Across the globe, exists today different expressions of beliefs, cultural expressions and peoples, of all races. Understanding another human beings backround and nativity is a step closer to crossing the barriers man has setup between himself and another person.

A field in science has been designated to this, anthropology. Anthropologist go into many different environments and become at one with the environment that they are in. They try to record such things as myths, rituals, beliefs, family patterns, and economic systems.

Ethnic Groups

An ethnic group can be considered as some social group whose members have share a sense of common origins
and they may be of the same cultural identity such as a race etc. They tend to share the same langauges, religious beliefs and cultural artforms.These ethnic groups can be large or small like a tribe and maybe concentrated in a small region or located over a wide area.

Peoples vary in gender, age, abilities, and more. Differences in physical appearances may in some cases enable one to identify where another person is from and which ethnic goup they belong too. Today transportation and travelling enabled people to travel toother countries. Becasue of this you can find many different people of different backrounds living together in another country.

Culture

Culture an be defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning

Langauges of the World

Within the countries of the world and more precisely within each indigenous group in a country exsists a langauge of some sort which is accompanied by some dialect and slang. Today certain languages have become predominantly used and universally understood in most cases out of all the hundreds of different langauges. While English is not spoken as a native language by the largest number of people, it is the most world wide in its distribution, being an official language of 87 countries and territories . English has become the second language of choice around the world for ordinary people as well. About 1/4 to 1/3 of humanity now understand and speak it.

Religions

Religion is a set of spritiual beiefs that a group of peoples hold to and express in the form of worship to a spritual beings such as God. Some religions believe in only one God others believe in may gods. The top 5 religions in the worls are Buddhism , Christianity, Islam, Judaism , Hinduism.

North America though often considered as the United States of America is actually made up of other countries such as Greenland and Canda, U.S.A, and Mexico.

Native Americans

These are the early inhabitants of North America. When the Europeans came here, there were probably 10 million Indians north of present-day Mexico and they had been living here for quite some time. Although it is believed that the Indians originated in Asia, few if any of them came from India.

The name "Indian" was first applied to them by Christopher Columbus, who believed, mistakenly, that the mainland and islands of America were part of the Indies, in Asia. Europeans settling in this land were more superior in power and weaponary than the Native Americans. As a result the Native Americans were forced to live on reservations, areas designated to retsrict the population and setllement or the native americans. In the process the Europeans traditions,beliefs and way of live was imopesd on the native americans casuing a loss in the traditional practices and cultures.

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United States of America


The American people today are decendants of the early Europeans who came to North America. Also known as the (U.S.A) it is divided into 50 states with a governing body in each state. It is known as a leading political world because of its political connections and ties , military reources, economic progress and value. It is a large importer and exporter of goods worldwide and changes in its economy has a rippling effect throuhgout the world. It is also is home to many cultures and people from different ethnic groups.

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Greenland, Canada, Alaska

These countries are located closer to the northern region of North America very closre to the North Pole.

Greenland

Greenland is the norse name which Erik the Red gave the country around 985. This is the world's largest island which lies in the Arctic Region of which approxiamtely 85% is covered with ice. The inland ice affects the whole country, resulting in a polar climate in which the average temperature never exceeds 10oC, even in the warmest month of the year. The tradition of sealing and fishing is ingrained into the culture of greenland .

The Greenlanders a type of Inuit people live in Greenland as well as in the Northern parts of Canada and Alaska. These people have adapted to life in this environment and has a unique culture which has been passed down through the generations.

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Canada

Canada is the world's second largest country, with a population of around 28.8 million. It is divided into 10 Provinces and 3 Territories.

The Provinces from East to West are NewFoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick,
Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. The Territories are Nunavit, Northwest Territories and Yukon. The official langauges are English and French, of which the Quebec province has a French influence.Resources found in Canada are ater, gas, oil, timber and other minerals. Ice Hockey is popular as a winter sport which is played on frozen lakes and ponds.

Mexico

Mexico a city originally founded by the Aztecs, who called it Tenochtitlán. After the Spanish conquistadors arrived and conquered it in 1519 it is home to more than 20 million people, making it the biggest city in the world.The peoples of mexico are mixed , mestizos , and are usally a mix between Spanish and Native American descent others are full-blooded native Americans. They are culturally and racially mixed as well. Mexico's history and culture include an interesting mix of indigenous civilizations with various waves of European immigration.The day of the dead is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the years, but which was intended in prehispanic Mexico to celebrate children and the dead. Hence, the best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to say that it is a time when Mexican families remember their dead, and the continuity of life.

