Culture - Heritage - Traditions

Culture is the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization. A way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time in history. That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. The tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group. All the knowledge and values shared by a society. A highly developed state of perfection and having a flawless or impeccable quality. Cultured is characterized by refined taste and manners and good education.

Culture Types - Cultural Studies - Ethnic Groups - Diversity - Conservation - Celebrations



Folklore - Sacred Knowledge - Assimilation - Conformity - Fossils - Genealogy

Heritage is the practices that are handed down from the past by tradition. Any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors. That which is inherited; a title or property or estate that passes by law to the heir on the death of the owner. Hereditary succession to a title or an office or property.

Customs are accepted or habitual practice. A specific practice of long standing. Habitual patronage. An action or way of behaving that is usual and traditional among the people in a particular group or place. Something that is done regularly by a person.

Knowledge - Natural Rights - Symbols - Clothing - Music

Traditions are an inherited pattern of thought or action. A specific practice of long standing.

Traditional Values or social conservatism, is a group of political ideologies centered on preserving traditional beliefs, attitudes and philosophy. These traditional beliefs are not clearly defined, or have such beliefs been debated openly and clearly so that the reasoning behind the tradition is fully understood by everyone. Religious beliefs should not contradict federal laws or state laws or the constitution. If a law or a belief is unconstitutional, then the law or the belief needs to be repealed. The aims of social conservatism varies from person to person, and varies from country to country. Thus, there are really no distinct policies or positions that could be considered universal among social conservatives. When you're being vague, and when cannot prove your point, then you should  learn how to prove a point, and stop being vague, and stop pretending to understand life on planet earth. We need to focus on human values, and we need to define all the things that we have in common, because there are more things that we have in common than we have not in common.

Traditions are not about ignoring the current reality, or is it about ignoring the advancements in knowledge of the current level of society, traditions are about remembering our past, and not forgetting our present or our future. Traditions reconnect us to the past to remind us how far we come and how far we still need to go.

Interpretation of the Law - Interpretation Errors

Some claim culture affects our basic visual perception. Researchers found little difference in how people of East Asian and European descent performed on a famous test. Past research has suggested that people's cultural differences may result in differences in basic visual perception. New research found no evidence that these differences play a significant role in how participants performed a basic visual task. The findings lend support to the idea that basic mechanisms of visual perception are universal.

The Soul of a Nation is a set of experiences memories and behaviors that are included in something called culture and its basic nature and beliefs. American Dream.

"Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay." Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 11, 1895 – February 17, 1986).

"Just because you have always done it this way, it doesn't mean that it's not incredibly stupid."

Status Quo Ante is the previously existing state of affairs. The way things were before. (Going back is different for everyone. Just because something worked good before, it doesn't mean that it was good for everyone, or that it will still be good or even be better than the options and choices available today).

Status Quo Ante Bellum is the state existing before the war and that no side gains or loses territory or economic and political rights. This contrasts with uti possidetis, where each side retains whatever territory and other property it holds at the end of the war.

Practice is a customary way of operation or behavior. Translating an idea into action. The exercise of a profession. Knowledge of how something is usually done. Engage in or perform.

Knowledge Passed On - Training - Self Directed Learning - Mythology - Myths - Folklore

Ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions or any customary observance or a practice of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, but not defined, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance. Ritual is a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Relating to or done as a religious or solemn rite. The prescribed procedure for conducting ceremonies. A ritual is an ordered regularity of living that takes advantage of the power of good habits, like good hygiene, eating healthy, exercising, learning, service and responsibilities. Rituals can give our lives purpose and meaning through intention-filled acts that mimic the symbiotic nature of life.

Routines - Mindful - Mantras - Rite of Passage - Initiation - Responsibilities - Maintenance - Myth-Ritualist Theory

Habits are an established custom. In psychology, habits are automatic patterns of behavior in reaction to a specific situation, which may be inherited or acquired through frequent repetition.

Patterns are a customary way of operation or behavior. Something regarded as a normative example.

Tribalism is the state of being organized in or an advocate for a tribe or tribes. In terms of conformity, tribalism may also refer in popular cultural terms to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are loyal to their own tribe or social group. Tribalism has been defined in as a 'way of being' based upon variable combinations of kinship-based organization, reciprocal exchange, manual production, oral communication and analogical enquiry. Ontologically, tribalism is oriented around the valences of analogy, genealogy and mythology. That means that customary tribes have their social foundations in some variation of these tribal orientations, while often taking on traditional practices (e.g. Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), and modern practices, including monetary exchange, mobile communications, and modern education. The social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but the relatively small size of customary tribes makes social life in such of tribes usually involve a relatively undifferentiated role structure, with few significant political or economic distinctions between individuals. Tribalism implies the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates one member of a group from the members of another group. Based on strong relations of proximity and kinship, members of a tribe tend to possess a strong feeling of identity. Objectively, for a customary tribal society to form there needs to be ongoing customary organization, enquiry and exchange. However, intense feelings of common identity can lead people to feel tribally connected. The distinction between these two definitions for tribalism, objective and subjective, is an important one because while tribal societies have been pushed to the edges of the Western world, tribalism, by the second definition, is arguably undiminished. A few writers have postulated that the human brain is hard-wired towards tribalism by its evolutionary advantages, but that claim is usually linked to equating original questions of sociality with tribalism. Many tribes refer to themselves with their language's word for "people" and referring to other, neighboring tribes with various epithets. For example, the term "Inuit" translates as "people," but they were known to the Ojibwe by a name 'Eskimo' translating roughly as "eaters of raw meat".

Tribe is viewed, developmentally or historically, as a social group existing before the development of, or outside, states. A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society.

Civilization is a society in an advanced state of social development with complex legal, political, moral or religious organizations. The social process whereby societies achieve an advanced stage of development and organization. A particular society at a particular time and place. The quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste.

Civilized is having a high state of culture and development both social and technological. To teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment.

Virtual Heritage is the body of works dealing with information and communication technologies (ICT) and their application to cultural heritage, such as virtual archaeology. Virtual heritage and cultural heritage have independent meanings: cultural heritage refers to sites, monuments, buildings and objects "with historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value", whereas virtual heritage refers to instances of these within a technological domain, usually involving computer visualization of artifacts or Virtual Reality environments.

Cultural Framework is a term used in social science to describe traditions, value systems, myths and symbols that are common in a given society. International Culture and Cognition Institute.

Cultural System is the interaction of different elements in culture. While a cultural system is very different from a social system, sometimes both systems together are referred to as the sociocultural system. Religions.

Cultural Celebrations - Festivals - Remembrance

Holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job held or personal choices.

Knowledge Preservation - Ancient Knowledge - History

Public Holiday is a day in a year that coincides with a significant event in history, an anniversary to mark a day of celebration and remembrance. Holidays mean different things to different people. List of Holidays by Country (wiki).

Holidays are about family, food, art, creativity and tradition, and the things that help bring us all together. The smells, tastes, and decorations help to bring memories flooding back. But a Holiday is not just about remembering something important, it's also about what you have learned because of this memory. To remember is to question something again, and not just to remember something. When a year or years have past, you have to acknowledge and say, "This is what I think I know now, and I will never forget this memory, because this memory is connected to so many things. To forget you would be like forgetting that I have memories, which is something I can not do. So thank you, thank you for the memories".

Gratitude - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Remembrance is the action of remembering something. The ability to recall past occurrences. Remembrance Day (wiki).

Culture of Remembrance is the interaction of an individual or a society with their past and history. Remembrance Culture is all the behavioral configurations and socially approved or acquired manners of a society or group used to keep parts of the past in their consciousness and thus deliberately make it present. The central theme is not the display of historical and objective knowledge but primarily collective and subjective perceptions of historical connections to the past from a current perspective. One can distinguish between private and public Remembrance Culture as well as their respective regular and event-based elements. The striking thing about a Culture of Remembrance is the fact that collective perceptions shape subjective ones. Social conflicts, relationships and problems influence a Remembrance Culture. In a pronounced Culture of Remembrance, less emphasized elements are likely to be forgotten. Family albums, genealogical research or anniversaries with personal or familial significance are examples of private or subjective forms of Remembrance Culture. Works from a Remembrance Culture can officially be designated as cultural artifacts or cultural monuments if there is a long-standing public interest.

Tribute is an act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration. Tribute can also mean wealth that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect, or something given or done as an expression of esteem.

Memorialization refers to the process of preserving memories of people or events. It can be a form of address or petition, or a ceremony of remembrance or commemoration.

Memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person (who has died) or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains and parks.

Memorandum is honoring the memory of a person who died in the past.

Commemorative is an object made to memorialize something.

Commemorate is a call to remembrance or to keep alive the memory of someone or something, usually marked by some ceremony or observation. To provide a memorial to a person or to an event.

Cinco de Mayo is a day to commemorate the resilience of the Mexican spirit and a reminder to have courage without fear in the face of adversity and danger.

Birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or the beginning of something important. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a Rite of Passage. Many religions celebrate the birth of their founders or religious figures with special holidays. A person's golden or grand birthday, also referred to as their "lucky birthday", "champagne birthday", or "star birthday", occurs when they turn the age of their birth day, like when someone born on the 25th of the month turns 25 or when someone born on the ninth turns nine. Birthday - By The Beatles (youtube) - List of Birthday Songs (wiki) - Happy Birthday to You is a song traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth. The song is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The song's base lyrics have been translated into at least 18 languages. The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" comes from the song "Good Morning to All", which has traditionally been attributed to American sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill in 1893, although the claim that the sisters composed the tune is disputed. Lyrics: Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear [the persons name], Happy birthday to you.

Anniversary is the date on which an event occurred in some previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event.

Death Anniversary is the anniversary of the death of a person.

Ceremony is a formal religious or public occasion, typically one celebrating a particular event or anniversary. The ritual observances and procedures performed at grand and formal occasions. Weddings.

Ceremonial Ship Launching is the process of transferring a vessel to the water after being built. The most widely used method is the end-on launch, in which the vessel slides down an inclined slipway, usually stern first. With the side launch, the ship enters the water broadside. The process also involves many traditions intended to invite good luck, such as christening by breaking a sacrificial bottle of champagne over the bow as the ship is named aloud and launched. The third method is float-out, used for ships that are built in basins or dry docks and then floated by admitting water into the dock. If launched in a restrictive waterway drag chains are used to slow the ship speed to prevent it striking the opposite bank.

Haka is commonly known as a war dance used to fire up warriors on the battlefield, but it's also a customary way to celebrate, entertain, welcome, and challenge visiting tribes. Māori people of New Zealand performed haka to display a tribe's pride, strength and unity. Haka are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture that are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment. Haka have been traditionally performed by both men and women for a variety of social functions within Māori culture. They are performed to welcome distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements, occasions, or funerals. ('I die, I die, I live, I live.')

Vacation is an extended period of recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling. Vacation is a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday. Vacation is a leave of absence from a regular occupation, or a specific trip or journey, usually for the purpose of recreation or tourism. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances, or for specific festivals or celebrations. Vacations are often spent with friends or family.

Summer Vacation is a school break in summer months between school years or a break in the school academic year. Periods during which schools are closed or no classes or other mandatory activities are held. The dates and periods of school holidays vary considerably throughout the world, Students are typically off between eight and nine weeks, but not staff, depending on the country and district. Summer vacation is also called summer holiday or summer break. School holidays are also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess.

Festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. Next to religion and folklore, a significant origin is agricultural. Food is such a vital resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn, such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere and Easter in the southern. Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanksgiving. The celebrations offer a sense of belonging for religious, social, or geographical groups, contributing to group cohesiveness. They may also provide entertainment, which was particularly important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced entertainment. Festivals that focus on cultural or ethnic topics also seek to inform community members of their traditions; the involvement of elders sharing stories and experience provides a means for unity among families. Festival Types (wiki) - Lists of Festivals (wiki).

Kumbh Mela festival is The Largest Peaceful Gathering in the World and a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar; the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad; the Godavari at Nashik; and the Shipra at Ujjain. Bathing in these rivers is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins. Religious pilgrimage, rituals, social practices and festive events. An estimated 120 million people visited Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 in Allahabad over a two-month period, including over 30 million on a single day, on 10 February 2013 (the day of Mauni Amavasya). It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (wiki).

Diwali is a festival of lights and is one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days, or six in some regions of India, and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity and Ganesha, god of wisdom and the remover of obstacles, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Durga, Shiva, Kali, Hanuman, Kubera, Yama, Yami, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman. Furthermore, it is a celebration of the day Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana after defeating the demon Ravana in Lanka and serving 14 years of exile. Diwali 2022 begins Oct. 24.
The exact dates change each year because it follows the lunar calendar, but it is typically celebrated in October or November over a 5-day span: Activities include spending time together. People often visit their relatives during Diwali to spend time and celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. Another way to celebrate is to talk about the important things that you have learned in the past year. Explain the lessons you have learned and how they have changed your understanding. Share the books that you have read and share any tips on how you continue to educate yourself and how you stay updated on life's challenges. Another activity is cooking up a feast. While together, cooking and eating is a way that Diwali is celebrated among family and friends. A variety of sweet and savory Indian delicacies are made and shared between people – find out more about these delicious Diwali dishes. Lighting up the holiday. Lights and diyas (lamps) are also lit throughout the streets and in houses to celebrate Diwali, lanterns can released into the sky by a group of people as a symbol of celebration. Diwali from day to night. During the night, people also often gather together to watch vibrant firework displays continuing the holiday celebrations after the sun sets. Celebrating through giving. Exchanging gifts between loved ones can also be an important part of Diwali celebrations, with sweets, clothing, jewelry, and firecrackers being examples of gifts given during the holiday.

Burning Man is a 2 week long art festival held in the Nevada Black rock desert once a year in the month of August. The festival brings thousands of skilled artists together to collaborate and express themselves in unique and profound ways using incredible imaginative designs that are a celebration of life, creativity and technological advancements. A week before the festival begins a temporary city is mapped out on a dry flat lake bed and designed in a half circle arc shape with a grid street structure that represents the numbers of a clock face to create an easy to use system of location which also helps to organize the 70,000 plus city inhabitants sustainably for 2 weeks. Artists build large and small temporary art structures throughout the city. Everyone in the city rides bicycles and a few people ride electric and other powered vehicles that are usually incredible works of art in themselves. The festival explores the potential of human creativity the seemingly endless amount of possibilities that life offers people here on planet earth. People experience the festival in many different ways. Most people are inspired and emotionally effected by the harmony of people existing together, which can awaken a persons mind to how life can be or how life should be. Making it more than just a festival, but an exploration of the mind and spirit. The 10 Principles of Burning Man: Radical Inclusion, anyone may be a part of Burning Man. Gifting, Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. Decommodification, protect the culture from such exploitation. Radical Self-reliance, rely on his or her inner resources. Radical Self-expression, no one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. Communal Effort, creative cooperation and collaboration. Civic Responsibility, responsibility for public welfare. Leaving No Trace, respects the environment by cleaning up after ourselves. Participation, everyone is invited to work and play. Immediacy, overcoming barriers. The festival is a $63 million annual economic boost for Nevada.

