Peoples of the world


Peoples is a rather fuzzily defined subject. The term may correspond to a civilization, nationality, culture, language group, or ethnic group. It is easier to recognize one than to come up with an exact definition. Peoples are not entirely distinct from one another and change from region to region and over time. Although in principle all peoples are equally worthy of attention, it is in practice not possible to give them equal weight. Greater weight and attention is given to those peoples that are most populous, have a well-developed culture, a long history, and frequent interactions with their neighbors. Due to limitations of time and resources, only the most prominent ones can be discussed at present. For purposes of study, peoples are at present divided into four major categories: Asiatic peoples and civilization, Western civilization, African peoples and civilization, and American Indian peoples and civilization.	Sapience Home Site Map About Sapience Sociology Asiatic Civilization Western Civilization African peoples American Indian peoples Nations

Peoples is a rather fuzzily defined subject. The term may correspond to a civilization, nationality, culture, language group, or ethnic group. It is easier to recognize one than to come up with an exact definition. Peoples are not entirely distinct from one another and change from region to region and over time.

Although in principle all peoples are equally worthy of attention, it is in practice not possible to give them equal weight. Greater weight and attention is given to those peoples that are most populous, have a well-developed culture, a long history, and frequent interactions with their neighbors. Due to limitations of time and resources, only the most prominent ones can be discussed at present.

For purposes of study, peoples are at present divided into four major categories: Asiatic peoples and civilization, Western civilization, African peoples and civilization, and American Indian peoples and civilization.

Sociology

Nations

As a reference, the larger nations of the world are listed in an alphabetical order. This list may be extended to include nations which no longer exist, but which were historically important.

Western Civilization

This includes subdivisions of Anglic peoples, Latin peoples, Northeast European peoples, Germanic peoples, Balkan peoples, and Scandinavian peoples.

Asiatic Civilization

This includes subdivisions of Middle East, South Asian people, Oriental peoples, Central Asian peoples, and Southeast Asian and Oceanic peoples.

African peoples

This will include subdivisions of West African peoples, East African peoples, Central African peoples, and Southern African peoples.

American Indian peoples

On this site, this means the Native American or American Indian peoples of North America, Meso-America, (which includes Mexico and Central American), and South America. The history of these peoples is little known before Columbus and submerged in the European-derived national cultures since then, but more information will be included as the site develops.


