Cultural Lesson Plans for Teachers about the ... - Brown University

EXPLORE THE CULTURES OF THE WORLD
What is Culture?
Culture is, simply, the way of life shared by a group
of people. Humans all over the Earth need the
same basic things. We need food, water, shelter,
and clothing to survive. Although humans are
mammals (we give birth to live young, nurse, and
have hair), we are different from other animals in
some important ways. We are most especially largebrained,
bipedal (stand on two feet) and make
tools to help us achieve our basic needs, including
tools to help us harvest, make, and eat our food
or drink our water. We create our own shelters
(our homes) and clothing out of materials in our
environment or materials made by other humans.
Besides these basic needs, other aspects of culture
include technology, art, dance, music, religion, and
language.
Culture is something that we learn from the
people who live with and near us — our mothers
and fathers, grandparents, other members of our
families, our friends, the people with whom we
go to school, our teachers, and our neighbors.
Culture is passed down through each successive
generation. We also learn a system of beliefs,
values, and practices as we grow up. These beliefs
and values are part of our cultural traditions.
Culture is collective; we share our culture with a
group of people, often the people we grew up
with or the people who raised us. All humans have
a culture; we may have the same basic needs, but
From top to bottom:
Uman Islander, Micronesia; photograph by Eileen McDermott
Ethiopia; photograph by Anna Colaiace
Passamaquoddy, Maine; photograph by Joan Lester
Hopi, Arizona; photograph by Gino Conti
Cachinahua, Peru; photograph by Kenneth Kensinger
The Haffenreffer
Museum of Anthropology
BROWN
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