Wicker Man was a large wicker statue reportedly used by the ancient Druids and priests of Celtic paganism in the 18 hundreds for sacrifice by burning it in effigy, which is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure.

Zozobra is a giant 50 foot high marionette effigy that is constructed of wood, wire and cotton cloth, and within its body, it has items, letters and notes that people wish to be burned and forgotten about. As the Zozobra burns to the ground, people feel a sense of relief from their worry's and heartaches that have been troubling them for some time. Artist William Howard “Will” Shuster, Jr. created the first Zozobra in 1924 as the signature highlight of a private party for Los Cinco Pintores, a group of artists and writers who made their way to New Mexico in the 1920s. Shuster and his friend, E. Dana Johnson, editor of the local newspaper, came up with the name Zozobra, which in Spanish means “anguish, anxiety, or gloom.” Shuster's creation first burned in his backyard in 1924 as a 6-foot effigy and, over the years, has grown to a towering 50-foot high marionette. By burning the Zozobra, people destroy the worries and troubles of the previous year in the flames. It's a way of letting go, and a way of moving on. It's letting go of our grudges and letting go of painful experiences. Life is short and temporary, we need to learn from our experiences and hold onto that knowledge that we have gained, and at the same time, let go of the negativity that dampens our spirits. Let the flames of Zozobra cleanse your soul and cleanse your spirit of negative energy. As the flames rise above Zozobra, you should feel the weight lift off your shoulders, and as you are lifted up, you will no longer feel the weight of gloom that has been holding you down.

Fire as a Symbol. Fire is seen as a symbol of destruction and rebirth. Fire represents the cycle of life and death. Like the phoenix, things that are consumed by fire, can then be reborn from its ashes. Eternal flames burn in various cultures around the world to honor the deceased, and a few eternal flames burn in honor of the commitment to learning and the expansion of knowledge. Fire is also frequently used to symbolize wisdom, knowledge, and power.

Impermanence - Unhealthy Attachments - Freeing the Mind

Kumbh Mela Religious Festival (temporary city design)

Celebration is a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event. Any joyous diversion. The public performance of a sacrament or solemn ceremony with all appropriate ritual. Winning.

I Just Want to Celebrate - Rare Earth (youtube)

Parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind. The most elaborate parade in the world is the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Rio Carnival is a festival held every year before Lent and considered the biggest carnival in the world with two million people per day on the streets. The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723. Rio Carnival 2019 [HD] - Floats & Dancers | Brazilian Carnival | The Samba Schools Parade (youtube).

Carnival is a period of public revelry at a regular time each year, typically during the week before Lent in Roman Catholic countries, involving processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade. A traveling amusement show or circus. Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity.

Helen Marriage - Mephistomania (youtube) - vimeo - Friches Théâtre Urbain: Accueil - Royal de Luxe - London International Festival of Theatre.

Circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists, as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Circus is a travelling company of performance entertainers who sometimes work in an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent, or an open-air stadium for races and games. Circus can also mean a frenetic disorganized and often comic disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment.

Party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration of a special occasion. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing or other forms of entertainment. In many Western countries, parties for teens and adults are associated with drinking alcohol such as beer, wine, or distilled spirits.

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience, or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention. Although people's attention is held by different things, because individuals have different preferences in entertainment, most forms are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and different kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens. The process has been accelerated in modern times by an entertainment industry that records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to a banquet adapted for two; to any size or type of party, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

Celebration - Kool & The Gang (youtube) - This is your celebration, Yahoo! This is your celebration
Celebrate good times, come on, Let's celebrate
Celebrate good times, come on, Let's celebrate. There's a party going on right here, A celebration to last throughout the years, So bring your good times and your laughter too, We gonna celebrate your party with you, come on.

All Night Long - Lionel Richie (youtube) - People dancing all in the street, See the rhythm all in their feet, Life is good, wild and sweet, Let the music play on...Feel it in your heart and feel it in your soul, Let the music take control, We're going to Party, Liming, Fiesta, forever, Come on and sing along, We're going to Party, Liming, Fiesta, forever
Come on and sing my song!

Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with positive valence and high physiological arousal.

Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role.

Assimilate - Privilege - Torture - Brainwash

Hazing refers to the practice of rituals, challenges, and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group including a new fraternity, sorority, team, or club. Hazing is seen in many different types of social groups, including gangs, sports teams, schools, military units, and fraternities and sororities. The initiation rites can range from relatively benign pranks to protracted patterns of behavior that rise to the level of abuse or criminal misconduct. Hazing is often prohibited by law or prohibited by institutions such as colleges and universities because it may include either physical or psychological abuse.

Line-Crossing Ceremony s an initiation rite that commemorates a person's first crossing of the Equator. The tradition may have originated with ceremonies when passing headlands, and become a "folly" sanctioned as a boost to morale, or have been created as a test for seasoned sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. Throughout history, line-crossing ceremonies have sometimes become dangerous hazing rituals. Most modern navies have instituted regulations that prohibit physical attacks on sailors undergoing the line-crossing ceremony.

Types of Culture

Counterculture is a subculture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society or an established culture, often in opposition to mainstream cultural mores.

Subculture is a social group within a national culture that has distinctive patterns of behavior and beliefs.

Diversity - Structure - Simple Living - Lifestyle - Generations

Beat Generation was a literary movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generationers in the 1950s. The central elements of Beat culture are the rejection of standard narrative values, making a spiritual quest, the exploration of American and Eastern religions, the rejection of economic materialism, explicit portrayals of the human condition, experimentation with psychedelic drugs, and sexual liberation and exploration. Beatnik had trope elements that included pseudo-intellectualism, drug use, and a cartoonish depiction of real-life people along with the spiritual quest of Jack Kerouac's autobiographical fiction.

Hippie is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around the world. The word hippie came from hipster and was used to describe beatniks who moved into New York City's Greenwich Village, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, and Chicago's Old Town community. The term hippie was used in print by San Francisco writer Michael Fallon, helping popularize use of the term in the media, although the tag was seen elsewhere earlier. Altered States of Consciousness.

Punk Subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom, and the DIY ethics, the culture originated from punk rock. The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action and not "selling out". Avant-Garde - Nomads.

Multiculturalism describes the existence, acceptance, and/or promotion of multiple cultural traditions within a single jurisdiction, usually considered in terms of the culture associated with an aboriginal ethnic group and foreigner ethnic groups.

Cultural Bias occurs when people of a culture make assumptions about conventions, including conventions of language, notation, proof and evidence. They are then accused of mistaking these assumptions for laws of logic or nature. Numerous such biases exist, concerning cultural norms for color, location of body parts, mate selection, concepts of justice, linguistic and logical validity, acceptability of evidence, and taboos.

Appropriation - Cultural Communication - 1960's

"We don't have cultural wars, we have ignorance. When all people become more educated, all types of wars will cease to exist."

Culture War is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal values. Its contemporary use refers to a social phenomenon in which multiple social groups, holding distinct values and ideologies, attempt to steer public policy in opposition to each other, thus a culture war now describes "hot button" or "polarizing" social issues in politics and public policy. These include wedge issues such as abortion, homosexuality, transgender rights, pornography, multiculturalism, racism and other cultural conflicts based on values, morality, and lifestyle which are described as the major political cleavage.

Cultural Imperialism refers to the creation and maintenance of unequal relationships between civilizations, favoring the more powerful civilization. Thus, cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually that of a politically powerful nation, over a less powerful society; in other words, the cultural hegemony of industrialized or economically influential countries which determine general cultural values and standardize civilizations throughout the world.

Cultural Anthropology is the study of cultural variation among humans and is in contrast to social anthropology which perceives cultural variation as a subset of the anthropological constant.

Cross-Cultural a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis.

Popular Culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images, and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Popular Culture is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of the practices, beliefs, and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. Heavily influenced in modern times by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of people in a given society. Therefore, popular culture has a way of influencing an individual's attitudes towards certain topics. However, there are various ways to define pop culture. Because of this, popular culture is something that can be defined in a variety of conflicting ways by different people across different contexts. It is generally viewed in contrast to other forms of culture such as folk culture, working-class culture, or high culture, and also through different theoretical perspectives such as psychoanalysis, structuralism, postmodernism, and more. The most common pop-culture categories are: entertainment (such as movies, music, television and video games), sports, news (as in people/places in the news), politics, fashion, technology, and slang. Popular culture is sometimes viewed by many people as being trivial and "dumbed down" in order to find consensual acceptance from (or to attract attention amongst) the mainstream. As a result, it comes under heavy criticism from various non-mainstream sources (most notably from religious groups and from countercultural groups) which deem it superficial, consumerist, sensationalist, or corrupt. Main Stream Culture is not defined. Just because something is perceived to be popular, this does not mean that something is good or right. Socialism is also not defined, yet people pretend to know what it means.

Media Culture refers to the current Western capitalist society that emerged and developed from the 20th century, under the influence of mass media. The term alludes to the overall impact and intellectual guidance exerted by the media (primarily TV, but also the press, radio and cinema), not only on public opinion but also on tastes and values. The alternative term mass culture conveys the idea that such culture emerges spontaneously from the masses themselves, like popular art did before the 20th century. The expression media culture, on the other hand, conveys the idea that such culture is the product of the mass media. Another alternative term for media culture is "image culture."

Culture Industry proposed that popular culture is akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods—films, radio programmes, magazines, etc.—that are used to manipulate mass society into passivity. Consumption of the easy pleasures of popular culture, made available by the mass communications media, renders people docile and content, no matter how difficult their economic circumstances. The inherent danger of the culture industry is the cultivation of false psychological needs that can only be met and satisfied by the products of capitalism; thus Adorno and Horkheimer especially perceived mass-produced culture as dangerous to the more technically and intellectually difficult high arts. In contrast, true psychological needs are freedom, creativity, and genuine happiness, which refer to an earlier demarcation of human needs, established by Herbert Marcuse.

Primitive Culture refers to a society believed to lack cultural, technological, or economic sophistication or development.

A primitive culture is not that primitive. A primitive culture usually has more knowledge about their environment and also has better survival skills than most people who are mostly dependent on services and infrastructure that are provided to them by governments and businesses.

Eastern Culture is an umbrella term for various cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems, which vary depending on the context. It most often includes at least part of Asia or, geographically, the countries and cultures east of Europe, the Mediterranean region and Arab world, specifically in historical (pre-modern) contexts, and in modern times in the context of Orientalism. Africa may rarely be included. It is often seen as a counterpart to the Western world, and correlates strongly to the southern half of the North–South divide.

Western Culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with Europe. The term also applies beyond Europe to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to Europe by immigration, colonization, or influence. For example, Western culture includes countries in the Americas and Australasia, whose language and demographic ethnicity majorities are of European descent. Western culture is most strongly influenced by the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman cultures.

High Culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society consider representative of their culture

Low Culture is a derogatory term for forms of popular culture that have mass appeal. Its contrast is "high culture", which can also be derogatory.

Working-Class Culture is a range of cultures created by or popular among working-class people. The cultures can be contrasted with high culture and folk culture, and are often equated with popular culture and low culture (the counterpart of high culture). Working-class culture developed during the Industrial Revolution.

Culturology or the science of culture is a branch of social sciences concerned with the scientific understanding, description, analysis, and prediction of cultures as a whole. While ethnology and anthropology studied different cultural practices, such studies included diverse aspects: sociological, psychological, etc., and the need was recognized for a discipline focused exclusively on cultural aspects.

Assimilation - Indoctrination - Integration - Appropriation 

Assimilate is to make something similar or cause something to resemble or be like something. To become similar to one's environment. To assimilate in phonetics is to become similar in sound. Assimilate is to take in information, ideas, or culture and to understand the perceived meaning of certain things.

Assimilation is the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another. The process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure. When people of different backgrounds come to see themselves as part of a larger national family. Assimilation can also mean a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound. The process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion.

Forced Assimilation is a process of cultural assimilation of religious or ethnic minority groups that is forced into an established and generally larger community. Also enforcement of a new language in legislation, education, literature, worshiping counts as forced assimilation. Unlike ethnic cleansing, the local population is not forced to leave a certain area. Instead the population becomes assimilated by force. It has often been used after an area has changed nationality, often in the aftermath of war. Some examples are both the German and French forced assimilation in the provinces Alsace and (at least a part of) Lorraine, and some decades after the Swedish conquests of the Danish provinces Scania, Blekinge and Halland the local population was submitted to forced assimilation.

Schools are Institutions where students Passively Learn from Corporate Sponsored Content that is delivered in a Black Box. You need to open the box to see the Propaganda.

Cultural Assimilation - Appropriation - Cults - Dumbed Down Education - Grooming

The disturbing truth behind America’s indigenous boarding schools | Fault Lines Documentary (youtube). Nearly 1,000 Indigenous children died in US boarding schools.

Marriage - Forced Marriage - Domestication - Profiling - To Follow Orders - In the Dark - Testing

Integration is the action of incorporating a racial or religious group into a community. The act of combining into an integral whole.

Integrate is to make into a whole or make part of a whole. Open a place to members of all races and ethnic groups.

Social Integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Transitions.

Doctrine is a belief or system of beliefs that have been accepted or believed to be authoritative by some group or school.

Indoctrination is the subtle process of forcibly teaching ideas, beliefs and attitudes to a person or a group of people by coercion and by frequent repetitions, often using conspiring indoctrinators such as schools, governments, police and mental health institutions. Creating mindless consumers, usually without consent.

