Rather than seeing culture as a state, especially one that tends to gravitate towards an equilibrium, it is more realistic to view culture as a process. Over time, cultures can emerge and change. Various features regarded as markers of a particular ethnicity or culture can also be found among other ethnic groups. As such characteristic elements of a culture become more dispersed, the original culture may no longer be recognizable as a distinct entity or it might be replaced by other entities that are now regarded as distinct cultures rather than as sub-cultures of the original people group.