Science Physics and chemistry are less useful than astronomy. Galactic astronomy and cosmology do not seem to be particularly useful. Earth science including geology, hydrospheric science, atmospheric science, physical geography, and geohistory may be useful to particular peoples. Biology including molecular biology, cell biology, organism biology, systematics and ecology may be useful to particular peoples. Biohistory including Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic biology down to the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene epochs can be considered.	Links to other sites: Dr. Vess' World Civilizations Virtual Library World Civilizations Access Map
Personal studies The Human body including body systems, body functions, disease, life cycle, and form and appearance is largely at too low a level to be helpful to peoples of the world. Details of Psychology including behavioral fundamentals, mind, behavior patterns, developmental psychology, mental disorders, personality, and social psychology are mostly at a fairly low level, but may be useful. The biographical listing of individuals is not duplicated here, since everyone belongs to at least one of these peoples, but important contributors to the study of peoples may be mentioned. Anthropology Social foundations including social presentation, social interaction, social control, social group behavior, and group types may be useful to studies of peoples. Demography of peoples, including birth and fertility, migration, morbidity and mortality, population structure, and population change is highly important. Physical anthropology including human origins, racial variation, and human dispersion will also be useful in examining peoples. Human ecology including the influence of the environments on these peoples, relations with other life, and the influence of mankind on the environment will also be useful. The geography of peoples is based on human geography, but is not identical to it. European geography including Northwestern Europe Asian geography such as Southwest Asia, and in particular the Near East, Arabia, and Asia Minor, South Asian geography, Central Asian geograpy, Southeast Asian geography, East Asian geography, and North Asian geography. North American geography including American (US), South American geograpy, and African geography including North African geography are the areas most important to the peoples so far considered. Oceanic geography is of limited use. Particular groups will also be useful. One example is the Wright brothers. Culture Material culture is important in characterizing and describing peoples. Industrial technology including tools, fuels, chemical technology, machinery, utilities, and other technology will be imporant. Building technology including materials, components, furnishings, finished buildings, and outdoor structures will be useful. Foodstuffs including agricultural products, processed and preserved foods, and prepared foods are important. Clothing including textiles, garments, and adornment is also important. Transportation technology including packaging, land transporation, water transportation, air transporation, and space transportation will be useful. Communications technology including written communication, graphic communication, and electronic communication can be considered. Other artifacts such as toys, weaponry, medicintes, musical intruments, and sculpture will also be important. Conceptual culture is essential in describing peoples.Language including linguistics and writing, and languages of the world is particularly significant. Languages of the world including Indo-European languages, Afro-Asiatic languages, Asiatic languages, African languages, and American Indian languages are highly important. Graphic arts including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and computer graphics will be useful. Literature with oral tradition, literary forms and genres, and particular literary works is also useful. Mathematics including mathematical foundations, arithmetic, algebra, analysis, geometry, and statistics may be useful. Applied science including measurement, engineering science, navigation, medical science, information science, accounting, and applied social science is also useful in characterizing and describing peoples. Philosophy, including areas of metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and schools and doctrines varies from one people to another. Behavioral culture is important in describing peoples. customs such as vital customs, living and dwelling, dress and adornment, social interaction, and institutional customs are important. Occupations such as food related occupations, building occupations, transportation occupations, communication occupations, and industrial occupations are useful in describing peoples. Service occupations such as social and medical occupations, business and ommercial services, sports, recreation and entertainment, and institutional services can be connected. Recreation and entertainment such as music, dance, theater, games, sports, and cultural events such as miscellaneous events, disasters, fairs and conventions, and holidays are also essential in characterizing and describing peoples. Institutions Families, including marriage, Parenting, kinship, and particular families are useful. Education including research and teaching is valuable. Cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, and other venues are useful. Educational organization such as courses, students, faculty, and administration and particular schools including primary schools and secondary schools is also important. Higher education including schools such as Harvard University is alco connected. Economics including activities such as production, distribution, and consumption, and industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing, building snd construction, social and medical services, transportation, communication, and commercial and financial services are highly important. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP have an important influence. Economic systems including firms, networks, types of systems, and system behavior are likewise important. Peoples are more usually grouped by government or nationality. Law including tribal law, Asiatic law, Western law, and International law may be an important component of a society. Government structure is also an important component of a society. Political parties, judicial systems, legislative systems, executive systems, heads of government, and forms of government have various influence. Government activities including administration have an important influence on peoples. Succession including inheritance, election, appointment, and seizure have an influence. State relations including diplomacy, espionage, and warfare have an important influence. Different particular governments may govern more than one people or only part of some group. Local governments, including dependent and autonomous varieties, national governments including monarchies, dictatorships, and democracies, and international government including traditional empires, colonial empires, and modern compacts such as temporary associations, special purpose groups, regional associations, and world government meaning the old League of Nations and the United Nations may also be useful. An important means of grouping and distinguishing societies is their major religious heritage. Beliefs, practice, and organization including unstructured, fragmented, and highly structured forms are important, but particular religious traditions are a major means of identifying peoples. The peoples asociated with Abrahamic religions are most widespread. One major block of peoples is predominantly Christian. Many of these are largely Catholic. Protestant peoples are another major group. Orthodoxy is associated with yet another major group. Other traditional Christianity and Mormonism are scattered among various different nations. Islamis also significant. Judaism is widespread but has limited influence. In some parts of the world, Asiatic religion such as Indian religion including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism; Oriental religion including Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto; and Persian religion including Zoroastrianism, Manicheanism, and Mithraism predominate. Secularism in some form has made more recent gains. The older traditions are usually some form of pagan religion, and include such varieties as European pagan, Asiatic pagan, African pagan, and American Indian pagan. Other Sociology The study of peoples will need to make use of Social structure and change. Social structure including anthropological, cultural, institutional, and class structure, and community and regional structure needs to be considered. Peoples can be classified according to social types, including hunting and gathering, horticultural, agrarian, and industrial societies. Social change is also essential to the study of peoples. Factors such as natural change, demographic change, cultural change, and institutional change are important, and processes such as innovation, transmission, adaptation, and extinction are also applicable. The history of particular changes in peoples such as Agricultural revolution, Agrarian revolution with stages such as the Bronze age, early iron age, late iron age, and modernization, and Industrial revolution stages such as early industrial revolution, middle industrial revolution, and computerization will be also influential. Particular communities will also be useful. To avoid simply copying the list of nations, these will be assigned to the particular nations they belong to, and to Western Civilization, Asiatic peoples, African peoples, American Indian peoples, or in some cases more than one of these as needed. Cities that have not yet been assigned include: Dallas Madrid Philadephia Santiago Belo Horizonte Ahmedabad Houston Detroit Dongguan Ruhr History Particular nations are not identical with peoples since many nations contain more than one people and many peoples are spread over more than one nation. However, they do provide useful introductions to the subject. Recorded history begins with Asiatic peoples, a diverse group. These gave rise to Western civilization. Although according to current anthropological theory, the African peoples are the oldest of all the peoples of the world, their history was not recorded until recently. The American Indian peoples underwent a largely separate development from those of the Old world, and most of their records have been lost.