Central America is very mountainous and comprises of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.

Most Central Americans speak Spanish. Guatemala is the most populated Central American nation. Honduras as well is a mountainous, isolated nation with bananas as a major export in Honduras and other Central American nations. Belize is the only English speaking nation in Central America.

The Caribbean Islands also known as the West Indies , is located in the Caribbean Sea which is part of the Atlantic Ocean, The name of the sea comes from the Carib people, who inhabited the area when Spanish explorers arrived there in the 15th century.

Today the peoples living in the caribbean islands are of african decents whose fore fathers were orginally brought to the Caribbean to work as slaves from the African Continent. At that time tobacco and sugar were the main exports. Even still today some of these islands still maintian sugar,bananas, spices, as some of their major exports. Grenada is one of the top nutmeg exporters worldwide.

The islands of the caribbean are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saba , St Barthelemy, St Eustatius, St Kitts, St Lucia, St Martin, St Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands

The major langauge spoken is english except for Haiti and Guadeloupe which are French and Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic which are predominantly Spanish. Within each caribbean island their is a native dialect or creole and in some islands such as St Lucia , "patois", pronounced (pat-wa).

In the caribbean there are many music forms which vary from island to island such as soca, calypso, reggae, ska and many more which have some African connection. Caylpso songs tends to focus on a country's political and social highlights. These songs are sung at celebrations times sich as Crop Over, Carnival or Vincy Mas around easter each year. These festivities climax as a big street party with much revelling, displaying of costumes and a big 'jump-up'.

South America is the 4th largest continent including (12) countries and (3) major territories. South America is a continent of great environmental and cultural contrast. From grasslands to Amazonian tropical rainforests, and the Andean highlands. The Countries of South America have many diverse backgrounds and cultures which came as a result of the multitude of different settlers that first arrived from various European Countries.

Brazil is the largest country in South America (and has the 6th largest population in the world) followed by Argentina. South America is home to The Andes a tall mountain range that lines the western portion of South America and The Amazon Jungle which comprises a great deal of the sparsely populated lands of the nations and is the largest rainforest in the world.

The mouth of the Amazon River, where it meets the sea, is so wide and deep that ocean-going ships have navigated its waters and traveled far inland.The total length of the river is 4,000 miles long making it the second longest next to the Nile. The Andes extends across four countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.

The Guiana Highlands of Brazil, Venzuela, and Guyana are famous as the site of Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. In addition to this, Lake Titicaca located in the Andes Mountains between Peru and Bolivia is the highest navigable lake in the world (3,800 meters, 12,507 feet) .On the drier side the Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place in the world

The major religion in South America is Roman Catholic, which has largely influenced the festivites and holidays celebrated in these countries.

A total of 34 language families and over a dozen isolated stocks with about 1000 individual languages have been identified in South America

Over 50 different langauges are spoken in Europe with English as a second most spoken langauge. Comprised of over 40 countries Europe is the second smallest continent in the world! The Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Africa. Down through the ages from Roman rule, to the Crusades, Renaissance Period, the European Continent has come. These different periods has mingled togther creating a heritage of Europe which is distinct in langauge, architecture, and politics.

One of the large influences through out the ages has been Religion in particular Christianity, which is reflected in the art, architecture and culture of this country. Famous artist such as Picasso and Michelangelo are renown worldwide for their portraits and paintings.Willian Shakespeare, a famous playwright has published many famous plays which are still studied today in schools worldwide. Musical Composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart are famous for their classical masterpieces as well.

Europe is also home to the Alps are mountains in Central Europe. The country Switzerland is located in the Alps.

The Countries of Europe
Albania, Andorra, Austriam, Balkans, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Central Europe, Croatia, Cyprus
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,Ireland
Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, More of Europe,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Vatican, Yugoslavia.