Passive Learning is an ineffective method of learning where students receive information from the instructor without receiving any useful feedback from the instructor, or without any discussions that would analyze the information for accuracy. So most students never fully understand what has been learned, or know why they are learning, except to pass a test. Passive learners tend to quietly absorb information and knowledge without engaging with the information that has been received. Passive Learners may also have a tendency not to interact with others, or share insights, or contribute to a dialogue, and they are not always involved with the learning experience. This can result in surface processing instead of deeper learning. And the student may also have less ability to use what has been learned. And students may also perceive the study as being irrelevant. Passive learning allows limited opportunity to assess how well students are learning content. They also have very little time for questions, clarification, or discussion. Passive learning's standard model is lecture-format with one-way communication which does not engage the listener. Emphasis is placed on repeating information without reflecting or demonstrating an understanding. Students may be hesitant or uncomfortable about letting instructors know they do not understand key information and they may be reluctant to ask questions in class. With no opportunity for application, it does not consistently engage students use of higher-level cognitive skills. Passive learning forces the student to internalize the information without fully understanding what has been learned. Passive Learning is a traditional method utilized in factory model schools and modern schools, as well as historic and contemporary religious sermons in churches, mosques, and synagogues. Passive Learning is sometimes like not saving your work before you turn off the computer. They don't call it volatile memory for nothing. Television is also a form of passive learning where the person just sits there. Passive learning is mostly teacher-centered and not so much student-centered. Student centered learning is where students take an active learning approach and take a participatory role in the learning process. Student centered learning can also utilize the Socratic method where students and instructors engage in cooperative argumentative dialogue.

Dictation is an authoritative direction, command or an instruction to do something. Speech intended for reproduction in writing.

Implicit Learning is the learning of complex information in an incidental manner, without awareness of what has been learned. If you're not aware of what you're learning, then how do you know if its harmful or beneficial? Implicit Memory.

Formal Learning is education normally delivered by trained teachers in a systematic intentional way within a school, higher education or university. It is one of three forms of learning as defined by the OECD, the others being informal learning, which typically takes place naturally as part of some other activity, and non-formal learning, which includes everything else, such as sports instruction provided by non-trained educators without a formal curriculum.

How do you know when you're in a cult? How do you know if you're not in the allegory of the cave? What happens when you watch the same TV shows and visit the same websites, but you never do your own research or verify facts? How do you know the person you're following is the person they say they are? Don't be docile, gullible, passive or too trusting, because you may hurt more than just yourself.

Collateral Damage - Cultural Genocide - Education Reform

Radicalization - Conformity - Brainwashing - TV Dictation - Social Experiments - George Orwell - Standards

Carlisle Indian Industrial School is where all American Indian children who attended were subjected to "militaristic regimentation and disciplines," such as cutting of their hair, changing their dress, diets, names, and learning unfamiliar conceptions of space and time. They were also forced to let go of their cultural gender roles, and assimilate to what white men believed they should do in society. Native women traditionally held important political, social and economic power within their communities, as most Native cultures promoted gender equality, and this was disrupted at Carlisle. Genocide.

"Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it." (Thomas Paine 1736-1809)

People are learning things, but they're not becoming less ignorant. Sometimes people can become more ignorant when learning. This is because the information that they are receiving is not the information that will make them less ignorant about themselves and the world around them. Learning needs to be deliberate and learning needs to have clear goals in mind. Passive learning is the illusion of learning, especially when it's not deliberate and relevant.

Informal Learning is any learning that is not formal learning or non-formal learning, such as self-directed learning or learning from experience. Informal learning is organized differently than formal and non-formal learning because it has no set objective in terms of learning outcomes and is never intentional from the learner's standpoint. For all learners this includes heuristic language building, socialization, enculturation, and play. Informal learning is a pervasive ongoing phenomenon of learning via participation or learning via knowledge creation, in contrast with the traditional view of teacher-centered learning via knowledge acquisition.

Many scientific concepts, such as Newton's laws of motion, directly conflict a "working" and immediate understanding of the world. Where this is the case, such conceptual conflicts can give rise to serious obstacles to students' acceptance and understanding of scientific ideas. In contrast, a wide range of other scientific ideas, assumptions, and concepts are not obviously related to practical experience. Students misconceptions about these more abstract scientific ideas, for example, the atomic theory, the wave–particle nature of light, the cell theory of biological organization, and the theory of evolution are often grounded in past instruction. In analogy to physician-induced (iatrogenic) disease (iatrogenesis), didaskologenic (or didaktikogenic) (from the Greek dáskalos for "teacher") ideas (and misconceptions) arise from and are reinforced during the course of instruction. Particularly in the more abstract sciences, where many ideas are inherently counter-intuitive, didaskologenic scientific misconceptions often arise through the use of inappropriate analogies in the course of instruction. As examples, there are the ideas that the breaking of a bond can release energy (when all bonds require energy to break), the depiction of molecular processes using non-random molecular motions, the depiction of electron orbitals, and the molecular level effects of mutations on organismic phenotypes. A number of such errors are found in textbooks and various instructional animations.

Cultural Assimilation is the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. Cultural Assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a dominant group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. Assimilation.

Cultural Appropriation is the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society. It is the adoption of elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. Because of the presence of power imbalances that are a byproduct of colonialism and oppression, cultural appropriation is distinct from equal cultural exchange. Cultural appropriation is often considered harmful, and to be a violation of the collective intellectual property rights of the originating, minority cultures, notably indigenous cultures and those living under colonial rule. Often unavoidable when multiple cultures come together, cultural appropriation can include using other cultures' cultural and religious traditions, fashion, symbols, language, and songs. If you want to copy something, do it right and be respectable. Don't be cheap or disrespecful because you're greedy, corrupt and ignorant. Imitating a cultural tradition just for profit is wrong. Copyrights.

Internalization involves the incorporation of values or patterns of culture into one's self through learning and socialization. Mimic - Mirroring.

Co-opt is to divert to or use in a role different from the usual or original one. To adopt an idea or a policy for one's own use. to take into a group such as a faction, movement, or culture. To absorb or to assimilate. Co-option may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintain the stability of the group. Outsiders are "co-opted" by being given a degree of power on the grounds of their elite status, specialist knowledge, or potential ability to threaten essential commitments or goals ("formal co-optation"). Co-optation may take place in many other contexts, such as a technique by a dictatorship to control opposition. Co-optation also refers to the process by which a group subsumes or acculturates a smaller or weaker group with related interests; or, similarly, the process by which one group gains converts from another group by replicating some aspects of it without adopting the full program or ideal ("informal co-optation"). Co-optation is associated with the cultural tactic of recuperation, and is often understood to be synonymous with it.

Recuperation is the process by which politically radical ideas and images are twisted, co-opted, absorbed, defused, incorporated, annexed or commodified within media culture and bourgeois society, and thus become interpreted through a neutralized, innocuous or more socially conventional perspective. More broadly, it may refer to the cultural appropriation of any subversive symbols or ideas by mainstream culture.

Entryism is a political strategy in which an organization or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand their ideas and program. If the organization being "entered" is hostile to entrism, the entrists may engage in a degree of subterfuge and subversion to hide the fact that they are an organization in their own right.

Radical Politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the fundamental principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radicalization.

These words above are relative to specific ideas and behaviors and need to be debated in order to be accurately understood. When these words are not explained using explicit examples that are based in reality, these words become vague and almost meaningless, which means these words can be misused, misunderstood and misinterpreted. To say someone is guilty without explaining why they are guilty, it is a false accusation and a lie.

Why independent cultures think alike when it comes to categories. Experiment shows that people are not born with category systems already in their brains.

Cultural Hybridization is the process by which a cultural element blends into another culture by modifying the element to fit cultural norms.

Americanization is the influence American culture and business has on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology or political techniques. The term has been used since at least 1907.

Westernization is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, politics, economics, lifestyle, law, norms, mores, customs, traditions, values, mentality, perceptions, diet, clothing, language, alphabet, religion, and philosophy. During colonialism it often involved spread of Christianity.

Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and adjust to a new cultural environment. Individuals of a differing culture try to incorporate themselves into the new more prevalent culture by participating in aspects of the more prevalent culture, such as their traditions, but still hold onto their original cultural values and traditions. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both the devotee of the prevailing culture and those who are assimilating into the culture.

Transformation of Culture is the dynamic process whereby the living cultures of the world are changing and adapting to external or internal forces. This process is occurring within Western culture as well as non-Western and indigenous cultures and cultures of the world. Forces which contribute to the cultural change described in this article include: colonization, globalization, advances in communication, transport and infrastructure improvements. When Religions Change or Split from other Religions.

Culture Shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another type of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases: honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation. Common problems include: information overload, language barrier, generation gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness (cultural), infinite regress (homesickness), boredom (job dependency), response ability (cultural skill set). There is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in any society are personally affected by cultural contrasts differently.

Trans-Cultural Diffusion Five major types of cultural diffusion have been defined: Expansion diffusion: an innovation or idea that develops in a source area and remains strong there, while also spreading outward to other areas. This can include hierarchical, stimulus, and contagious diffusion. Relocation diffusion: an idea or innovation that migrates into new areas, leaving behind its origin or source of the cultural trait. Hierarchical diffusion: an idea or innovation that spreads by moving from larger to smaller places, often with little regard to the distance between places, and often influenced by social elites. Contagious diffusion: an idea or innovation that spreads based on person-to-person contact within a given population. Stimulus diffusion: an idea or innovation that spreads based on its attachment to another concept.

Community - Diversity - Adaptation

Cultural Hegemony is the domination of a culturally diverse society, by the ruling class who manipulate the culture of that society—the beliefs, explanations, perceptions, values, and mores—so that their imposed, ruling-class worldview becomes the accepted cultural norm; the universally valid dominant ideology, which justifies the social, political, and economic status quo as natural and inevitable, perpetual and beneficial for everyone, rather than as artificial social constructs that benefit only the ruling class. Cumulative Culture.

Breaking in the black box of pedagogical authority. By filming teachers in training over a period of several months, the researchers identified different ways of exercising teaching authority and assessed their effectiveness. They found that strategies based on double addressing -- i.e. addressing several students or groups of students simultaneously, using two different communication channels -- were particularly effective.

New research highlights importance of equity in education. A new study looks at the impact of learning environments on the academic success of racialized students. Compared to their peers, these students feel they have less control in their academic environment, less confidence and self-efficacy in their academic abilities, and weaker connections to other students and professors.

Conserving Cultures

Cultural Preservation includes documenting and studying languages. Preserving and restoring historic relics significant to a culture or heritage and encouraging the preservation and use of indigenous or tribal languages and rituals.

Cultural Heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity).

Cultural Heritage Management is the moulder and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management, although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee 2023 - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Conservator-Restorer is a professional responsible for the preservation of artistic and cultural artifacts, also known as cultural heritage. Conservators possess the expertise to preserve cultural heritage in a way that retains the integrity of the object, building or site, including its historical significance, context and aesthetic or visual aspects. This kind of preservation is done by analyzing and assessing the condition of cultural property, understanding processes and evidence of deterioration, planning collections care or site management strategies that prevent damage, carrying out conservation treatments, and conducting research. A conservators job is to ensure that art object's cultural heritage in a museum's collection are kept in the best possible condition, while at the same time, serving the museum's mission to bring art before the public.

Cultural Conservation - Knowledge Preservation - Language Conservation

Architectural Conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of humanity's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator-restorer. Decisions of when and how to engage in an intervention are critical to the ultimate conservation-restoration of cultural heritage. Ultimately, the decision is value based: a combination of artistic, contextual, and informational values is normally considered. In some cases, a decision to not intervene may be the most appropriate choice.

Salvage Ethnography is the recording of the practices and folklore of cultures threatened with extinction, including as a result of modernization.

We need to Conserve our Roots, Conserve our Cultures, Conserve our Languages and Conserve our knowledge.

Cultural Industry combines the creation, production, and distribution of goods and services that are cultural in nature and usually protected by intellectual property rights.

Cultural Center is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.

Cognitive-Cultural Economy is characterized by digital technologies combined with high levels of cognitive and cultural labor.

Pachamama Alliance
Indigenous Environmental Network - IEN
Alliance of Small Island States - AOSIS

Intercultural Competence is the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures.

Cultural Diversity - Documentaries (films)

Cultural identity is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person's self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture. In this way, cultural identity is both characteristic of the individual but also of the culturally identical group of members sharing the same cultural identity.

"Everyone should have one foot in the old world and one foot in the new world, and live in the middle."

Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development
Honour Indigenous Sovereignty
Generation One

Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately 1900 and 1969, although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s. Documentary evidence, such as newspaper articles and reports to parliamentary committees, suggest a range of rationales. Apparent motivations include child protection, the belief that the Aboriginal people would die out, given their catastrophic population decline after white contact, and the belief that full-blooded Aboriginal people resented miscegenation and the mixed-race children fathered and abandoned by white men.

Sacred Knowledge - Ancient Wisdom - Indigenous Knowledge

Tribal Knowledge is any information or knowledge that is known within a tribe but often unknown outside of it. A tribe may be a group or subgroup of people that share a common knowledge. With a corporate perspective, Tribal Knowledge or know-how is the collective wisdom of the organization. It is the sum of all the knowledge and capabilities of all the people.

Base Knowledge - Collective Knowledge - Sacred Text - Folklore - Story Telling - Alexandria - Writing - Printing Press

Vedas or knowledge, are a large body of texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent.

Knowledge Preservation - Gate Keeper - Knowledge Management - Epistemology

Traditional Knowledge, indigenous knowledge and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge includes types of knowledge about traditional technologies of subsistence, like tools and techniques for hunting or agriculture, midwifery, ethnobotany and ecological knowledge, traditional medicine, celestial navigation, ethnoastronomy, the climate, and others. These kinds of knowledge, crucial for subsistence and survival, are generally based on accumulations of empirical observation and on interaction with the environment. In many cases, traditional knowledge has been orally passed for generations from person to person. Some forms of traditional knowledge find expression in stories, legends, folklore, rituals, songs, and laws. Other forms of traditional knowledge are expressed through different means. Ancestral Knowledge - Ancient Wisdom.

Oral Tradition is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system, or in parallel to a writing system. Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, for example, have used an oral tradition, in parallel to a writing system, to transmit their canonical scriptures, secular knowledge such as Sushruta Samhita, hymns and mythologies from one generation to the next. Oral tradition is information, memories and knowledge held in common by a group of people, over many generations, and it is not the same as testimony or oral history. In a general sense, "oral tradition" refers to the recall and transmission of a specific, preserved textual and cultural knowledge through vocal utterance. As an academic discipline, it refers both to a set of objects of study and a method by which they are studied. The study of oral tradition is distinct from the academic discipline of oral history, which is the recording of personal memories and histories of those who experienced historical eras or events. Oral tradition is also distinct from the study of orality defined as thought and its verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population. A folklore is a type of oral tradition, but knowledge other than folklore has been orally transmitted and thus preserved in human history.

