@ebrown p,
we can read and write and have been at least exposed to culture.
Most of us have the resources and time to travel to most of the world. We have all the ideas of the world at our fingertips.
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Yes we can read and write, so could many long before us and if they could not read and write they could tell stories, stories which were carried on for generations.
Do you really think people were not exposed to culture long ago?
Everybody has and has had culture, maybe not what you think about as culture, Just think about the Chineese, the Egyptians, the Greek, the Africans, the Native Americans, we in Europe had it too.
That we have resources and time to travel most of the world does not mean we really seriously know so much about other countries.
People travelled a lot in their known world and sometimes also farther than that.
Boats sailed, pilgrims walked from Norway to Rome and Spain, craftsmen often spent years in other countries to learn more, tradesmen travelled to buy and sell.
Do you know where the expression comes from:" A brooken mirror means seven years of sorrow"? It really comes from the middle ages when it took years or a long time to go from Sweden to Venice, Italy to get a new one. In case it broke on route the tradesman had to go back and get a new one.
A game of chess, probably from the far East has been found on Greenland, which shows the travels of Vikings.
Do you realize that allready in the middle ages spices came from the far East to Europe, that we had rice allready in 14-1500 hundreds in Sweden?
Often the small country churches - just to mention something - were painted inside with the whole biblical history for people who could not read.
Included were many symbols, which a modern person does not understand, but people knew what meant earlier.
People had many more "holy days" and knew why they were celebrated.
People had traditions and knew about them. Many traditions are still celebrated but people have forgotten why.
People have music, dances, songs, food and cloth all part of their area and it is all part of culture.
Or do you find jeans and T-shirts more of culture than the national customs?