Europeans called Africa “the dark continent” because they thought it was a vast and dangerous place.
They were first intereseted in exploring Africa because they wanted to find a water route to India. This eventually led to the slave trade from africa as well as the colonisation of the Africa by the europeans. Five European powers--Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy colonized almost the entire continent by 1900. They exploited the great mineral wealth of Africa. Maafa is a Kiswahili term for "disaster" or "terrible occurrence." It is used to describe more than five hundred years of exploitation of Africa through slavery, colonialism, and imperialism. By 1900 Africa was alsmost entirely controlled by european nations. One of the famous european settlers were The Boers, Dutch settlers in South Africa. .

Home to over 50 Countries, Africa is only the second largest continent in the world. Its inhabitants are about 686 millions housed on a continent 30.4 millions km2. Of the 50+ countries Sudan is the largest with an area od (2.5 millions km2) the smallest country is Seychelles (453 km2). The highest mountain in Africa is Mt Kilimandjaro, in Tanzania, 5,895 m and the Longest River is the Nile, which is 6,700 km long. In additon Africa is home to the largest desert in the world, the Sahara, dividing Northern Africa from the rest of the continent. In each country there maybe several ethnic langauges spoken but overall in each country exists an offical spoken language such as English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Bambara, Pidgin, Ki-Swahili, Haoussa, Yoruba and hundreds more. In addition to this, many ethnic groups co-exists varying in cultural practices, religion, and traditions.

South Africa

The British granted South Africa independence in 1910, but gave power only to white people. In 1948, the National Party gained office in an election where only white people were allowed to vote. The party began a policy of racial segregation known as apartheid, which means "apartness."

South Africa's black majority had resisted apartheid for many years. There were often wars between the racial groups causing a loss of life on both ends. In 1976, the the rioting climaxed when the South African government at that time tried to force black children in the to learn Afrikaans, one of the languages of the white minority.

One of the popular figure heads opposing apartheid was Nelson Mandela, who led a black liberation group called the African National Congress. In 1962 he was imprisoned for 27 years spending most of it doing hard labour. Some years after his release black South Africans were allowed to vote for the frist time in a national election which saw Mandela himself rise to power as the nation's first black president.

Resources:

Learn about Africa
Africa Online

Considered to be the biggest contient in the world Asia approxiamtely covers 1/3 of the earth's surface, and is home to over 60% of the worlds population.

Asia is divided into 4 regions:

Eastern Asia
South-Central Asia
South-Eastern Asia
Western Asia and Middle East

Out of the twelve longest rivers on Earth, seven wind through Asia.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was formally established, with its national capital at Beijing

With nearly 1 billion citizens, India is the second most populous nation in the world. It is impossible to speak of any one Indian culture, although there are deep cultural continuities that tie its people together. English is the major language of trade and politics, but there are fourteen official languages in all. There are twenty-four languages that are spoken by a million people or more, and countless other dialects. India has seven major religions and many minor ones, six main ethnic groups, and countless holidays.

Religion is central to Indian culture, and its practice can be seen in virtually every aspect of life in the country. Hinduism is the dominant faith of India, serving about 80 percent of the
population. Ten percent worship Islam, and 5 perscent are Sikhs and Christians; the rest (a good 45 million) are Buddhists, Jains, Bahai, and more.

Russia
Russia, is the world's largest country, since it covers almost twice the territory of either the United States or Australia. Its capital city is Moscow and Russia covers an Eastern part of Europe and a Northern part of Asia

The great majority of the people are Russians, but there are also about 70 smaller national groups living within its borders. Most of the population is concentrated in a great triangle in the western, or European, part of the country.

To the north and east Russia is bounded by the Arctic and Pacific oceans, and by the Baltic Sea at St. Petersburg and at the detached Russian oblast (province) of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithunania. On the south Russia borders Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, while on the south-west and west it borders Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as Finland and Norway.

Owing to its vast size and the fact that most of Russian's territory is far removed from any ocean, the climate throughout the country is extremely continental, with distinct periods of warm and cold weather. The continentality of Russia's climate increases as one travels east, with average temperature differences between the warmest (July) and coldest (January) periods in Eastern Siberia, for example, varying as much as 65 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit). There is, however, much variation in climate based on latitude and physical geography. Temperatures for Moscow and St. Petersburg range from highs of 32 C in the summer to low - 25 C in winter.

Russia is famous worldwide for its Matrioshka dolls which are beautifully painted dolls of different sizes that stack together. They are unique in that they can be opened to reveal several smaller dolls nested inside each other.

