Ancient Origins & Basic Concepts of World Geography

THE ANCIENT ORIGINSTHE ANCIENT ORIGINS & BASIC CONCEPTS & BASIC CONCEPTS

OF OF WORLD GEOGRAPHYWORLD GEOGRAPHY

DR. DUKUZUMURENYIDR. DUKUZUMURENYI

II

WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY MEAN?WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY MEAN?

WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?

WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY MEAN?GEOGRAPHIA

1. GEO- THE GREEK WORD FOR EARTH.

2. GRAPHIA- THE GREEK WORD FOR GRAPH.GRAPH- A NETWORK OF LINES CONNECTING POINTS. A GRID SYSTEM.

WHAT IS A GRID SYSTEM?

A GRAPH WHICH ALLOWS THE LOCATION OF A POINT ON A MAP OR ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE TO BE DESCRIBED IN A WAY THAT IS MEANINGFUL AND UNIVERSALY UNDERSTOOD.

GRID SYSTEM

WHAT IS WORLD GEOGRAPHY?THE SCIENCE THAT STUDIES-

THE AREAL DIFFERENTIATION OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE. [AREAL DIFFERENTIATION- DIFFERENCES ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE.]

TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE

1. CHARACTER: VARIOUS APPEARANCES. DIFFERENT PLACES LOOK DIFFERENT.

SAHARA DESERT

AMAZON RAIN FOREST

TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE

2. ARRANGEMENT: PATTERN. DIFFERENT PLACES ARE ORGANIZED DIFFERENTLY.

MALI VILLAGENICARAGUAN VILLAGE

TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE

3. INTERRELATIONS: CONNECTIONS. DIFFERENT PLACES HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INTERACTION.

GHANA MARKET

FALLUJAH, IRAQ

ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY1. CLIMATE: WEATHER

CONDITIONS OF A REGION.2. ELEVATION: THE ALTITUDE

OR HEIGHT OF A PLACE.

MT. KILIMANJAROTORNADO

ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY

3. SOIL: DISINTEGRATED [BROKEN DOWN] ROCK AND HUMUS [ORGANIC MATERIAL-DEAD ANIMALS & PLANTS].

4. VEGETATION: PLANT LIFE.5. POPULATION: NUMBER OF

PEOPLE IN A PLACE.

ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY6. INTERNATIONAL

ORGANIZATIONS: PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF MEMBER NATIONS. EXAMPLES: UNITED NATIONS [UN]; AFRICAN UNION [AU]; ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES [OPEC].

ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY7. POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS:

NATIONS OF THE WORLD. EXAMPLE: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA; FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA; GREAT SOCIALIST PEOPLES LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA.

IIII

WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?

PREPARES YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIETY.

It allows you to obtain a range of learning experiences and skills which make you highly attractive to a wide range of future employers. The skills practiced in geography are used by many professionals: urban and regional planners, resource managers, attorneys, legislators, business and political leaders, architects, marketing consultants and engineers. It is an ideal stepping stone to a wide range of careers.

IT IS A BROAD DIVERSE SUBJECT THAT ENCOMPASSES A WIDE

ARRAY OF KNOWLEDGE. Geography is a broad flexible subject,

which may be classified as an art, science or social science. Geography, as a discipline, is as diverse as the problems facing our planet. From saving a forest to planning a downtown development project, geographers are there.

STUDYING GEOGRAPHY PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY.

Education is the most effective means that society possesses for confronting the challenges of the future. In order to address the environmental challenges society is currently faced with, people are needed who can think broadly and understand the systems, connections, and patterns of the physical and cultural world. We desperately need people equipped with the analytical skills necessary to rebuild neighborhoods, towns, and communities.

STUDYING GEOGRAPHY EXPANDS OUR KNOWLEDGE OF OUR PLANET. Studying Geography can take you to

distant lands and cultures. You can develop the skills that will help you recognize and make sense of the patterns, distributions, and interactions between living things and their environment. Geographers often study places by experiencing them first-hand. They use cutting edge technology to study the landscapes and patterns that define who we are and what we do.

