Human Geo 1.1-1.2 Questions Flashcards
Compare and contrast geography and history:
They both rely on the collection of evidence about human activity. Geographers identify locations (where and why), historians identify dates (when and why), and the list goes on… History and geography differ in 1 especially important manner: A geographer can travel to study a place on Earth, but a historian can’t travel through time. To introduce human geography, we concentrate on culture (1st half of book) and economy. (2nd half of book).
What 2 purposes does a map serve?
- As a reference tool: Helps to find the shortest route and avoid getting lost, and we consult maps to learn where something is found in relation to a place we know. The maps in an atlas/road map are useful for this.
- As a communications tool: A good means to depict the distribution of human activities and physical features and for thinking about reasons underlying a distribution.
Describe geography in the ancient world:
One of the earliest surviving fully authenticated maps (in Turkey) dates from 6200 BCE. Archeologists found the map on a wall of a house in the 1960s. Some major contributors to geographic thought in the ancient eastern Mediterranean include Aristotle (350 BCE; the first to prove Earth was spherical), Eratosthenes (100 BCE; invented “geography” and divided Earth into 5 climate regions), and Ptolemy (100 CE; wrote an 8-volume Geographia and prepared many maps).
Describe geography’s revival:
After Ptolemy, little process in mapmaking or geographic thought was made in Europe for more than 1,000 years. Maps became more fanciful. Ancient/medieval contributors to geographic inquiry (not Europe) included Muhammad al-Idrisi, an Aran geographer whose travels thru Southwest Asia & North Africa informed his world map & geography text in 1154 and Ibn Battuta (1300), a Moroccan scholar who wrote a book based on 3 decades of journeys through northern Africa, southern Europe, & Asia.
When was mapmaking revived?
In the Age of Exploration and Discovery because Columbus, Magellan, and other explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries needed maps. Cartographers also took info from them to make more accurate maps. Influential European cartographers included Martin Waldseemüller (1500), the German cartographer who produced the first map that labeled “America,” and Abraham Ortelius (1550), a Flemish cartographer who created the first modern atlas and hypothesized that the continents were once joined.
What is some more information regarding map scale?
Map scale depends on information being portrayed. A downtown area may have a scale of 1:10,000, but a map of a southeast Texas may have a scale of 1:10,000,000. A map can give detailed information about an area, but at the scale of the entire globe, the amount of detail must be greatly reduced (but still effectively communicates processes/trends that affect everyone).
Describe how connecting longitude and time helped to first accurately determine longitude:
18th century scientists thought the longitude could only be determined by the position of the stars but clockmaker John Harrison figured it out by inventing a portable clock that could keep accurate time on a ship because it didn’t have a pendulum. When the sun was directly over the ship (noon), if it was 2 PM in Greenwich, the ship would be 30° west longitude (each hour of difference = 15° longitude).
What is an example of how humans have the ability to modify the characteristics of a site?
Central Boston is more than twice as large today as it was during colonial times. Colonial Boston was a peninsula connected to the mainland by a very narrow rock. In the 19th, a dozen major projects filled in most of the bays, coves, and marshes. A 20th century landfill project created Logan Airport, and more projects continue. Central areas of New York and Tokyo have also been expanded through centuries of landfilling bodies of water.
Explain an exception to the “uniformity” in a formal region and what to do when identifying a formal region?
In some formal regions, a characteristic may be predominant, not universal (ex. North American winter wheat belt includes MOSTLY wheat, but also other crops). To identify a formal region, you must recognize the diversity of cultural, economic, and environmental factors (minorities vs majorities; not all individuals within a region conforming to a description of certain positions held).
What are 2 examples of functional regions?
An example of this region is the reception area of a TV station, where its signal is strongest at the center of its service area, and the % of cable & satellite dish receivers tuned to that station is highest. Some distance from the center, more ppl are watching a station from another area. Social media offers examples of functional regions (we interact more with nearby people, even though new tech and the internet breaks down traditional functional regions).
What are 3 cultural traits that help to identify the location of a culture and the principal means by which cultural values become distributed around the world?
- Language: System of signs, sounds, gestures, & marks with meanings understood by a cultural group. It’s how to communicate cultural values.
- Religion: The principal system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices throughout which people worship in a formal, organized way.
- Ethnicity: Identity with a group of people sharing the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth.
Explain the “what people take care of” culture aspect of geography:
Geographers are interested in material wealth (food, clothing, shelter, etc). Geographers divide the world into regions of developed and developing countries, distinguished by characteristics like income, education, and life expectancy. People in MDCs are more likely to work in agriculture, but those in developed are likely to earn a living through performing services.