Science

Physics and chemistry are less useful than astronomy. Galactic astronomy and cosmology do not seem to be particularly useful.

Earth science including geology, hydrospheric science, atmospheric science, physical geography, and geohistory may be useful to particular peoples.

Biology including molecular biology, cell biology, organism biology, systematics and ecology may be useful to particular peoples. Biohistory including Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic biology down to the Pliocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene epochs can be considered.

Links to other sites:
Dr. Vess' World Civilizations Virtual Library
World Civilizations Access Map

Personal studies

The Human body including body systems, body functions, disease, life cycle, and form and appearance is largely at too low a level to be helpful to peoples of the world. Details of Psychology including behavioral fundamentals, mind, behavior patterns, developmental psychology, mental disorders, personality, and social psychology are mostly at a fairly low level, but may be useful. The biographical listing of individuals is not duplicated here, since everyone belongs to at least one of these peoples, but important contributors to the study of peoples may be mentioned.

Anthropology

Social foundations including social presentation, social interaction, social control, social group behavior, and group types may be useful to studies of peoples. Demography of peoples, including birth and fertility, migration, morbidity and mortality, population structure, and population change is highly important. Physical anthropology including human origins, racial variation, and human dispersion will also be useful in examining peoples. Human ecology including the influence of the environments on these peoples, relations with other life, and the influence of mankind on the environment will also be useful.

The geography of peoples is based on human geography, but is not identical to it. European geography including Northwestern Europe Asian geography such as Southwest Asia, and in particular the Near East, Arabia, and Asia Minor, South Asian geography, Central Asian geograpy, Southeast Asian geography, East Asian geography, and North Asian geography. North American geography including American (US), South American geograpy, and African geography including North African geography are the areas most important to the peoples so far considered. Oceanic geography is of limited use.

Particular groups will also be useful. One example is the Wright brothers.

Culture

Material culture is important in characterizing and describing peoples. Industrial technology including tools, fuels, chemical technology, machinery, utilities, and other technology will be imporant. Building technology including materials, components, furnishings, finished buildings, and outdoor structures will be useful. Foodstuffs including agricultural products, processed and preserved foods, and prepared foods are important. Clothing including textiles, garments, and adornment is also important. Transportation technology including packaging, land transporation, water transportation, air transporation, and space transportation will be useful. Communications technology including written communication, graphic communication, and electronic communication can be considered. Other artifacts such as toys, weaponry, medicintes, musical intruments, and sculpture will also be important.

Conceptual culture is essential in describing peoples.Language including linguistics and writing, and languages of the world is particularly significant. Languages of the world including Indo-European languages, Afro-Asiatic languages, Asiatic languages, African languages, and American Indian languages are highly important. Graphic arts including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and computer graphics will be useful. Literature with oral tradition, literary forms and genres, and particular literary works is also useful. Mathematics including mathematical foundations, arithmetic, algebra, analysis, geometry, and statistics may be useful. Applied science including measurement, engineering science, navigation, medical science, information science, accounting, and applied social science is also useful in characterizing and describing peoples. Philosophy, including areas of metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, and schools and doctrines varies from one people to another.