It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a strong community to care for its members. The phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" is an African proverb that means that an entire community of people must share the responsibilities of providing a safe and healthy environment for its children. All adults in the community should understand how to be good role models and understand why living by good example is important. Adults should know how to have good interactions with children, and have good awareness of children, and show good behavior in the presence of children. All adults should know how to have a positive participation in a child's education when sharing knowledge.

How children learned for 99% of human history. Unlike kids in the United States, hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin have often learned how to hunt, identify edible plants and care for babies by the tender age of six or seven. This rapid learning is facilitated by a unique social environment where cultural knowledge is passed down not just from parents but from the broader community. The research helps explain how many cultural traits have been preserved for thousands of years among hunter-gatherer groups across a wide range of natural environments in Africa.

Child-Centric Approach: A blueprint to improve communities. Communities can prosper by providing attentive education and social services to their youngest residents -- but the challenge is for leaders to work together, according to scientists. Coordinated education, health care, and well-thought-out social services with participation from the private sector make communities more attractive, bring in new business, and improve the quality of life for the people who are already there.

Wonderous Stories - Yes 1977 (youtube) - Had to hear your wonderous stories, beg to hear your wonderous stories, hearing, hearing, hearing your wonderous stories.

Elders in Indigenous North American cultures, are repositories of cultural and philosophical knowledge within their tribal communities, as well as the transmitters of this storehouse of information. They are regarded as living libraries, with information on a wide variety of practical, spiritual and ceremonial topics, including "basic beliefs and teachings, encouraging...faith in the Great Spirit, the Creator". "The fact acknowledged in most Indian societies: Certain individuals, by virtue of qualifications and knowledge, are recognized by the Indian communities as the ultimately qualified reservoirs of aboriginal skills." The role of elder is featured within and without classrooms, conferences, ceremonies, and homes. Not all older or elderly people are considered elders. An elder is a person that has accumulated a great deal of wisdom and knowledge throughout his or her lifetime, especially in the tradition and customs of the group. Elders emphasize listening and not asking WHY. There isn't any word in the Cree language for "why." A learner must sit quietly and patiently while the elder passe[s] on his wisdom. Listening is considered to be very important. Questions were not encouraged. Asking questions was considered rude. Clarification of a certain point or comments was considered okay. Learners were also encouraged to watch and listen to what was happening around them. Eventually with enough patience and enough time the answer would come to the learner. When this happened, the learning was truly his own. (Tipahaskan 1986:104-5) - Sacred Circle Project, Edmonton, grade 3 "Lifestyles in Culturally Distinctive Communities" curriculum guide. "A point of reference: those people who have earned the respect of their own community and who are looked upon as elders in their own society...We have misused the role of elder through our ignorance and failure to see that not all elders are spiritual leaders and not all old people are elders." -Roderick Mark (1985).

Wisdom does not always come with Age - Religious Elders - Controlling the Narrative of Historic Facts

Oral History is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who participated in or observed past events and whose memories and perceptions of these are to be preserved as an aural record for future generations. Oral history strives to obtain information from different perspectives and most of these cannot be found in written sources. Oral history also refers to information gathered in this manner and to a written work (published or unpublished) based on such data, often preserved in archives and large libraries. Knowledge presented by Oral History (OH) is unique in that it shares the tacit perspective, thoughts, opinions and understanding of the interviewee in its primary form. The term is sometimes used in a more general sense to refer to any information about past events that people who experienced them tell anybody else, but professional historians usually consider this to be oral tradition. However, as the Columbia Encyclopedia explains: Primitive societies have long relied on oral tradition to preserve a record of the past in the absence of written histories. In Western society, the use of oral material goes back to the early Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides, both of whom made extensive use of oral reports from witnesses. The modern concept of oral history was developed in the 1940s by Allan Nevins and his associates at Columbia University. Chinese Whispers.

Indigenous Education focuses on teaching indigenous knowledge, models, methods, and content within formal or non-formal educational systems. The growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge through the processes of colonialism, globalization, and modernity. Indigenous communities are able to “reclaim and revalue their languages and [traditions], and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students,” thus ensuring their survival as a culture. Indigenous Peoples.

Navajo Traditional Teachings. Preserving Our Culture with Free Teachings, Products That Tell a Story, and the Producer program. Our Mission “Without Identity, There is no power”. Preserving Navajo (Diné) Culture is our mission. We do that by sharing it with you. Since the beginning, stories have been passed down from generation to generation. We share these stories with you... Hoping it will preserve our culture. Thank you for being a part of this movement. Youtube Channel.

Ancestral Puebloans were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. The Ancestral Puebloans are believed to have developed, at least in part, from the Oshara Tradition, who developed from the Picosa culture. In contemporary times, the people and their archaeological culture were referred to as Anasazi for historical purposes. The Navajo, who were not their descendants, called them by this term, which meant "ancient enemies". Contemporary Puebloans do not want this term to be used.

Hopewell Culture and Hopewellian exchange describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 500 CE to 100 BCE, in the Middle Woodland period. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society but a widely dispersed set of populations connected by a common network of trade routes.

One of the most unselfish acts is to pass on knowledge. Here is my knowledge that took me a life time to learn. This will only benefit you, because most everything that I learned was too late for me, but it's not to late for you. My path is gone, so the most important path now is the one that you're on. To be part of your memory is the best that I can do, because I can't be there to remind you.

Why we should incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into our education.

Arcane is requiring secret or mysterious knowledge. Arcane knowledge.

Esoteric is confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle.

Value (personal and cultural) - Human Values - Chant - Mantra - Stories

Toltec tradition is a philosophy or way of life that taught me how to make choices that result in happiness. This philosophy is based on the key concept that we don't really see life at all; what we actually see is our filter system, which is composed of our beliefs, expectations, agreements, and assumptions.

Social Constructivism maintains that human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. It is a sociological theory of knowledge that applies the general philosophical constructivism into the social.

Abstraction is a conceptual process by which general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal (Real or Concrete) signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" is the product of this process — a concept that acts as a super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category.

Griot is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a leader due to his or her position as an advisor to royal personages. As a result of the former of these two functions, they are sometimes called a bard, which was a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or noble), to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.

How Africa can use its Traditional Knowledge to make Progress (video and interactive text)

Homing Pigeons share our Human Ability to build Knowledge Across Generations. When people share and pass knowledge down through generations, it increases efficiency, progressively improves performance, and increases necessary innovations. (cross-generational knowledge, cumulative culture, collective intelligence, accumulation of knowledge over time).

Environmental ‘Memories’ Passed on for 14 Generations

Archaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultures. (ethnoastronomy).

Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the traditional knowledge and customs of a people concerning plants and their medical, religious, and other uses. The relationships that exist between people and plants.

Book of Thoth is a name given to many ancient Egyptian texts supposed to have been written by Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and knowledge. They include many texts that were claimed to exist by ancient authors, and a magical book that appears in an Egyptian work of fiction.

Heaven Earth (vimeo)

Wisdom Keepers Project - Earth Peoples United - Earth Alive

Anunnaki are a group of deities that appear in the mythological traditions of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. Anunnaki are the most powerful deities in the pantheon, descendants of An, the god of the heavens, and their primary function is to decree the fates of humanity.

Folklore - Fables - Myths

Folklore is traditional art, literature, knowledge, and practices that are passed on in large part through oral communication and example. The information thus transmitted expresses the shared ideas and values of a particular group, sometimes including knowledge that is considered valuable or sacred.

Lore is a body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth. Knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote. 

Mythology is a collection of myths, especially the ones that belong to a particular sacred, religious, or cultural tradition of a group of people. Myths are a collection of stories told to explain nature, history, and customs–or the study of such myths.

Myth is a traditional story accepted as history and serves to explain the world view of a people.

Mytheme is a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure from which myths are thought to be constructed—a minimal unit that is always found shared with other, related mythemes and reassembled in various ways or linked in more complicated relationships.

Memes - Once Upon a Time - Religious Charlatans - Fortune Telling - Children's Books

Those who tell the stories rule society. The accuracy of how history is told is extremely important.

Fable is a deliberately false or improbable account. A story about mythical or supernatural beings or events. A short moral story often with animal characters. To invent and speak of as true or real. Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying. A fable differs from a parable in that the latter excludes animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech or other powers of humankind. Aesop's Fables (wiki).

Legend is a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events. A very famous person. A brief description accompanying an illustration. Legendary is someone celebrated as to have taken the nature of a legend. Celebrated in fable or legend. Legacy.

Tale is a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events. A tale can also be a trivial lie.

Cautionary Tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail.

Fairy Tale is an instance of a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. Fairy Tale is a type of short story that typically features folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins,  griffins, mermaids, unicorns, trolls, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast fables Fantasy Films - Metaphors.

Grimms' Fairy Tales is a collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jakob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. The first edition contained 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in 1857, had 210 unique fairy tales. The brothers were German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers and authors who together collected and published folklore during the 19th century. They were among the first and best-known collectors of German and European folk tales, and popularized traditional oral tale types such as "Cinderella" ("Aschenputtel"), "The Frog Prince" ("Der Froschkönig"), "The Goose-Girl" ("Die Gänsemagd"), "Hansel and Gretel" ("Hänsel und Gretel"), "Rapunzel", "Beauty and the Beast", "Little Red Riding Hood", "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats", "The Three Little Pigs", "Rumpelstiltskin" ("Rumpelstilzchen"), "Sleeping Beauty" ("Dornröschen"), and "Snow White" ("Schneewittchen"). Their classic collection, Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen), was published in two volumes—the first in 1812 and the second in 1815. (Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786–1859)).

Myth and Ritual are two central components of religious practice. Although myth and ritual are commonly united as parts of religion, the exact relationship between them has been a matter of controversy among scholars. Myth-ritualist theory suggests that myths are created after rituals and are tied to them. This theory is based on the idea that myths are actions, not just statements, and that myths and rituals must work together. The theory suggests that myths that are tied to rituals are religious literature, while myths that are separated from rituals are secular literature. The theory also suggests that myths are created to excuse or explain rituals. The "primacy of ritual" hypothesis is a part of the myth-ritualist theory. This hypothesis claims that every myth comes from a specific ritual.

Comparative Mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. The Golden Bough is a book that was first published in two volumes in 1890. Based on a study in comparative religion.

Jesus, or Christ or Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader; he is the central figure of Christianity. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically. Research into the historical Jesus has yielded some uncertainty on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how closely the Jesus portrayed in the New Testament reflects the historical Jesus, as the only detailed records of Jesus' life are contained in the Gospels. Around 336 CE, the date December 25 appears to have become established as the day of Jesus's birth, and the tradition of gift-giving was tied to the story of the Biblical Magi giving gifts to baby Jesus; together with another story, that of Saint Nicholas, a fourth-century Christian bishop and gift-giver. December 25th is of no relevance because that date was not chosen as the birthdate of Jesus until many centuries after his Resurrection.

There are many stories that predate Jesus but have striking parallels. We know that everything is a mix and that everyone is standing on the shoulders of giants. We see bits and pieces of the details borrowed from different myths that are just cobbled together. Horas, Krishna, Attis, Dionysus and Mithra, all share the same story as Jesus Christ.

Egyptian Book of Dead an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC.

Christian Religion is a parody on the worship of the Sun in which they put a man called Christ in the place of the Sun. And pay him the adoration originally paid to the Sun.

Pagan Parallels of Jesus Christ. Most Christians do not bother to trace the origins of their religion, much less their beliefs and rituals. If they do, they might be in for the shock of their lives. As the saying goes, “Let sleeping dogs lie.”

Jesus in Comparative Mythology is the examination of the narratives of the life of Jesus in the Christian gospels, traditions and theology, as they relate to Christianity and other religions. Most secular historians also agree that the gospels contain large quantities of ahistorical legendary details mixed in with historical information about Jesus's life. Chinese's whispers and personal interpretations can easily change a story. And when your story changes several times throughout history, it means that you're lying about something. Plagiarism.

Ancient Romans celebrated their sun god, Sol Invictus, on Dec. 25, according to Landau, because the winter solstice marked the real sun's annual rebirth from fading during fall and winter to being in the sky longer during spring and summer. But lets pretend that Jesus was born on December 25th and see how that goes.

Crux is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name Crux is Latin for cross. Even though it is the smallest of all 88 modern constellations, Crux is among the most easily distinguished as its four main stars each have an apparent visual magnitude brighter than +2.8. It has attained a high level of cultural significance in many Southern Hemisphere states and nations.

Grand Cross is said to occur when four planets are all separated from each other by Square aspects (90 degrees apart). A Grand Cross can also be viewed as two oppositions (180 degrees apart) separated from each other by a square. In a Grand Cross, there is one planet in each astrological element (fire, earth, air and water) but all the planets are in signs of the same modality or quality.

Orion's Belt is an asterism in the constellation of Orion. Other names include the Belt of Orion, the Three Kings, and the Three Sisters. The belt consists of three bright and easily identifiable collinear star systems – Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka – nearly equally spaced in a line, spanning an angular size of ~140′ (2.3°).

Pisces is the twelfth and final astrological sign in the zodiac. It is a mutable sign. It spans 330° to 360° of celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area between February 19 and March 20. In classical interpretations, the symbol of the fish is derived from the ichthyocentaurs, who aided Aphrodite when she was born from the sea. According to some tropical astrologers, the current astrological age is the Age of Pisces, while others maintain that currently it is the Age of Aquarius. "Pisces" is the Latin word for "fishes". It is one of the earliest zodiac signs on record, with the two fish appearing as far back as c. 2300 BC on an Egyptian coffin lid.

Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the zodiac. It spans the 150–180th degree of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area between August 23 and September 22 on average. Depending on the system of astrology, individuals born during these dates may be called Virgos or Virgoans. The constellation Virgo has various origins in different mythologies. In most myths, Virgo is depicted as a virgin maiden associated with wheat. In Greek and Roman mythology, Virgo is related to Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest, or her daughter Persephone, queen of the Underworld. In Egyptian mythology, the Sun’s presence in Virgo marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, thus linking Virgo to the wheat grain. In Christianity, the birth of Jesus to a virgin in Bethlehem is symbolically connected to Virgo. The ancient Zodiac began with Virgo and ended with Leo.

