Cultural Universals



Cultural Universals

Economy

Tools – Goods – Businesses – Transportation - Technology – Division of Labor –

Trade and Money

Questions to ask about economy:

• How did people get things they needed? Did they buy them? Did they have them already? What did they make themselves? Did they trade for them?

• What factors contribute to whether a person is rich or poor?

• How does where they live effect the economics of their area?

• Where and what did they trade? For what?

• What is valuable? Why is it valued?

• How do people make a living?

• Who works where? Male versus female?

• Where do they live?

• How did they get there?

• How does where they live affect their life?

• How is their community arranged?

• What do they use to work and to fight?

• What are the common possessions owned and valued by this culture?

• What can you find in most homes? Pets? Children? Television?

Institutions

Government – Education – Ethnic Groups – Law Enforcement – War and Peace –

Marriage and type of family groupings – Child training and rites of passage

Questions to ask about institutions:

• Who is in a family?

• What role does each person have?

• What role do women, children and elderly people have?

• What is appropriate and inappropriate behavior for family members?

• Who is in charge?

• What laws are there?

• What happens when someone breaks a law?

• How are decisions for the community made?

• Who is allowed to participate in decision making? Who is not allowed? Why?

• What are historical reasons for this culture to go to battle?

• How do they fight? What equipment do they use? Specialize?

• How do people get an education?

• What do they learn?

• How do they learn it?

• Who taught them?

• Do they have schools? What are they like?

• Do schools vary from region to region? Why or why not?

Art

Crafts – Art – Literature – Music – Dance – Drama

Questions about Art:

• How do people express themselves? Do people create visual art?

• What is the purpose of art?

• Who creates art?

Language

Symbols – Writing systems – Words – Number systems

Questions about communication:

• How do they talk to each other? To other countries? To the rest of the world?

• How do they share ideas and information? What is communicated?

• How is information transmitted?

• How does information and people move from one place to another?

• What are problems of communication? How do these problems affect the culture?

Beliefs

Religions – morals – values – death rituals

Questions about religion:

• What religious beliefs do people have?

• How does religion affect how people live?

• Did any conflicts come about because of different belief systems?

• What do people believe is proper and improper behavior?

• What happens to people who do not behave properly?

• How do people believe other people should be treated?

Recreation

Games – Toys – Sports – Use of leisure time

Questions about recreation:

• What do people do for fun?

• What kind of games do they play?

• When and how much leisure time do they have?

• What do they celebrate? How do they celebrate?

Material Culture

Food – Shelter – Clothing

Questions to ask about Material Culture:

• What do they eat? How did they get it? How was it prepared?

• How was what they ate, their clothing and shelter affected by where they are?

• What kind of clothing do they wear? How was what they wore based on status, gender and/or age?

• How do they build their buildings? What kind of buildings do they have?

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