Behavioral culture is important in describing peoples. customs such as vital customs, living and dwelling, dress and adornment, social interaction, and institutional customs are important. Occupations such as food related occupations, building occupations, transportation occupations, communication occupations, and industrial occupations are useful in describing peoples. Service occupations such as social and medical occupations, business and ommercial services, sports, recreation and entertainment, and institutional services can be connected. Recreation and entertainment such as music, dance, theater, games, sports, and cultural events such as miscellaneous events, disasters, fairs and conventions, and holidays are also essential in characterizing and describing peoples.

Institutions

Families, including marriage, Parenting, kinship, and particular families are useful.

Education including research and teaching is valuable. Cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, and other venues are useful. Educational organization such as courses, students, faculty, and administration and particular schools including primary schools and secondary schools is also important. Higher education including schools such as Harvard University is alco connected.

Economics including activities such as production, distribution, and consumption, and industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing, building snd construction, social and medical services, transportation, communication, and commercial and financial services are highly important. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP have an important influence. Economic systems including firms, networks, types of systems, and system behavior are likewise important.

Peoples are more usually grouped by government or nationality. Law including tribal law, Asiatic law, Western law, and International law may be an important component of a society. Government structure is also an important component of a society. Political parties, judicial systems, legislative systems, executive systems, heads of government, and forms of government have various influence. Government activities including administration have an important influence on peoples. Succession including inheritance, election, appointment, and seizure have an influence. State relations including diplomacy, espionage, and warfare have an important influence. Different particular governments may govern more than one people or only part of some group. Local governments, including dependent and autonomous varieties, national governments including monarchies, dictatorships, and democracies, and international government including traditional empires, colonial empires, and modern compacts such as temporary associations, special purpose groups, regional associations, and world government meaning the old League of Nations and the United Nations may also be useful.

An important means of grouping and distinguishing societies is their major religious heritage. Beliefs, practice, and organization including unstructured, fragmented, and highly structured forms are important, but particular religious traditions are a major means of identifying peoples. The peoples asociated with Abrahamic religions are most widespread. One major block of peoples is predominantly Christian. Many of these are largely Catholic. Protestant peoples are another major group. Orthodoxy is associated with yet another major group. Other traditional Christianity and Mormonism are scattered among various different nations. Islamis also significant. Judaism is widespread but has limited influence. In some parts of the world, Asiatic religion such as Indian religion including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism; Oriental religion including Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto; and Persian religion including Zoroastrianism, Manicheanism, and Mithraism predominate. Secularism in some form has made more recent gains. The older traditions are usually some form of pagan religion, and include such varieties as European pagan, Asiatic pagan, African pagan, and American Indian pagan.

Other Sociology

The study of peoples will need to make use of Social structure and change. Social structure including anthropological, cultural, institutional, and class structure, and community and regional structure needs to be considered. Peoples can be classified according to social types, including hunting and gathering, horticultural, agrarian, and industrial societies. Social change is also essential to the study of peoples. Factors such as natural change, demographic change, cultural change, and institutional change are important, and processes such as innovation, transmission, adaptation, and extinction are also applicable. The history of particular changes in peoples such as Agricultural revolution, Agrarian revolution with stages such as the Bronze age, early iron age, late iron age, and modernization, and Industrial revolution stages such as early industrial revolution, middle industrial revolution, and computerization will be also influential.

Particular communities will also be useful. To avoid simply copying the list of nations, these will be assigned to the particular nations they belong to, and to Western Civilization, Asiatic peoples, African peoples, American Indian peoples, or in some cases more than one of these as needed. Cities that have not yet been assigned include:

Dallas
Madrid
Philadephia
Santiago
Belo Horizonte
Ahmedabad
Houston
Detroit
Dongguan
Ruhr

History

Particular nations are not identical with peoples since many nations contain more than one people and many peoples are spread over more than one nation. However, they do provide useful introductions to the subject. Recorded history begins with Asiatic peoples, a diverse group. These gave rise to Western civilization. Although according to current anthropological theory, the African peoples are the oldest of all the peoples of the world, their history was not recorded until recently. The American Indian peoples underwent a largely separate development from those of the Old world, and most of their records have been lost.

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