Another wooden toy is called Vankya Stanbkya which means "Ivan Get Up". It is made so that if you push it down, it will always come back up. This is because of its rounded, weighted bottom. Other toys have animals that move as well. Bears may hammer as the toy is moved from side to side.

And interesting place of Interest is Red Square. It is in the center of Moscow is an area that use to be a marketplace. It became a major center for political and social events. Today it is used for big parades and public celebrations. At the southern end of the square is the Cathedral of St. Basil and the Rossiya Hotel, the city's largest. The massive Lenin Mausoleum stands beside the Kremlin walls

St. Basil's Cathedral
One of the most famous sites in Moscow's Red Square is St. Basil's Catherdral. It was built from 1555- 1561. The towers and onion-shaped domes are painted with red, yellow, blue, green, and gold designs. The architect of St. Basil's was blinded by Ivan the Terrible so he could never build anything again.

Famous Composers

Peter and the Wolf
Sergei Prokofiev, a Russian composer, wrote Peter and the Wolf in 1936. It is a fairy tale about a boy who ignores his grandfather's warnings and is captured by a wolf. The fairy tale is told by an orchestra. Each character in the piece is represented by a different instrument.

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is a ballet that was written by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky in 1892. The Nutcracker is often performed around Christmas. In the story a little girl named Maria receives a nutcracker as a Christmas gift from her godfather, Dr. Drosselmayer. Her brother Fritz breaks it. The nutcracker is repaired and magically comes to life. He leads the toys in a battle against the mice. Later he takes Maria to The Land of Sweets.

Sputnik
In 1957 Russia launched the first satellite called Sputnik to circle the Earth. This satellite was ball-shaped and weighed about 183 pounds. It was 22 inches across. It soon followed with Sputnik II which carried the first dog in space. On April 21, 1961 Russia launched its first manned spacecraft called Vostok.

Australia often called "down under" because of its location in the Southern Hemisphere is another one of the continents. It is popular for it Great Barrier Reef among other things such as its rugged outback country, crocodile hunting and its Aboriginal peoples. Australia has wildlife that is found no where else in the world. This is because Australia is so isolated from other large land masses, and its animals did not evolve in the same manner as in other areas of the world.Australia is often referred to as an island continent since it is completely surrounded by water.

Australasia consists of Australia, New Zealan & Papua New Guinea. Oceania is a collective group of Pacific Islands, the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia. There are over 20, 000 of these islands whihc appear to be specs in the ocean.

Famous peoples of Australia includes Captain James Cook British captain who discovered and claimed Australia for Britain and Howard Walter Florey who won Nobel Prize for discovering penicillin

The Aborigines

The word Aborigine is derived from Latin and means "from the beginning". This is the name given to the native Australians by the Europeans.

They are a dark-skinned people belonging to the Australoid group who probably came from Asia. Nobody is quite sure how they came to Australia around 60,000 years ago. They may have walked and sailed here from Asia.
The Aborigines were nomadic hunter-gathers. They roamed from place to place. They hunted animals using spears and boomerangs. They also gathered fruits, nuts and yams which they ate.

There were around 300,000 aborigines in about 250 tribal groups before the first white settlers came. Each group had its own territory, traditions, beliefs and language.

Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument used by the aborigines in songs and ceremonies. They are made out of a piece of eucalyptus tree and are 4-6 feet long. Didgeridoos are hollowed out by termites.
The Aborigines play their didgeridoos by using a method called circular breathing. Circular breathing is breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth at the same time. You have to trap air in your mouth and push it out with your tongue while you breath in through your nose.
The Aborigines use beeswax as a mouthpiece so it's easier to play. They are usually in the northern areas of Australia. Before white men came it was used throughout Australia.

The Sydney Opera House

The first performance in the complex, in the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973, was The Australian Opera's production of War and Peace by Prokofiev. The Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973. The Sydney Opera House is the busiest performing arts centre in the world. Since its opening in 1973, it has brought countless hours of entertainment to millions of people and has continued to attract the best in world class talent year after year. The Sydney Opera House presents theatre, musicals, opera, contemporary dance, ballet, every form of music from symphony concerts to jazz as well as exhibitions and films. It averages around 3,000 events each year with audiences totaling up to two million.