IIIIIITHE ANCIENT ORIGINS OF THE ANCIENT ORIGINS OF

WORLD GEOGRAPHYWORLD GEOGRAPHY

ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE GREEKS WROTE THAT THE WORLD’S OLDEST RACE OF MEN DEVELOPED ALL OF THE SCIENCES, INCLUDING GEOGRAPHY. HERODOTUS

484 B.C. - 432 B.C.

ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE DEVELOPERS OF GEOGRAPHY WERE THE BLACK MEN AND WOMEN OF CLASSICAL KEMET [EGYPT] & TA-SETI [NUBIA: THE SUDAN]

ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE PRIESTS OF CLASSICAL KEMET USED GEOGRAPHY TO ALIGN THE GREAT PYRAMIDS WITH TRUE NORTH.

ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE PRIESTS OF KEMET SHOWED THE GREEKS HOW TO MEASURE THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE EARTH, USING LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE.

ANCIENT ORIGINSTHE GREEK LIBRARIAN

ERASTOSTHENES [275 BC - 193 BC] WAS THE FIRST GREEK TO LEARN OF THE AFRICAN METHOD FOR MEASURING THE EARTH’S CIRCUMFERENCE.

ANCIENT ORIGINS

EARTH CIRCUMFERENCE FORMULA

A/360 = D/CWHERE,

A = SHADOW ANGLE360 = DEGREES IN CIRCLED = DISTANCE FROM

EQUATOR.C = CIRCUMFERENCE

ANCIENT ORIGINSPIRI REIS MAP - MADE IN

CONSTANTINOPLE IN 1513 BY ADMIRAL PIRI IBN HAJI MEHMED.

SHOWS ANTARTICA FREE OF ICE. EUROPEANS DID KNOW ABOUT ANTARTICA UNTIL 1818 AND THE INTERIOR OF ANTARTICA UNTIL 1958.

ADMIRAL PIRI REIS MAPTHE MAP GIVES EXACT

INFORMATION ABOUT THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA, EASTERN COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA AND NORTHERN COAST OF ANTARTICA.

IT IS BASED ON MUCH OLDER MAPS.

ADMIRAL PIRI REIS MAP

IVBASIC CONCEPTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY

1.FIVE THEMES OF WORLD

GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION

RELATIVE LOCATIONABSOLUTE LOCATION

PLACE

HUMAN CHARACTERISTICSPHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS

HUMANS ADAPT TO THE ENVIORNMENT.

HUMANS MODIFY THE ENVIRONMENT.HUMANS DEPEND ON THE

ENVIRONMENT.

MOVEMENT

PEOPLEGOODSIDEAS

REGIONS

FORMAL REGION: ONE ESSENTIAL UNIFORMITY IN ONE OR A LIMITED NUMBER OF RELATED PHYSICAL OR CULTURAL FEATURES.

REGIONS[CONTINUED]

FUNCTIONAL REGIONS: A SPATIAL SYSTEM, WHOSE PARTS ARE INTERCONNECTED. HAS A CORE AREA SURROUNDED BY TOTAL SUBORDINATE AREAS.

VERNACULAR [PERCEPTUAL]

REGIONS[CONTINUED]

REALM: THE LARGEST LOGICAL REGIONS INTO WHICH GEOGRPAHERS DIVIDE THE WORLD. DEFINED IN TERMS OF A COMPOSITE OF ITS LEADING CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES.

GEOGRAPHY REALMS

NORTH AFRICASOUTHWEST ASIASUB-SAHARAN AFRICASOUTHEAST ASIAPACIFIC REALMNORTH AMERICA

GEOGRAPHY REALMS[CONTINUED]

CENTRAL AMERICASOUTH AMERICA EUROPERUSSIAEAST ASIASOUTH ASIAAUSTRAILIA

2.GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES

SPATIALWHERE THINGS ARE.THINGS EXIST IN SPACE. THINGS CREATE SPATIAL PATTERNS,

WHICH ARE PATTERNS IN THE SPACES INHABITED BY HUMANS, OR A SPATIAL SYSTEM.

