The answer is five main cultural regions. These five regions are the following:
1. Tropical Plantation – this found in the north and east coast of South America.
2. Rural Amerindian Region – Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are the countries included here.
3. Amazon Basin – This is the home to isolated Amerindian groups.
4. Mixed Mestizo Region – this included the coastal area of the west and the interior highlands of the north and east.
5. European Commercial Region – Also known as the southern cone. This includes Chile, Uruguay, Chile, and some parts of Brazil.
These five regions provide a basic understanding of the whole South American Continent.