Horus was said to be born on December 25th. There are many similarities between the story of Horus and the much later story of Jesus. Horus was the son of Osiris and Isiswas and the Egyptian solar god with the head of a falcon. Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. Born of a virgin, Isis. Only begotten son of the God Osiris. Birth heralded by the star Sirius, the morning star. Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the winter solstice (about DEC-21). In reality, he had no birth date; he was not a human. Unlike other cultures in ancient history, the ancient Egyptians used a solar calendar of 365 days, and the birth of the god Horus was believed to roughly correspond with December 25th (even though the name and date of the month had not yet been established in modern terms).

Attis was born on December 25th of the Virgin Nana. Attis was also a Phrygian vegetation deity. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Attis transformed himself into a pine tree. His self-mutilation, death, and resurrection represents the fruits of the earth, which die in winter only to rise again in the spring. An Attis cult began around 1250 BCE in Dindymon (today's Murat Dağı of Gediz, Kütahya, Turkey). He was originally a local semi-deity of Phrygia, associated with the great Phrygian trading city of Pessinos, which lay under the lee of Mount Agdistis. The mountain was personified as a daemon, whom foreigners associated with the Great Mother Cybele.

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.

Classic Christmas Songs with fireplace (youtube)

Classic Christmas Songs with a Fireplace and Christmas Tree (youtube)

Christmas Gift or Christmas present is a gift given in celebration of Christmas. Christmas gifts are often exchanged on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day itself (December 25) or on the last day of the twelve-day Christmas season, Twelfth Night (January 5). The practice of giving gifts during Christmastide, according to Christian tradition, is symbolic of the presentation of the gifts by the Three Wise Men to the infant Jesus. Gift-giving in general is an ancient tradition that came to be associated with the Christian feast of Christmas. Ancient Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to practice the tradition of giving gifts. Similar to a birthday, coronation day was a day when pharaohs were believed to transform into gods and begin a new life. Pharaohs received gifts to celebrate and mark this important occasion.

Santa Claus. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best-known St. Nicholas stories is the time he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death. The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.  On Dec. 6, 1809, Washington Irving published a book that referenced St. Nicholas landing on a rooftop with a horse and wagon delivering gifts to people. It was the publication of a poem from an unknown author 12 years later called “The Children's Friend” that officially revealed Santa Claus to the world. The idea of Santa Claus flying on a sleigh led by eight reindeer to deliver Christmas gifts down the chimneys of homes came from an 1822 holiday poem with the title, "An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas." It's now more commonly called "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and it also helped to create our modern image of Santa as a "jolly old elf." This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas". Caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast also played a role in the creation of Santa's image. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books, family Christmas traditions, films, and advertising. Santa Claus is also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa.

Buddha and Christ both went to their temples at the age of twelve, where they are said to have astonished all with their wisdom. Both supposedly fasted in solitude for a long time: Buddha for forty–seven days and Jesus for forty. Both wandered to a fig tree at the conclusion of their fasts. Both were about the same age when they began their public ministry.

Krishna was born around 3,228 BCE.

Zoroaster or Zarathustra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Lived sometime before 500 BC.

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology are the myths and the body of stories associated with a culture, institution or person form around 3000 to 1100 BCE. A myth is a traditional story accepted as history, and sometimes serves to explain the world view of a people at a particular time. Greek Myths evolved from stories told in the Minoan civilization of Crete, which flourished from about 3000 to 1100 BCE or the 11th century BC. The Iron Age began around 1100 BCE, right as the Bronze Age ended.

Hygeia is the goddess of health, and the daughter of Aesculapius and the sister of Panacea in Greek mythology, or the myths and the body of stories associated with a culture, institution or person. Myth is a traditional story accepted as history, and sometimes serves to explain the world view of a people at a particular time.

Panacea is the goddess of healing, and the daughter of Aesculapius and sister of Hygeia. Panacea is also the hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists.

Aesculapius is the son of Apollo, and a hero and the Roman god of medicine and healing. Aesculapius had two daughters, Hygeia and Panacea.

Apollo is the Greek god of light, and a god of prophecy and poetry and music and healing. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis, who was the virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon; daughter of Leto and twin sister of Apollo; identified with Roman Diana.

Zeus is the supreme god of ancient Greek mythology, and the son of Rhea and Cronus whom he dethroned. Zeus is the husband and brother of Hera, brother of Poseidon and Hades; father of many gods; counterpart of Roman Jupiter.

Leto is a goddess and the mother of Apollo and Artemis. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.

Hera was the queen of the Olympian gods in ancient Greek mythology; The sister and wife of Zeus. Hera was remembered for her jealousy of the many mortal women Zeus fell in love with; identified with Roman Juno.

Poseidon is the god of the sea and earthquakes in ancient mythology; brother of Zeus and Hades and Hera; identified with Roman Neptune.

Rhea was the fertility goddess in ancient Greek mythology; the wife of Cronus and the mother of Zeus; identified with Roman Ops and Cybele of ancient Asia Minor.

Cronus was the supreme god until Zeus dethroned him; son of Uranus and Gaea in ancient Greek mythology; identified with Roman Saturn.

Uranus is the god of the heavens; the son and husband of Gaea and the father of the Titans in ancient mythology.

Gaea is the goddess of the earth and the mother of Cronus, and the Titans in ancient mythology.

Athena is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft.

Odysseus is also known as Ulysses, who was the king of Ithaca in Greek mythology. (1230-1160 BC).

Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome born around 771 BC.

Dionysus is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. Parents were Zeus and Semele. Siblings were Aeacus, Angelos, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, Tantalus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai.

Hercules was born in the last months of 1286 BC. It may seem impossible to pinpoint the birth of a demi-god so precisely, but ancient Greek legends provide all the clues needed to create a timeline of mythological events. Hercules is the Son of a god Zeus.

Glycon was an ancient snake god and was the son of the God Apollo.

Hades is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the brother of Zeus and husband of Persephone or Cora, who was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.


Fantastic Stories that are not based on facts, but more based on mythology or fantasy, are fine for entertainment purposes. But when religions make false claims and falsely advertise to lure in more followers, it's not so much about helping people, it's more about increasing profits, just like corrupt corporations do. Everyone loves a good story, and most people enjoy our traditions that have been around for 100's of years. But we need to be realistic and truthful when it comes to helping people. People need good knowledge and information that is valuable to them so they can accurately understand themselves and accurately understand the world around them. Living in a fantasy world can make a person extremely vulnerable to manipulation and extremely vulnerable to mistakes.

To discourage learning is to discourage understanding. Some people don't want to listen and learn, their stubbornness is a way to avoid having to admit they are wrong or that they have lied. Ignorance is not bliss, because ignorance is sometimes a curse. Though there are times that people not knowing something may be better for them because the truth is to difficult to handle. The truth is relative and the truth is also debatable. I certainly wouldn't want to ruin someone's fantasy or burst their bubble just to make a point. Sometimes you have to leave it alone for everyone's sake. But an intervention is sometimes necessary when people are hurting themselves or hurting others because of their beliefs, especially when censorship can be used to manipulate historical facts. So there's a time and place for everything.

A Time and Place for Everything means that there is always a more appropriate and acceptable situation or scenario in which to do something or say something.

Ancient Symbols

Squatter Man - Plasma Discharge. The "squatter" or "stickman" figure is a ubiquitous symbol found in nearly every culture. They are stylized derivations of a plasma discharge configuration seen in the ancient sky. Kanaga symbol is actually a very strangely recurring symbol found all over the world. The image of Kanaga is an archetype from the very ancient times. it is known also as squatter man. The word ”Kanaga” comes from the Dogon Tribe in Mali. It is a mask which have a secret meaning and only truly known by the group that wears them. The masks are worn during the Dama dancing ceremonies The Dogon believe that the Dama dance creates a bridge into the supernatural world. Dogon People are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa, south of the Niger bend, near the city of Bandiagara, in the Mopti region.

Human Intelligence is just beginning to be understood, which means that our greatest advancements are still to come. The human race is about to take it's greatest leap in human advancement, and not just with technology, but intellectually. Since the beginning we have been building on old knowledge and building on recent knowledge to create new and improved knowledge. Learning is in our DNA. Adapting is learning. Developing is learning. Without learning, life would not exist. Learning is about to become the new past time and a new viral sensation that will transform our existence far into the future. Learning is who we are. Learning is a gift from God, and the earth gives us all the tools that we need. Coincidence or not, we should not waste this opportunity or take for granted this gift of life that everyone has been given. Life is not an inheritance, life is a chance to make something worth inheriting, like valuable knowledge and information.

Ancient Knowledge - Petroglyphs

How to build a resilient future using ancient wisdom -Julia Watson - TED-2020 (video) - Khasi people hill tribe has evolved living root bridges that are created by guiding and growing tree roots into carefully woven scaffolding that take 50 years to grow. For 6,000 years, the Maʿdān in the southern wetlands of Iraq, have floated villages on man-made islands that are constructed from a single species of reed that grows around them. On the edges of Calcutta in India, indigenous technology of 300 fish ponds cleans its water while producing its food. And through a combination of sunshine and sewage and a symbiosis between algae and bacteria, the wastewater is broken down. Fish ponds continue this cleaning of the water in a process that takes around 30 days. The Tofinu tribe has developed the largest lake city in Africa. Ganvié, meaning "We survived," is built of stilted houses that are organized around a canal system that you can navigate by dugout canoe. And the royal square stands amongst 3,000 stilted buildings that include a post office, a bank, a mosque and even a couple of bars that are all surrounded by 12,000 individual fish paddocks, or mangrove acadjas. This chemical-free artificial reef covers almost half of the lagoon and feeds one million people that are living around it. The ancestral lands in Australia, where Indigenous fire-stick farming was practiced, were saved from massive wild fires that raged around them. And these ancient forests -- they survived because of seasonal, generational burning, which is an Aboriginal practice of lighting small, slow and cool fires.

One of the oldest geometric shapes found throughout the ancient world are spirals. Petroglyphs of spirals date back to around the Neolithic period. Yet, ancient cultures throughout the world carved the same symbol with little or no communication with each other. The spiral is fundamental to nature, appearing on animals such as the snail, seashells, and occurs in natural phenomena such as whirlpools, hurricanes, tornadoes and spinning galaxies. The spiral has become a powerful symbol for creation and growth, used by many ancient cultures and religious traditions.

Circle of Life - Triskelion - Trinity - Tree of Life - Torus - Helix - Vortex - Wheels - Domes

LI is a Chinese word that refers to the underlying intelligence and order of nature as reflected in its organic forms. The myriad patterns of nature that are spontaneously generated in the physical world blurs the distinction between living and inanimate phenomena. Li is a concept found in neo-Confucian Chinese philosophy. It refers to the underlying reason and order of nature as reflected in its organic forms. It may be translated as "rational principle" "law" or " organisational rights". It was central to Zhu Xi's integration of Buddhism into Confucianism. Zhu Xi held that li, together with qi (?: vital, material force), depend on each other to create structures of nature and matter. The sum of li is the Taiji. This idea resembles the Buddhist notion of li, which also means "principle or ritual." Zhu Xi maintained, however, that his notion is found in I Ching (Book of Changes), a classic source of Chinese philosophy. Zhu Xi's school came to be known as the School of Li, which is comparable to rationalism. To an even greater extent than Confucius, Zhu Xi had a naturalistic world-view. His world-view contained two primary ideas: qi and li. Zhu Xi further believed that the conduct of the two of these took places according to the organisational principles of Yin and Yang. Holding to Confucius and Mencius' conception of humanity as innately good, Zhu Xi articulated an understanding of li as the basic pattern of the universe, stating that it was understood that one couldn't live without li and live an exemplary life. Wang Yangming, a philosopher who opposed Zhu Xi's ideas, held that li was to be found not in the world but within oneself. Wang Yangming was thus more of an idealist with a different epistemic approach. However In the practice of Traditional Chinese medicine the endogenous and exogenous interpretations of these two philosophical ideas are not seen as mutually exclusive.

Logarithmic Spiral or equiangular spiral or growth spiral is a self-similar spiral curve that often appears in nature.

Golden Spiral is a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is φ, the golden ratio. A golden spiral gets wider or further from its origin by a factor of φ for every quarter turn it makes.

Coil is to wind or move in a spiral course. Wind around something in coils or loops. A structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops. A round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals).

Loop is anything with a round or oval shape that is formed by a curve that is closed and does not intersect itself. The basic pattern of the human fingerprint. Loop can also mean a computer program that performs a series of instructions repeatedly until some specified condition is satisfied. Lood can also mean a fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines.

Ring is a small circular band of jewelry consisting of a circlet of precious metal. A rigid circular band of metal or wood or other material used for holding or fastening or hanging or pulling. To extend on all sides simultaneously as to encircle. Ring in chemistry is a chain of atoms in a molecule that forms a closed loop. Ring can also mean a characteristic sound.

Chain is a series of things depending on each other as if linked together. A linked or connected series of objects. Necklace made by a stringing objects together. A series of metal rings or links fitted into one another to make a flexible ligament. Bracelet is a band of cloth, leather or metal links attached to a wristwatch and wrapped around the wrist.

Wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring.

The main reason why every human is alive is because of our ancestors took the time to learn things and to know things. So you can say that solving problems is Human Nature. Because without our ability to solve problems, we would not be here. Social Learning.

Scarab is a beetle-shaped amulets and impression seals which were widely popular throughout ancient Egypt. They still survive in large numbers today. Through their inscriptions and typology, they prove to be an important source of information for archaeologists and historians of the ancient world, and represent a significant body of ancient Egyptian art.

Stamp Seal or impression seal is a common seal die that was used to impress their picture or inscription into soft prepared clay or sometimes into sealing wax. Stamp Seals were known about at least since the 6th millennium BC and probably earlier (Halaf culture). Stamp Seals were frequently carved from stone.

Amulet or good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor." An object that protects a person from trouble. A trinket or piece of jewelry usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease. Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words. Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck.

Cultural Studies - Humanities

Humanities are academic disciplines that study human culture. In the middle ages, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the time. Today, the humanities are more frequently contrasted with natural, physical and sometimes social sciences as well as professional training. Humanities is intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills rather than occupational or professional skills.

Civics - Liberal Arts

National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to important resources in the humanities.

Classics is the study of classical antiquity, and in the Western world traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature in their original languages of Ancient Greek and Latin, respectively. It may also include Greco-Roman philosophy, history, and archaeology as secondary subjects. In Western civilization, the study of the Greek and Roman classics was traditionally considered to be the foundation of the humanities, and study of classics has therefore traditionally been the cornerstone of a typical elite European education.

