Cultures seem tightly bound to relative costs.

When the relative cost of an activity changes, we see culture shifting in response. E.g. as the costs of personal communication and transportation fell throughout the 20th century, we observed Long Distance Relationships.

Or as the relative cost of labor and land rose in the US, we saw the number of servants and servants' quarters fall. People now bus their own trays at fast food restaurants and check their own purchases at the grocery store.

Cultures fit constraints.