There are a few traits of culture that I try to define in my world-building.

Language, religion, subsistence pattern, social/political organization, kinship, art, economics, and it seems like there are more, but I don't have my worksheet handy.

For the purposes of mapping, many of these elements are relevant.

Subsistence: Where does the community's food come from? What percentage of the community is involved in food gathering? How is the food distributed? Is any food imported or exported? Related to this is water supply: Where does the water come from? How is it distributed? Do any members of the community have special rights over the water?

Does the community's food or water supply force it into a nomadic lifestyle, following herd animals or hunting or moving to new fields?

Religion: Are religious services communal, requiring temples or other meeting places? Or are they individual, such that each household will have it's own shrine, and public shrines tend to be smaller affairs? Are there monuments to gods or kings? Are these monuments holy places, or do the people treat them casually? Does religion have any influence over where or how people build their homes?

Kinship: How do people consider themselves related to other people? Do men go to live with their wives' families, or women to their husbands'? Do families live in large extended households, or do they break off into nuclear families, building a new home? Who helps in the building of new homes?

Social/Political Organization: Who rules, and how is that decided? Does the ruler have a designated dwelling place, and is it distinctive from other buildings? Are there distinct social classes? Is there some kind of economic leveling system that keeps most people at similar levels of wealth? What mechanisms exist for dealing with abnormal people or the mentally ill?

Economics: How do goods move into and out of the community? Other than food, what goods does the community produce, and how does it produce them? Who receives the benefits of trade? Is there taxation, and how is it administered? What physical spaces are necessary to support this economic system?

Class has started now, so I don't have time to continue, but I hope that gives you some things to think about. If you're getting into some heavy world-building, then a worksheet where you can keep track of details like these is very handy. Also, bear in mind that many of these qualities will be heavily influenced by the culture's environment.