Cross-Cultural Studies is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences (sociology, psychology, economics, political science) that uses field data from many societies to examine the scope of human behavior and test hypotheses about human behavior and culture. Sometimes called holocultural studies or comparative studies. Cross Cultural Training and Intercultural Awareness.

Philosophy of Culture is a branch of philosophy that examines the essence and meaning of culture.

Cultural History combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the continuum of events (occurring in succession and leading from the past to the present and even into the future) about a culture.

Cultural Anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The umbrella term sociocultural anthropology includes both cultural and social anthropology traditions. Anthropologists have pointed out that through culture people can adapt to their environment in non-genetic ways, so people living in different environments will often have different cultures. Much of anthropological theory has originated in an appreciation of and interest in the tension between the local (particular cultures) and the global (a universal human nature, or the web of connections between people in distinct places/circumstances). Cultural anthropology has a rich methodology, including participant observation (often called fieldwork because it requires the anthropologist spending an extended period of time at the research location), interviews, and surveys. Evolutionary Anthropology.

Cultural Geography is a subfield within human geography. Geographers drawing on this tradition see cultures and societies as developing out of their local landscapes but also shaping those landscapes. This interaction between the natural landscape and humans creates the cultural landscape. This understanding is a foundation of cultural geography but has been augmented over the past forty years with more nuanced and complex concepts of culture, drawn from a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, sociology, literary theory, and feminism. No single definition of culture dominates within cultural geography. Regardless of their particular interpretation of culture, however, geographers wholeheartedly reject theories that treat culture as if it took place "on the head of a pin.

Intercultural Competence is a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioural skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures. Effective intercultural communication relates to behaviors that culminate with the accomplishment of the desired goals of the interaction and all parties involved in the situation. Appropriate intercultural communication includes behaviors that suit the expectations of a specific culture, the characteristics of the situation, and the level of the relationship between the parties involved in the situation. It also takes into consideration one's own cultural norms and the best appropriate, comfortable compromise between the different cultural norms. Diplomacy.

Sociocultural Evolution are theories of cultural and social evolution that describe how cultures and societies change over time. Whereas sociocultural development traces processes that tend to increase the complexity of a society or culture, sociocultural evolution also considers process that can lead to decreases in complexity (degeneration) or that can produce variation or proliferation without any seemingly significant changes in complexity (cladogenesis). Sociocultural evolution is "the process by which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form or structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form".

Ethnoarchaeology is the ethnographic study of peoples for archaeological reasons, usually through the study of the material remains of a society.

Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures.

Ethnozoology is a field of study that explores the complex relationships between humans and animals in their environment.

Anthrozoology is the subset of ethnobiology that deals with interactions between humans and other animals. Zoos.

Ancient Human Activity - Fossils - Artifacts

Archaeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. Association in Archaeology is the close relationship between objects or contexts.

"Making the Strange Familiar and the Familiar Strange".

Anthropology is the study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology and cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies. Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans. Archaeology, which studies past human cultures through investigation of physical evidence, is thought of as a branch of anthropology in the United States, while in Europe, it is viewed as a discipline in its own right, or grouped under other related disciplines such as history.

Evolutionary Anthropology - Human Evolution - Earth Timeline - Ages - Carbon Dating

Social Anthropology is the study of patterns of behavior in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and Commonwealth and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In the United States, social anthropology is commonly subsumed within sociocultural anthropology or cultural anthropology.

People Watching - Journalism - UCLA Department of Anthropology

Human Geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment.

Paleoanthropology is the study of man or early humans. The combination and a sub-discipline of paleontology and biological anthropology, studies the formation and the development of the specific characteristics of humans (hominization) and the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines in the family Hominidae, by means of the study of fossils, such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints and associated evidence, stone tools, artifacts, and settlement localities. As technologies and methods advance, genetics plays an ever increasing role in paleoanthropology, in particular examining and comparing DNA structure as a vital tool of research of the evolutionary kinship lines of related species and genera. Human Body.

Paleontology is the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils. Fossils are the remains of plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and single-celled living things that have been replaced by rock material or impressions of organisms preserved in rock. Paleontology is the scientific study of life that existed prior to the start of the Holocene epoch. It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments.

Paleontologist is  a person who studies or is an expert in the branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants. Aubrey Bonde is the National Park Service's first regional paleontologist. She's the first in the history of national parks.

Biological Anthropology is a social science discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an evolutionary perspective. This subfield of anthropology systematically studies human beings from a biological perspective.

Paleogenomics is a field of science based on the reconstruction and analysis of genomic information in extinct species. Improved methods for the extraction of ancient DNA (aDNA) from museum artifacts, ice cores, archeological or paleontological sites, and next-generation sequencing technologies have spurred this field. It is now possible to detect genetic drift, ancient population migration and interrelationships, the evolutionary history of extinct plant, animal and Homo species, and identification of phenotypic features across geographic regions. Scientists can also use paleogenomics to compare ancient ancestors against modern-day humans.

Neuroanthropology is the study of the relationship between culture and the brain. Neuroanthropology explores how the brain gives rise to culture, how culture influences brain development, structure and function, and the pathways followed by the co-evolution of brain and culture. Moreover, neuroanthropologists consider how new findings in the brain sciences help us understand the interactive effects of culture and biology on human development and behavior. In one way or another, neuroanthropologists ground their research and explanations in how the human brain develops, how it is structured and how it functions within the genetic and cultural limits of its biology.

Biological Anthropology is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their related non-human primates and their extinct hominin ancestors. It is a subfield of anthropology that provides a biological perspective to the systematic study of human beings.

Biomolecular Archaeology is the scientific analysis of ancient organic remains.

Bioarchaeology is the study of animal bones from archaeological sites. Osteoarchaeology is the study of human remains in archaeological context. It may also be used in a general sense as the study of any biological remains such as fauna and flora recovered from an archaeology site. The human skeleton is used to tell us about health, lifestyle, diet, mortality and physique of the past. Furthermore, palaeo-osteology is simple the study of ancient bones.

Biocultural Anthropology is the scientific exploration of the relationships between human biology and culture. Instead of looking for the underlying biological roots of human behavior, biocultural anthropology attempts to understand how culture affects our biological capacities and limitations.

Ethnography is the systematic study of people and cultures. It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where the researcher observes society from the point of view of the subject of the study. An ethnography is a means to represent graphically and in writing the culture of a group.

Salvage Ethnography is the recording of the practices and folklore of cultures threatened with extinction, including as a result of modernization. Cultural Preservation.

Paleodietary Studies examine the diet of ancient humans to understand their consumption patterns and how this may relate to their health. These studies use stable isotope analysis of bones and food remains to measure the carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur content of the samples. Methods: Stable isotope analysis. Measures the carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur content of bones and food remains. δ13CB-HA method: Uses the stable carbon isotope composition of bone hydroxylapatite to study paleontological and paleoenvironmental issues. Findings: Cardiovascular health: Some studies suggest that the paleo diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Weight loss: Some studies suggest that the paleo diet can help with weight loss. Diet variation: Studies of ancient human populations show that diet varied within a culture, but variation could be related to historical or environmental factors. Limitations. The number of studies with large sample sizes is limited. Studies have not adequately studied the effects of the paleo diet on bone health. The paleo diet is restrictive and may cause side effects like diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, and changes in gut bacteria. Future research: Larger randomized controlled trials are needed to understand the long-term health benefits and risks of the paleo diet. More research is needed to understand the effects of the paleo diet on bone health.

Fossil is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood, oil, coal, and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record.

Fossil-sorting robots will help researchers study oceans, climate. Researchers have developed and demonstrated a robot capable of sorting, manipulating, and identifying microscopic marine fossils. The new technology automates a tedious process that plays a key role in advancing our understanding of the world's oceans and climate -- both today and in the prehistoric past.

Paleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past.

Carbon Dating - Forensics - Core Sample

Forgotten species 'go extinct' twice. New research explores the phenomenon of societal extinction. Societal extinction is the loss of species from our collective memory and attention. Species can disappear from our societies, cultures and discourses at the same time as, or even before, they are made biologically extinct by various human actions.

Paleontology is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. Paleontologist is a scientist who studies fossils.

Comparative Anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny.

Phylogenetic Bracketing is a method of inference used in biological sciences. It is to infer the likelihood of unknown traits in organisms based on their position in a phylogenetic tree. One of the main applications of phylogenetic bracketing is on extinct organisms, known only from fossils, going all the way back to the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). The method is often used for understanding traits that do not fossilize well, such as soft tissue anatomy, physiology and behaviour. By considering the closest and second-closest well-known (usually extant) organisms, traits can be asserted with a fair degree of certainty, though the method is extremely sensitive to problems from convergent evolution.

Artifact is an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest. Artifact can also mean something observed in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure. Artifact in archaeology is something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest.

Cultural Artifact is anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users.

Antiquated is something so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period. to give an antique appearance to something and make obsolete or old-fashioned.

Antiquity is extreme oldness, the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe. An artifact surviving from the past.

Relic is an antiquity that has survived from the distant past. Something of sentimental value. Relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon. Alters.

Material Culture is the physical aspect of culture in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects create or take part in. Some scholars also include other intangible phenomena that include sound, smell and events, while some even consider language as part of it. The term is commonly used in archaeological and anthropological studies, specifically focusing on the material evidence that can be attributed to culture in the past or present. It is usually synonymous with artifacts, which humans use to cope with the physical world, facilitate social intercourse, and benefit man's state of mind.

Anthropogeny is the study of human origins. It is not simply a synonym for human evolution by natural selection, which is only a part of the processes involved in human origins. Many other factors besides natural selection were involved, ranging over climatic, geographic, ecological, social, and cultural ones. Anthropogenesis, meaning the process or point of becoming human, is also called hominization.

Lithic Technology includes a broad array of techniques and styles in archaeology, which are used to produce usable tools from various types of stone. The earliest stone tools were recovered from modern Ethiopia and were dated to between two-million and three-million years old. The archaeological record of lithic technology is divided into three major time periods: the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age). Not all cultures in all parts of the world exhibit the same pattern of lithic technological development, and stone tool technology continues to be used to this day, but these three time periods represent the span of the archaeological record when lithic technology was paramount. By analysing modern stone tool usage within an ethnoarchaeological context insight into the breadth of factors influencing lithic technologies in general may be studied. See: Stone tool. For example, for the Gamo of Southern Ethiopia, political, environmental, and social factors influence the patterns of technology variation in different subgroups of the Gamo culture; through understanding the relationship between these different factors in a modern context, archaeologists can better understand the ways that these factors could have shaped the technological variation that is present in the archaeological record.

Biofact in archaeology is organic material found at an archaeological site that carries archaeological significance. Biofacts are natural objects found alongside artifacts or features, such as animal bones, charcoal, plants, and pollen. Biofacts are passively consumed or handled by humans; as opposed to artefacts, which are purposefully manipulated. Biofacts reveal how people respond to their surroundings. A common type of biofact is a [plant] [seed]. Plant remains, often referred to as macrobotanicals, provide a variety of information ranging from diet to medicine to textile production. Pollen preserved on archaeological sites informs researchers about the ancient environment, and the foods processed and/or grown by prehistoric people. Pollen, when examined over time, also informs on environmental and dietary changes. A seed can be linked to the species of plant that produced it; if massive numbers of seeds of a cultivated species are found at a site, it may be inferred that the species may have been grown for food or other products that are useful to humans, such as clothing, bedding or building materials. Another type of biofact is wood. Wood is made up cellulose, carbohydrates, and lignin. Every year that passes, a new ring is added to the trunk of tree, allowing for dendrochronological dating. Charcoal is burned wood that archaeologist are able to extract. It can be dated using carbon-14, and through other methods, information such as local environment and human adaptation can be revealed from the charcoal. To help determine the date during which a site was occupied, dendrochronological analysis can be used on wood samples. Wood that has been altered by humans is properly an artifact, not a biofact.

Biofact in biology is dead material of a once-living organism.

Mentifact describes how cultural traits, such as "beliefs, values, ideas", take on a life of their own spanning over generations, and are conceivable as objects in themselves. This concept has been useful to anthropologists in refining the definition of culture.

Sociofact describes how cultural traits take on a life of their own, spanning over generations.

Memetics is the study of information and culture as an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer.

Global Xplorer is a citizen science project using satellite imagery, we can fight the loss of our cultural heritage. On any given day, it's estimated that 10,000+looted artifacts are for sale on the black market. Become a space archaeologist and document threats to ancient sites. Help authorities get there first.

Eyes in the Sky (drones)

Help Discover Ancient Ruins — before it's too late: Sarah Parcak (video and interactive text)

Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.

Bad Behavior - Hazing

Space Archaeology is the research-based study of various human-made items found in space, their interpretation as clues to the adventures mankind has experienced in space, and their preservation as cultural heritage.

Liberal Arts are those subjects or skills that in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person. To take an active part in civic life, included participating in public debate, defending oneself in court, serving on juries, and military service.

Historical Places - Heritage - Cultural Websites

Prehistoric hunter-gatherers heard the elks painted on rocks 'talking'. Researchers performed acoustic impulse response measurements in front of 37 rock painting site and found that the same vertical rock surfaces that have the painted elks, humans and boats, are also effective sound reflectors.

Articulation Sociology labels the process by which particular classes appropriate cultural forms and practices for their own use.

Genealogy - Family History

Genealogy also known as family history, is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives, including the desire to carve out a place for one's family in the larger historical picture, a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations, and a sense of self-satisfaction in accurate storytelling.

Genetic Genealogy - Heredity - Blood Line - Generations - Batons - Timeline of the Universe

Legacy Family Tree is genealogy software for Windows that assists family historians in tracking, organizing, printing, and sharing family history. The standard edition is distributed as freeware, with no restrictions, only requiring registration on the company's web site to download the software. Users may pay a fee to do Product activation "unlock" the additional features in the deluxe edition. "A Family Tree is like backtracking a Chain Reaction".

Tips on Making a Family Tree Photo Album

Descendants are all of the offspring of a given progenitor. A person considered as descended from some ancestor or race.

Lineage are the inherited properties shared with others of your bloodline. The kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors. The descendants of one individual.

Descent are properties attributable to your ancestry. The kinship relation between an individual and the individual's progenitors. The descendants of one individual. Descent can also mean a movement downward.

Progenitor is an ancestor in the direct line.

Heirloom - Inherit - Beneficiary

Posterity is all of the offspring of a given progenitor. All future generations.

