What are the common characteristics of different cultures?

Why are they common?

It is a commonly known idea that human beings have necessary
needs that have to be met in order to survive. The same is true for the
cultures of civilizations from around the world. Culture is defined by the
common beliefs, traits, practices, language, and material objects that
a people group find valuable or important. (One idea that needs to
be acknowledged when discussing culture is that the
characteristics within this definition are only a broad view of
the main points of what different cultures have in common. )
Culture has multiple forms that are evident across the globe. There is
the initial idea of culture, as previously defined, and then there are
sub-cultures and the idea of multiculturalism. These two branches
tend to go together not only in the idea of culture, but also in the literal
practice of it. To define the two aspects, it is simplest to start with
multiculturalism and to then define sub-cultures. Multiculturalism is the
practice of accepting many different cultures within one civilization or
people group that differs from the primary culture, even in the smallest
way. Sub-cultures are the smaller culture groups that result from
multiculturalism. A simple way that multiculturalism and sub-cultures
form, in the same way that traits change and develop, is illustrated as
follows.

(While multiple civilizations find the same few aspects of

culture to be important, they do not always practice the same
forms of these aspects, even within their own civilization.) The
beginnings of the practice of multiculturalism, or the practice of many
different beliefs or ideas, stemmed from the process by which traits
move or change. At the beginning of the process, the original trait or in
this case, aspect of culture is referred to as the hearth. The initial
movement of the process is called diffusion. Diffusion can be caused
by multiple things, such as a disagreement of ideas, changes in
technology, or even migration of a people group. When the diffusion
occurs, the change that occurs is called drift, and can occur in two
forms. The first type of change that occurs isnt even change
happening at all, is called acculturation, or the act of remaining close
to the original culture or trait. In the second form of change, where the
people group moves away from the original culture or trait, is known as
distance decay. One example of this process in cultures is the way
that stories that are told differ. Many original versions of fairytales had
less pleasant and were much more gruesome. As the stories get retold
and cultures change, the stories become different. There are cultures
that still use the original versions of the stories, but some, such as
America, have changed the tales in order to allow them to have a
happier and more pleasant ending.

The notion, that the entire population of the world agrees that the
things that define a culture (beliefs, traits, practices, language and
valued material objects) are important, is astonishing. What does this
idea mean though? What can we learn presently about culture and
civilizations, from the idea that all populations find these few ideas
important? Populations have tested and learned from events in the
past that out of all the different characteristics that could enhance
culture and civilizations, these few: religion, politics, traits, practices,
languages, and valuable material objects, are the ones that are the
most successful in creating a successful civilization.