ECOLOGY

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG LIFE FORMS AND PHYSICAL ELEMENTS.

HISTORICAL

WHEN AND WHY SOMETHING HAPPENED AT A PARTICULAR TIME.

ECONOMIC

HOW SOCIETIES PRODUCE AND EXCHANGE RESOURCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ITS PEOPLE.

CULTURAL

HOW A PARTICULAR ETHNIC GROUP/RACE VIEWS REALITY.

3.BRANCHES OF WORLD

GEOGRAPHY

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHYTHE STUDY OF THE EARTH’S

ENVIRONMENT: PROPERTIES OF LAND, WATER, AIR, PLANTS AND ANIMALS, THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND INTERRELATIONS.

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT. ANALYZES THE SPATIAL VARIATIONS OF MATERIAL TRAITS, SUCH AS HOUSE TYPES AND SPIRITUAL SYSTEMS.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHYPOLITICALLY ORGANIZED AREAS

[NATIONS OR STATES], THEIR RESOURCES AN EXTENT, AND THE REASONS FOR THE GEOGRAPHICAL FORMS WHICH THEY ASSUME.

HUMAN GEOGRAPHYAKA ANTHROPOGEOGRAPHY.

ANTHROPO: MAN [ANTHROPOLOGY: THE STUDY OF MAN]

DEALS WITH MAN IN HIS GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS, SUCH AS HIS LOCATION, REGION, ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION, MOVEMENT, SOCIETY.

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

USES THE FIVE THEMES TO STUDY THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PAST.

URBAN GEOGRAPHYSTUDY OF THE PROBLEMS

ASSOCIATED WITH CITIES, AND TOWNS AND THE GROWTH ASSOCIATED WITH URBANIZATION, WHICH IS THE GROWTH OF CITIES AS A RESULT OF RURAL MIGRATIONS TO CITIES.

CARTOGRAPHY

THE SCIENCE OF THE CONSTRUCTION (MAKING) OF MAPS USING MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS AND COMPUTERS.

4.RELATED FIELDS OF STUDY

GEOMETRYGEOMETRIA: LAND MEASURERDEALS WITH THE DEDUCTION OF THE

PROPERTIES, MEASURMENT AND RELATIONSHIP OF POINTS, LINES, ANGLES AND FIGURES IN SPACE FROM THEIR DEFINING CONDITIONALS BY MEANS OF CERTAIN ASSUMED PROPERTIES OF SPACE.

GEODESYGEODAISIA: EARTH DIVISION.DEALS WITH MEASUREMENT OF

THE SHAPE OF AN AREA AND DISTANCES BETWEEN LARGE TRACTS OF LAND, THE EXACT POSITION OF GEOGRAPHICAL POINTS, AND THE CURVATURE, SHAPE AND DIMENSION OF THE EARTH.

5.CONCEPTS

SCALETELLS THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THE SIZE OF AN AREA ON A MAP AND THE ACTUAL SIZE OF THE MAPPED AREA ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE.

SPATIAL INTERACTION

COLLABORATION BETWEEN PLACES OCCURING IN STRUCTURED AND COMPREHENSIBLE WAYS.

SPATIAL INTERACTION[CONTINUED]

AFFECTED BY:DISTANCE: LINEAR DISTANCE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCETIME DISTANCE.

SPATIAL INTERACTION[CONTINUED]

DISTANCE DECAY: DECREASE IN INTERACTION AS DISTANCE INCREASES.

SPATIAL INTERACTION[CONTINUED]

ACCESSIBILITY: HOW DIFFICULT OR EASY IS IT TO OVERCOME TIME OR SPACE SEPARATION.

SPATIAL INTERACTION[CONTINUED]

CONNECTIVITY: ALL THE TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE WAYS PLACES ARE CONNECTED.

SPATIAL DIFFUSION

THE PROCESS OF DISPERSION OF A THING OR IDEA.

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONSTHE BASIS OF REGIONS. THEY ARE

THE TERRITORIAL OCCURRENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL, HUMAN, OR ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES SELECTED FOR STUDY.