History and Social Science, Part 13

Question 1: Define the following terms: culture hearth, cultural mosaic, transculturation.

Answer 1: A culture hearth is a principle source area and center of cultural innovation from which migrating peoples transport traditions and beliefs to their new homes. Mesoamerica, a region that spans the area between central Mexico and the northwestern boundary of Costa Rica, is an example of a culture hearth. Populations from this hearth expanded and worked for advancements in the spheres of, for instance, science, architecture, agriculture, and religion; these advancements spread to other regions and influenced further developments. The term cultural mosaic is used to describe a society in which distinct ethnic, language, and culture groups exist side by side. This concept is largely synonymous with the idea of cultural pluralism, and the opposite of a culturally assimilated society. Transculturation is the process whereby different cultures merge and converge. It refers specifically to the tendency of humans to work toward the resolution of conflicts, be they political, ethnic, or social.

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Question 2: Explain culture spheres.

Answer 2: A culture sphere is a cultural region within a larger region. The identification of general culture spheres may be useful in the description of the cultural mosaic of a pluralist society. For instance, geographers have delineated five generalized culture spheres within the South American realm. The tropical-plantation region is characterized by a dispersed settlement pattern, a high level of plantation agriculture, and a culture dominated by the descendents of African slave laborers who were brought over to work on those plantations. The European-commercial region is populated largely by Europeans, specifically those with affiliations to Hispanic culture. This region is economically more developed than the rest of the realm. The Amerind-subsistence region is characterized by a feudal socioeconomic structure, a holdover from former Spanish conquerors. This region contains some of the realm’s poorest areas. Culture in the Mestizo-transitional region is a fusion of Amerind and European elements. It is also a zone of transition between the commercial and subsistence economic areas. The undifferentiated region consists of regions with unclassifiable cultural characteristics.

Question 3: Define the following terms: balkanization, shatter belt, ethnic cleansing.

Answer 3: There are several geographic terms with roots in the region of Eastern Europe that are used to describe the collapse of established order; these terms are so designated due to the complex, transitory nature of the area. Balkanization, named after the Balkan Peninsula, is defined as the breaking down of a society (such as a region) into smaller and more hostile units. A shatter belt, is a region, such as Eastern Europe, located between two or more stronger, oppositional cultural-political forces. A shatter belt region is often pressured, taken over, and divvyed up by outside, rival forces. Ethnic cleansing is another term coined from events in Eastern Europe. The phrase is a euphemism used to designate the forcible elimination of people of a certain ethnic group from their homeland by more aggressive groups in search of power. The term has been used historically by the Soviets (in reference to the “resettlement” of Poles) and by Serbs in Yugoslavia (in description of the policies of Albanians against Serbs).

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