Geography & History Overview

Geography The study of the Earth and of the ways people interact with the Earth Helps to explain why people live the way they do Helps to answer questions about the past

Five Themes of Geography Used to organize information Helps to explain places and events We are going to be looking at these for each civilization we study

Location Location –Absolute or relative Absolute measured by longitude & latitude Relative is in relation to other places –Exact location of a specific place What affect does location have on populations or groups of people?

Place Description of a location Physical or human geography –Land, climate, bodies of water, animals, plants are physical characteristics –Languages, religions, populations, jobs are human characteristics

Human/Environment Interaction How we use or abuse the earth Positive or Negative –Adapting to the Earth or using it in its intended ways is positive –Modifying the Earth or abusing it is negative

Movement How people, ideas, and goods are linked together around the Earth –Movement is exchange of ideas to new locations to change that culture –Migrations of People –Goods moving into new areas change way things are done

Regions Multiple areas with something in common Physical or human –Physical has to do with commonalities of land –Human has to do with commonalities of people Languages, Religions, Practices…

Land Landforms – natural features on the Earth, based on elevation (height above sea level) –Surface Changes over time from inside Earth has created continents and defined areas Tectonic Plates and then Continental Drift Volcanoes & Earthquakes –Surface Changes from Outside Earth Wind, Water, Ice – Erosion

Water 70% of Earth’s surface Oceans are largest bodies of water –Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic Smaller bodies of water all over Earth –Seas, Lakes, River Systems

Climate Pattern of weather over time for a specific location – based on Sun Seasons determined on Earth’s location around the Sun Climate Zones depend of latitude –Tropical – hot all year –Temperate – cold in winter, warm in summer –Polar – very cold Altitude and Weather (wind currents) also affect regions with precipitation

Natural Resources Materials found in nature, often limited to regions and in quantity Often helpful to people or how we live (oil) –Renewable – can be replaced or repaired –Non-renewable – fossil fuels Affected the location and growth of settlements through history and creates competition for control of resources in modern world

Legends Folk-tales that explain the past –Chinese Legend: egg that split to create the earth and the sky and first man whose body features created the earth’s features when he died –African Legend: Jealousy between Sun and Moon caused fight and God had to step in and establish each’s place –Rumanian Legend: Mole helped God create land shapes with ball of thread and mole made it too big, so it God had to squeeze land together, making mountains and other elevations. The mole stayed underground forever because he feared God for his mistake.

Archeology The study of remains of past life and cultures to learn history –Artifacts tell about previous peoples –Greatest find was Rosetta Stone in 1799 that helped to decipher the Egyptian language –Items are categorized (dated) into periods in history (ages) based on tools and weapons Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age –Current science allows for age testing based on Carbon Levels (discovered by William Libby in 1946)