of Africa is fairly evenly divided between Islamic (in the North of the continent) and Sub-Saharan African. The Islamic macro-cultural region also includes much of the Middle East. Although it is true that the continent of Africa is divided between a Muslim dominated north and a Christian dominated south, “Christian” is not the name of a macro-cultural region that is frequently used by cultural geographers.

All of these are considered macro-cultural regions of Asia except “Central Steppe.” The Central Steppe is a term that could theoretically be used to describe the Great Plains, or “steppes,” of Central Asia (such as Mongolia), but most of this territory falls under the broad category of “Sino-Japanese.”

An ethnic island or enclave is an area predominantly populated by a single ethnicity, sometimes in contrast to a city's overall demographic makeup. Forced segregation would mean that populations are legally separated, while a gendered space would divide along gender lines, rather than ethnic or cultural ones.