Bloodline is a set of ancestors or line of descent of a person. Bloodline in animal's set of ancestors or pedigree, typically considered with regard to the desirable characteristics bred into it.

It took two people to make you. But, it also took four people to make the two people that made you. Then it took 8 people to make the four people to make the two people that made you. Then it took 16 people to make the 8 people who made the four people who made the two people that made you. So your parents are the combination of thousands of people over thousands of generations. In the family tree, the roots of a family tree are bigger than the tree itself. Even when you see a real tree, the roots of that tree go back millions of years, though a single tree has about as much root material as it has shoot material. So remember, you just got here, like it's your first time. Imagine counting all your ancestors as you trace your family tree back in time. In the nth generation before the present, your family tree has 2n slots: two for parents, four for grandparents, eight for great-grandparents, and so on. The number of slots grows exponentially. By the 33rd generation—about 800 to 1,000 years ago—you have more than eight billion of them. That is more than the number of people alive today, and it is certainly a much larger figure than the world population a millennium ago. Humans left Africa and began dispersing throughout the world at least 120,000 years ago, but the genetic isopoint occurred much more recently—somewhere between 5300 and 2200 B.C.

Identical Ancestors Point or all common ancestors point, or genetic isopoint, is the most recent point in a given population's past where each individual then alive turned out to either be the ancestor of every individual alive now or have no currently living descendants. This point lies further in the past than the population's most recent common ancestor or MRCA for short. A set of full siblings has an IAP one generation back: their parents. Similarly, double first cousins have an IAP two generations back: the four grandparents. Considering all humans alive today and moving back in time, we eventually arrive at the MRCA to all humans. The MRCA had many contemporary companions. Many of these contemporaries had descendant lines to some people living today, but not to all people living today. Others did not have any children, or had descendants, but all descendant lines are now fully extinct. Going further back, all the ancestors of the MRCA are also common ancestors to all humans, just not the most recent. As we move further back in time, other common ancestors will be found on other lines, resulting in more and more of the ancient population being common ancestors. Eventually the point is reached where all people in the past population fall into one of two categories: they are common ancestors, with at least one line of descent to everyone living today, or, they are the ancestors of no one alive today, because their lines of descent are completely extinct on every branch. This point in time is termed the 'identical ancestors point'.

Kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of most humans in most societies.

Ancestor is any person from whom one is descended from, such as a parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, and so on. An ancestor is someone born before you who is connected to you by a relationship of blood or DNA. A Scion is a descendent or heir, or a person considered to be descended from some ancestor or race. A descendant in law is the person from whom an estate has been inherited.

Family Tree or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine and social work are known as genograms, which is a pictorial display of a person's family relationships and medical history. Priscilla Renea - Family Tree (youtube).

Bloodline - Genes - Genealogy - Family Tree

My Heritage is an online genealogy platform with web, mobile, and software products and services that was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company MyHeritage in 2003. Users of the platform can create family trees, upload and browse through photos, and search through over 9 billion historical records, among other features. As of 2018, the service supports 42 languages and has around 92 million users worldwide. In 2016, it launched a genetic testing service called MyHeritage DNA. In January 2017 it was reported that MyHeritage has 35 million family trees on its website. The company is headquartered in Or Yehuda, Israel with additional offices in Tel Aviv, Lehi, Utah, Kyiv, Ukraine and Burbank, California.

Isolation - 53% of Americans can't name all four grandparents. 27 percent don't know where their family lived before they came to America. 78 percent of Americans say they are interested in learning more about their family history. 50 percent of American families have never researched their roots.

Ancient DNA reveals the world’s oldest family tree. Analysis of ancient DNA from one of the best-preserved Neolithic tombs in Britain has revealed that most of the people buried there were from five continuous generations of a single extended family. By analysing DNA extracted from the bones and teeth of 35 individuals entombed at Hazleton North long cairn in the Cotswolds-Severn region, the research team was able to detect that 27 of them were close biological relatives. The group lived approximately 5700 years ago -- around 3700-3600 BC - around 100 years after farming had been introduced to Britain.

Largest ever human family tree: 27 million ancestors. The study integrated data on modern and ancient human genomes from eight different databases and included a total of 3,609 individual genome sequences from 215 populations. The ancient genomes included samples found across the world with ages ranging from 1,000s to over 100,000 years. The algorithms predicted where common ancestors must be present in the evolutionary trees to explain the patterns of genetic variation. The resulting network contained almost 27 million ancestors.

Crowd Sourced Personal Genomes Database slowly gains momentum with linked genealogical information from 13 million people into a single family tree.

Naturalist intelligence - Society Intelligence

Intelligence - Self Smart - People Smart - Relationships

Patrimony is an inheritance coming by right of birth.

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Taxes.

Time Keeping

Expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing, as an immigrant, in a country other than that of their citizenship.

Ethnic - Ways Of Living by Affiliated Members

Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations is the study of social, political, and economic relations between races and ethnicities at all levels of society. This area encompasses the study of racism, residential segregation, and other complex social processes between different racial and ethnic groups. The sociological analysis of race and ethnicity frequently interacts with other areas of sociology such as stratification and social psychology, as well as with postcolonial theory.

Ancestor - Genealogy (family history) - Race - Multiracial

Ethnic is the distinctive ways of living built up by a group of people. A person who is a member of an ethnic group.

Ethnicity is an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties.

Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by individuals. Ethnic studies was created to challenge the already existing curriculum and focus on the history of people of different minority ethnicity in the United States. Ethnic studies is an academic field that spans the humanities and the social sciences, Ethnic studies is an academic field that spans the humanities and the social sciences, it emerged as an academic field in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional social science and humanities disciplines such as anthropology, history, literature, sociology, political science, cultural studies, and area studies which were conceived from an inherently Eurocentric perspective.

Ethnic Group is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities such as common ancestry, language, history, society, culture or nation. Ethnicity is usually an inherited status based on the society in which one lives. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art or physical appearance. Ethnic groups, derived from the same historical founder population, often continue to speak related languages and share a similar gene pool. By way of language shift, acculturation, adoption and religious conversion, it is sometimes possible for individuals or groups to leave one ethnic group and become part of another (except for ethnic groups emphasizing homogeneity or racial purity as a key membership criterion). Ethnicity is often used synonymously with terms such as nation or people. In English, it can also have the connotation of something exotic (cf. "ethnic restaurant", etc.), generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants, who arrived after the dominant population of an area was established. The largest ethnic groups in modern times comprise hundreds of millions of individuals (Han Chinese being the largest), while the smallest are limited to a few dozen individuals (numerous indigenous peoples worldwide). Larger ethnic groups may be subdivided into smaller sub-groups known variously as tribes or clans, which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy or physical isolation from the parent group. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a pan-ethnicity and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity. Whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis. Ethnic Groups is a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common language, ancestral, social, cultural, or national experiences. Unlike other social groups (wealth, age, hobbies), ethnicity is often an inherited status based on the society in which a person lives. In some cases, it can be adopted if a person moves into another society. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language or dialect, symbolic systems such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, art, and physical appearance.

List of Contemporary Ethnic Groups (wiki)

Ethnic Flag is a flag that symbolizes a certain ethnic group. Ethnic flags are often introduced to the ethnic community through the respective cultural or political ethnic movements. They are popular among diasporas, ethnic minorities, and some ethnic majorities, especially in multiethnic countries.

Race and Ethnicity in the United States. The United States Census officially recognizes six racial categories: White American, Black or African American, Native American and Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and people of two or more races; a category called "some other race" is also used in the census and other surveys, but is not official.

Ethnic Groups in Europe has 87 distinct peoples of Europe, of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities, which refers to a category of people differentiated from the social majority, those who hold the majority of positions of social power in a society, and it may be defined by law.

Demographics - Segregation - Genocide

Ethnogenesis is the formation and the development of an ethnic group. This can originate through a process of self-identification as well as come about as the result of outside identification.

International Studies are courses which are concerned with the study of ‘the major political, economic, social, and cultural issues that dominate the international agenda. Predominant topics are politics, economics and law on a global level. The term itself can be more specifically defined as ‘the contemporary and historical understanding of global societies, cultures, languages and systems of government and of the complex relationships between them that shape the world we live in.

Indigenous People are ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region. Indigenous people are also known in some regions as First peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal peoples or Native peoples or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original or earliest known inhabitants of an area, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. Groups are usually described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region. Not all indigenous peoples share this characteristic, as many have adopted substantial elements of a colonizing culture, such as dress, religion or language. Indigenous peoples may be settled in a given region (sedentary) or exhibit a nomadic lifestyle across a large territory, but they are generally historically associated with a specific territory on which they depend. Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent of the world except Antarctica. Since indigenous peoples are often faced with threats to their sovereignty, economic well-being and access to the resources on which their cultures depend, political rights have been set forth in international law by international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank. In 2007, the United Nations issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to guide member-state national policies to the collective rights of indigenous peoples, such as culture, identity, language and access to employment, health, education and natural resources. Estimates put the total population of indigenous peoples from 220 million to 350 million. International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on 9 August each year.

Traditional Society refers to a society characterized by an orientation to the past, not the future, with a predominant role for custom and habit. Such societies are marked by a lack of distinction between family and business, with the division of labor influenced primarily by age, gender, and status.

Race - Physical Qualities

Race is a grouping of humans based on their shared physical qualities or shared social qualities. While partially based on physical similarities within groups, race is not an inherent physical or biological quality. Race and Society regard the common categorizations of people into different races, often with biologist tagging of particular "racial" attributes beyond mere anatomy, as more socially and culturally determined than based upon biology. Some interpretations are often deconstructionist and poststructuralist in that they critically analyze the historical construction and development of racial categories. Racial Formation Theory is used to look at race as a socially constructed identity, where the content and importance of racial categories are determined by social, economic, and political forces. Racialization is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization is often borne out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes identity for the purpose of continued domination. races was first used to refer to speakers of a common language and then to denote national affiliations, by the 17th century the term race began to refer to physical phenotypical traits.

Multiracial is defined as made up of or relating to people of many races, including multiracial, biracial, multiethnic, polyethnic, Métis, Creole, Muwallad, mulatto, Colored, Dougla, half-caste, mestizo, Melungeon, quadroon, Chindian, sambo/zambo, Eurasian, hapa, hafu, Garifuna, pardo and Guran. Individuals of multiracial backgrounds make up a significant portion of the population in many parts of the world. In North America, studies have found that the multiracial population is continuing to grow. In many countries of Latin America, mestizos make up the majority of the population. In the Caribbean, multiracial people officially make up the majority of the population in the Dominican Republic (73%) and Cuba (51%). Racism.

Multiracial Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The American people are mostly multi-ethnic descendants of various culturally distinct immigrant groups, many of which have now developed nations.

Mixed Twins are fraternal twins born to multiracial families which differ in skin color and other traits considered to be racial features.

Biracial Twins are twins who do not share the same skin color. They can be born when one parent or both parents are of a mixed race, allowing for different skin tone variations. They can also be born when the parents are different races, such as one black parent and one white parent. We are more alike than we are different.

One-Drop Rule asserted that any person with even one ancestor of black ancestry or one drop of black blood, is considered black or negro or colored in historical terms.

Heteropaternal Superfecundation is the fertilization of two or more ova from the same cycle by sperm from separate acts of sexual intercourse, which can lead to twin babies from two separate biological fathers.

Hypodescent refers to the automatic assignment by the dominant culture of children of a mixed union or sexual relations between members of different socioeconomic groups or ethnic groups to the subordinate group. The opposite practice is hyperdescent, in which children are assigned to the race that is considered dominant or superior.

Patrilineality is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through his or her father's lineage

Matrilineality is a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline, their mother's lineage.

Cognatic Kinship is a mode of descent calculated from an ancestor or ancestress counted through any combination of male and female links, or a system of bilateral kinship where relations are traced through both a father and mother. Such relatives may be known as cognates.

If one parent is white and the other parent is black, then why is the child more black than white? Why is the baby of a white mother and black father always more black than white? Why are biracial babies more black than white? Why do they feel more black but look white? Are black genes more dominant than white genes? We are not just talking about skin color, but all the differences between two people from two different races and from two different ancestral backgrounds. The best of both worlds.

American Indians

Dark Skin is a type of human skin color that are rich in melanin pigments, especially eumelanin. People with very dark skin are often referred to as "black people", although this usage can be ambiguous in some countries where it is also used to specifically refer to different ethnic groups or populations. The evolution of dark skin is believed to have begun around 1.2 million years ago, in light-skinned early hominid species after they moved from the equatorial rainforest to the sunny savannas. In the heat of the savannas, better cooling mechanisms were required, which were achieved through the loss of body hair and development of more efficient perspiration. The loss of body hair led to the development of dark skin pigmentation, which acted as a mechanism of natural selection against folate depletion, and to a lesser extent, DNA damage. The primary factor contributing to the evolution of dark skin pigmentation was the breakdown of folate in reaction to ultraviolet radiation; the relationship between folate breakdown induced by ultraviolet radiation and reduced fitness as a failure of normal embryogenesis and spermatogenesis led to the selection of dark skin pigmentation. By the time modern Homo sapiens evolved, all humans were dark-skinned. Humans with dark skin pigmentation have skin naturally rich in melanin (especially eumelanin), and have more melanosomes which provide superior protection against the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiation. This helps the body to retain its folate reserves and protects against damage to DNA. Dark-skinned people who live in high latitudes with mild sunlight are at an increased risk—especially in the winter—of vitamin D deficiency. As a consequence of vitamin D deficiency, they are at a higher risk of developing rickets, numerous types of cancers, and possibly cardiovascular disease and low immune system activity. However, some recent studies have questioned if the thresholds indicating vitamin D deficiency in light-skinned individuals are relevant for dark-skinned individuals, as they found that, on average, dark-skinned individuals have higher bone density and lower risk of fractures than lighter-skinned individuals with the same levels of vitamin D. This is possibly attributed to lower presence of vitamin D binding agents (and thus its higher bioavailability) in dark-skinned individuals. The global distribution of generally dark-skinned populations is strongly correlated with the high ultraviolet radiation levels of the regions inhabited by them. These populations, with the exception of indigenous Tasmanians almost exclusively live near the equator, in tropical areas with intense sunlight: Australia, Melanesia, New Guinea, South Asia, and Africa. Studies into these populations indicates dark skin is a retention of the pre-existing high UVR-adapted state of modern humans before the out of Africa migration and not a later evolutionary adaptation. Due to mass migration and increased mobility of people between geographical regions in the recent past, dark-skinned populations today are found all over the world. From about 1.2 million years ago to less than 100,000 years ago, archaic humans, including archaic Homo sapiens, were dark-skinned. As Homo sapiens populations began to migrate, the evolutionary constraint keeping skin dark decreased proportionally to the distance north a population migrated, resulting in a range of skin tones within northern populations. At some point, some northern populations experienced positive selection for lighter skin due to the increased production of vitamin D from sunlight and the genes for darker skin disappeared from these populations. Subsequent migrations into different UV environments and admixture between populations have resulted in the varied range of skin pigmentations we see today.

Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.

Conformity - Critical Thinking - Beliefs

Historical Race Concepts. The concept of race as a rough division of anatomically modern humans or homo sapiens has a long and complicated history. The word race itself is modern and was used in the sense of "nation, ethnic group" during the 16th to 19th centuries and acquired its modern meaning in the field of physical anthropology only from the mid-19th century. With the rise of modern genetics, the concept of distinct human races in a biological sense has become obsolete. In 2019, the American Association of Physical Anthropologists stated: "The belief in “races” as natural aspects of human biology, and the structures of inequality (racism) that emerge from such beliefs, are among the most damaging elements in the human experience both today and in the past.

Art - Music - History - Religion - Politics

Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England. They traced their origins to the 5th century settlement of incomers to Britain, who migrated to the island from the North Sea coastlands of mainland Europe. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons occurred within Britain, and the identity was not merely directly imported. The development of an Anglo-Saxon identity arose from the interaction between incoming groups of people from a number of Germanic tribes, both amongst themselves, and with indigenous British groups. Many of the natives, over time, adopted Anglo-Saxon culture and language and were assimilated. The Anglo-Saxons established the Kingdom of England, and the modern English language owes almost half of its words – including the most common words of everyday speech – to their language.

There’s a big difference between tradition and repression. Especially when a tradition violates human rights and civil liberties. We don’t want to end traditions or take away culture. We want to preserve traditions and preserve cultures. Adjusting to the 21st century world in which we all live does not mean that we need to reject our history. It just means that some of those old traditions that violate human rights and civil liberties need to be preserved in our archives and not preserved in our everyday lives. Celebrating old traditions in theatre or on a particular holiday will always be popular as they have always been. We want to learn from our mistakes, not live with our mistakes. This is not to say that traditional knowledge is not important, because it is extremely important. Indigenous people have valuable knowledge, so we need more social learning opportunities.

Paradigm is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitutes legitimate contributions to a field. A standard or typical example. Systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word. The generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time.

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Manal Al-Sharif: A Saudi Woman who Dared to Drive (video) - US Institute of Peace.

Modernism is a philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in Western society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by the horror of World War I. Modernism also rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking, and many modernists rejected religious belief.

Diversity - Versatile - Variety

Diversity is when things are changeable and diverse. Showing a great deal of variety and having a range of different things.

Diverse is having many and different things that are distinctly dissimilar or unlike other things.

Diversify is to make something more diverse or varied.

Biodiversity - Neurodiversity - Balanced - Symmetry - Systems - Human Body - Choices - Opportunities - Second Opinion - Art Types

Diversification is a technique that reduces risk by investing in different areas that would each react differently to the same event. It is the process of investing capital into a variety of assets in order to reduce risk or volatility. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket", because dropping that one basket will break all your eggs. If you place each egg in a different basket you will be more diversified and have less risk of losing all of your eggs. On the other hand, having a lot of baskets may increase the cost.

Variety is a collection containing dissimilar things or sorts of things that are different and unlike from the other things. A group of things that are very different from each other; diverse group of things.

Music Styles - Colors - Foods - Personalities

Versatile is having great diversity or variety. Changeable or inconstant. Competent in many areas and able to turn with ease from one thing to another. Able to move freely in all directions. A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality.

Repurpose - Mix Use - Differential Survival - Conformity Dangers

Multiplicity is having or involving or consisting of more than one part or entity or individual.

Plurality is composed of more than one member, set, or kind. Harmonies (music).

Medley is a varied mixture of people or things. A collection containing a variety of sorts of things. Medley can also mean a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources.

Melody is the perception of pleasant arrangements of musical notes. A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence.

Cultural Diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. The phrase "cultural diversity" is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. Globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world's cultural diversity.

Cultural Diversity Day - Cultural Appreciation (wiki) - Different Ways of Being.

Collaboration - Choices - Second Opinion - Opportunities

Diversity Intelligence is the knowledge that helps leaders to understand people and value their differences as a unique contribution to organizational success.

Diversity Training can be defined as any program designed to facilitate positive intergroup interaction, reduce prejudice and discrimination, and generally teach individuals who are different from others how to work together effectively. From the broad corporate perspective, diversity training is defined as raising personal awareness about individual differences in the workplace and how those differences inhibit or enhance the way people work together and get work done.

Anti-Bias Curriculum is a curriculum which attempts to challenge prejudices such as racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, weightism, homophobia, classism, colorism, heightism, handism, religious discrimination and other forms of kyriarchy. The approach is favoured by civil rights organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League.

Sensitivity Training is a form of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own goals as well as their prejudices, and more sensitive to others and to the dynamics of group interaction.

Racism - Discrimination - Segregation - Isolation - Fragmented - Marginalized - Inequality - Divisions - Hate - Ignorance - Privilege - Implicit Bias Training

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion encompasses the symbiotic relationship, philosophy and culture of acknowledging, embracing, supporting, and accepting those of all racial, sexual, gender and religious differences as well as different knowledge backgrounds, different education backgrounds and different socioeconomic backgrounds, among other differentiators. DEI are organizational frameworks which seek to promote "the fair treatment and full participation of all people", particularly groups "who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination" on the basis of identity or disability. These three notions (diversity, equity, and inclusion) together represent "three closely linked values" which organizations seek to institutionalize through DEI frameworks. Diversity refers to the presence of variety within the organizational workforce, such as in identity and identity politics. It includes gender, culture, ethnicity, religion, disability, class, age or opinion. Equity refers to concepts of fairness and justice, such as fair compensation and substantive equality. More specifically, equity usually also includes a focus on societal disparities and allocating resources and "decision making authority to groups that have historically been disadvantaged", and taking "into consideration a person's unique circumstances, adjusting treatment accordingly so that the end result is equal." Finally, inclusion refers to creating an organizational culture that creates an experience where "all employees feel their voices will be heard", and a sense of belonging and integration. DEI policy emerged from Affirmative Action in the United States.

“If we all think alike, then no one is thinking and we won't think very much at all.” ― Benjamin Franklin

“Great minds think alike, though fools seldom differ.”

Sometimes you need to see something from a different perspective, or get a second opinion. Thinking outside the box can help you consider any possible "what if scenarios" or "possible side effects". Conformity Risks.

Affirmative Action consists of government-mandated, government-approved, and voluntary private programs granting special consideration to groups considered or classified as historically excluded, specifically racial minorities and women. These programs tend to focus on access to education and employment in order to redress the disadvantages associated with past and present discrimination. Another goal of affirmative action policies is to ensure that public institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and police forces, are more representative of the populations they serve.

It sucks that we have to make laws to protect people from discrimination, racism and abuse. But since we have a dumbed down education and a dumbed down media, we have to suffer at the hands of ignorant people who don't know how stupid and ignorant they are. We have diversity when it comes to stupid people, we have stupid people and not so stupid people and so on. If everyone were intelligent in diverse ways, we wouldn't have all these problems and we wouldn't have to make laws to protect good people from ignorant people.

All Humans are 99% Genetically Similar - Similar but not Totally the Same.

Diversity in politics is used to describe political entities with members who have identifiable differences in their cultural backgrounds or lifestyles. The term describes differences in racial or ethnic classifications, age, gender, religion, philosophy, physical abilities, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, intelligence, mental health, physical health, genetic attributes, behavior, attractiveness, or other identifying features. In measuring human diversity, a diversity index measures the probability that any two residents, chosen at random, would be of different ethnicities. If all residents are of the same ethnic group it's zero. The diversity index does not take into account the willingness of individuals to cooperate with those of other ethnicities. If half are from one group and half from another, it's 50.

Morris Milgram Multiracial Suburbs (Concord Park, Pennsylvania, in 1954) 55%-45% Ratio of whites to African Americans.

Arcosanti begun in 1970 and continues to be developed as an experiential learning center, walk-through demonstration of how to pursue efficient “lean” alternatives to urban sprawl. Cooperative Housing.

Gender Diversity is equitable or fair representation between genders. Gender diversity most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but may also include non-binary gender categories.

Interracial - Desegregate

Genetic Diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary. Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments. With more variation, it is more likely that some individuals in a population will possess variations of alleles that are suited for the environment. Those individuals are more likely to survive to produce offspring bearing that allele. The population will continue for more generations because of the success of these individuals.

Diversity is Life's Survival Mechanism. If everyone was the same, everyone would have the same vulnerabilities and our ability to survive would be greatly diminished, especially during a pandemic.

In the universe, there are no planets that are exactly the same, no stars are exactly the same, no galaxies are exactly the same, everything is different in some way, even people. If your whole existence is based on verity, then diversity is a survival mechanism that is built in and part of the design. When we grow mono crops or one crop that is all the same, then we introduce a vulnerability. One disease could kill the entire crop. But if we had multiple crops, then only one crop would be vulnerable. Adaptability.

Cities can benefit from complex supply chains. Diversity increases complexity, which is a good thing in nature. The diversity of an ecosystem -- having many species that can do various tasks -- makes that system less vulnerable in the face of wildfires, floods and other natural disasters. The redundancy of multiple species doing the same things in different ways enables an ecosystem to better respond to shocks.

The greatest benefit of having other people from other countries and backgrounds, is that you have a different perspective and a second opinion. Sometimes people can have a unique way of solving a problem by asking questions you never thought of asking. This does not necessarily mean that another way is the best way, or that this particular way will work for you, but it can help you make a better decision, or help you to adapt.

Everyone stands on the shoulders of giants, and those giants come from many diverse backgrounds. Humans have survived and thrived because of diversity. But now humans are killing themselves and destroying our environment because of ignorance. Ignorance is the enemy of diversity, Ignorance is the killer of life.

"If man is to survive, he will have learned to take a delight in the essential differences between men and between cultures. He will learn that differences in ideas and attitudes are a delight, part of life's exciting variety, not something to fear." - Gene Roddenberry - Star Trek.

The color of your skin, the color of your thoughts, the color of your beliefs, the color of your personality. Everyone has different colors. Everyone is a Rainbow.

Heterogeneous is something diverse in character or content and consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature. Originating outside the body. Heterogeneous in chemistry is of or denoting a process involving substances in different phases (solid, liquid, or gaseous). Heterogeneous in mathematics is something incommensurable through being of different kinds, degrees, or dimensions.

Everyone can't be doing the same thing. Everyone has something different to offer life. Everyone has a particular job to do. We need more creativity and less conformity.

Diversity is Life. Several thousand languages, millions of different personalities, 100's of different religions, thousands of different types of food, thousands of different types of plants and animals, millions of different sizes of stars, planets and galaxies, many different ethnic groups from many different countries. We even have diversity in atoms. Without all the different types of atoms, there would be no life as we know it. There's a reason why monocultures are bad. Biodiversity.

Protecting species for the good of global climate. Until now, measures to protect climate and biodiversity have often been developed in parallel. However, this is now considered outdated because many approaches can protect both climate and biodiversity. Scientists have now assessed the role of the potential future global biodiversity targets (Post-2020 Action Targets for 2030) for climate protection and found that about two thirds of these targets can also help to slow climate change.

Diversity in a group of people does not say anything about the people themselves. It only says that some people are slightly different in appearance and that they may have beliefs that are unique to their particular culture. Diversity says nothing about the abilities or the intelligence of a particular group of people. Just having many different people doesn't guarantee good communication or community, or effectiveness or increased productivity. And having no diversity at all also does not guarantee good communication or community, or effectiveness or increased productivity. Diversity in skills would have to depend on the work involved. One of the good things about having many different people is it can help avoid herd mentality or conformity. And you certainly don't want any type of forced segregation, or prejudices or discriminations. But still, it all depends on that particular group of people. Can they communication effectively? Can they be a community and work together? Can they progress? Diversity in the minds of people is powerful. That is why diversity among people is powerful. Any place where you can have people sharing new ways of thinking, is a place where you will have the most potential and the most advancements. Just look at America. Diversity works. But our work is far from over and we have a lot of work to do. And we can't afford to be distracted by our own ignorance and let tiny differences divide us. We are all humans, so let's get on with this.

People need to understand why people don't think the same way as they do. The fact is, no one has the same information or knowledge as you, or do people process information or knowledge in the same way as you. People also don't experience the same things as you or learn from experiences in the same way as you. The reason why humans have lived and survived for this long is because we all have diverse minds. Humans would have never progressed or survived if everyone thought the same way or were stubborn and narrow minded in the same way.

I can't say that I have unique qualities, because I know for sure that other people have similar qualities as I do. I just use my qualities a little different sometimes. I live on a planet with many diverse life forms, I myself am made from many diverse life forms, the Universe is Diverse. Diversity is what the universe is. Diversity is what life is.

Monotonous is something tediously repetitious and lacking sequence or function, or so lacking in interest as to cause mental loss of strength and energy. Something consistently increasing and never decreasing or consistently decreasing and never increasing in valueing in variety. Pi.

Open a New Window - Mame (youtube) - Open a new window, Open a new door, Travel a new highway, That's never been tried before; Before you find you're a dull fellow, Punching the same clock, Walking the same tight rope, As everyone on the block. The fellow you ought to be is three dimensional, Soaking up life down to your toes, Whenever they say you're slightly unconventional, Just put your thumb up to your nose. And show 'em how to dance to a new rhythm, Whistle a new song, Toast with a new vintage, The fizz doesn't fizz too long. There's only one way to make the bubbles stay, Simply travel a new high way, Dance to a new rhythm, Whistle a new love song, Toast with a new vintage.

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At this time in human history, there is no real world society, we only have small social groups that have little or no coherence with themselves, or with other groups that are within their own town or immediate area. People are just beginning to realize that there is no reason or logic in trying to separate ourselves from each other. Either we learn to live together or we will continue to tragically die together. And for whatever the selfish reasons are, too many of us are choosing to unnecessarily die together than to live together. And the deaths are not always immediate. So most people are unaware that they are killing life and that they are also killing themselves. And that they are also passing on these deaths to future generations.