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Effects of geography on civilization
Geography's Impact on Contemporary Societies
The effect of geography on the growth of civilization
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Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a civilization is located will always play a crucial role in the success – or failure – of the society.
The first example of this is also the first example of what we recognize as a civilized community. These cities, including Ur, Eridu, and Uruk, were founded along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what is now known as the Middle East (specifically, the modern-day country of Iraq). The land on either side of these rivers was the only place where agriculture could survive in this harsh climate, thus making it the only feasible place where people could survive. In fact, cities themselves were founded when people bound together in the only places where they had any chance of survival. However, the open and flat land of this area also made it easy to maneuver armies and dictate conquest; as a result of this, these early cities were often engaged in conflict with themselves and the people around them. Much of their income and resources were directed towards the development of weapons and the training, h...
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... protection of the desert not been available to them, all the time spent on establishing their elaborate and complex society would have been spent scraping an existence from the land of the desert, and Egypt, as we know it, would not exist.
In conclusion, it is easy to how civilizations are shaped by the geography and environment of the land around them. For some, such as Egypt and Ur, it pervades all aspects of life, while for others it can merely act as an influence. The amount of time left for artistic, scientific, and religious specialization in a civilization is directly connected to the success or failure of agriculture in that area, as well as whether there is a need to develop a strong military. Since the dawn of mankind, all cities and civilizations must find a way to work with or around the geography of the land where they are located.
Blij has clearly put this book into historical significance by mentioning the idea of geography and how it plays a role in societies all over the world. However, the five themes of culture regions, cultural diffusion, cultural interaction, cultural ecology, and cultural landscapes are all clearly defined within a specific context to a particular nation. Through reading this intriguing piece of literature I received the underlying notion that Blij firmly believes that landscapes of the world realm are not going to change. De Blij worldview of regions, diffusion, interaction, ecology, and landscapes has allowed him to simultaneously link issues together from the United States all the way to Southeast Asia.
During its years of development, specifically around in 3500, the ancient land of Egypt was located close to multiple continents, these continents being Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was separated into different divisions, mainly geographical, there being four major physical geographic sections. The first was water-based, the Nile Valley and Delta, the second two were deserts, Eastern Desert and Western Desert, and the last was the Sinai Peninsula. The ancient Egyptians also considered their land to be separated in two more divisions: “red land” and “black land”. The desert surrounding Egypt was the “red land” section because it was barren. The area served as a means of protection, as it divided Egypt from enemies that wanted to attack and ...
The locations of both of these civilizations has guided them through survival and existence. Ancient Egypt was located near the Nile River, which produced a fertile area in the middle of a desert. The people relied on this sector for two effects, which were food and water and the environment
...hose a region where it would be easy to settle down, an area with plenty of food and water not to mention an easy life. Their choices not only had an effect on themselves but also had a long term affect on the region that they chose to settle in. An example is the North China Plain and how its economic opportunities broadened when more and more people moved to it. The people of ancient civilizations whether ancient China or ancient Greece chose to move from one place to another frequently to find a location that was most suitable for their settlement. How they chose the region was based on its economic and geographic factors which were determined by the experiences of others there. The ancient nomadic people wanted what was best for them and used push and pull factors to do this. They analyzed to area with various methods and in return got what was the best for them.
Around 3500 B.C.E to 3000 B.C.E., civilizations emerged in many places. Egypt and Mesoamerica are distinctive two of them. Considering the different aspects of civilization, historians can find some same characteristics and differences which are valuable for historians to understand civilization in-depth.
Geography has provided natural resources and boundaries for cultures continuously over many generations. The topography led civilization to have protection from other cultures and plentiful natural resources that they used for human survival or for an economic profit. With a good amount of resources available, cultures like India and China thrived in the creation and expansion of their civilizations. Geography helped India and China civilization develop their culture, spread their religion, and determine the rate at which each civilization’s ideas were transferred. The physical features that India and China lived on helped their cultures form and thrive into their current form.
The example of societal collapse in which I will be making reference to throughout this essay is the Maya civilization. The Maya civilization is, “probably the best known of all early American civilizations.” (Fagan, 1995) It was at its strongest point between AD 300 AND 900. Around AD 900 was the time of its collapse. This civilization was developed in a densely, tropical forest on either highlands or lowlands. Today to visit a Mayan site, people would go to the modern Mexican state, capital city of Merida. This site was once home to the “New World's most advanced Native American civilization before European arrival.” (Diamond, 2009) Over the years there has been many predictions on what had caused the Maya civilization to collapse. At the moment the most recent cause that geographers and scientists have come up with is that climate change may have had a major impact on this collapse. It is said that the rainfall received during the creation of the civilization was a key factor in the continuity of life for the Mayans. This and the addition of societal factors such as religious beliefs, ethnicity and education all had an affect on their way of life, an effect on their societal well-being. Art and architecture that was formed by the Mayans is the foundation for the archaeologists work today. They look at these features and the ruins of the buildings created to depict the kind of lifestyle they lived. Looking at the art and architecture of a specific civilization or community of the past is just one way that can help to inform future adaptations. Another way in which the Europeans received knowledge on the collapse was that they sent out geographers and researchers not long after the collapse to gather as much data and information ...
In Ancient Egypt they use the Nile River and the Sahara Desert in some many ways that benefited them. Ancient Egypt was divided into two land different land, the black land and red land. The black land was the fertile land that the Nile River made and the red land was the desert of Egypt. They use the Nile River for the fertile soil that was left after the river was not flooded, so that they could use that fertile soil for growing crops. They would also use the Nile River for fishing, washing their clothes, and sometimes they would trade with others for resources that they needed. The Sahara Desert was used for protection against other invading armies. The climate was always hot and very dry; this is what made it really hard for farming if you lived in the desert area.
The development of cities is essential in the development of a civilization. Egypt’s cities began close to the Nile River. The Nile ran directly through the land and was the main attraction to settlers. It flooded every year, and in doing so, it fertilized the ground and allowed the growth
...e people began to settle in villages the beginning of social class and government were formed to maintain order and a sense of security as a community. Other technological advances were made as well including the making of bronze to form stronger weapons and permanent homes.
All the way from the start of civilization through to the Early Christianity there has been a pantheon of; destruction, recognition, wars, cultural diffusion, religious breakthroughs, laws that have been established, kings and queens crowned and dethroned. The Mesopotamian Civilization it was the land between two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers that civilization first began.
Plato once quoted, “Necessity is the mother of invention”. During the Prehistoric era, early humans needed to survive in the environment around them, thus creating close-knit nomadic hunter-gathers. With the rise of the Agricultural Revolution, early humans adapted new ways of finding food creating food surpluses that started a population boom. From farming villages to major cities, it created civilizations that once rose and fell. These civilizations created a large impact that affects today.
Approximately 5500 years ago four of the worlds' most prestigious ancient river civilizations had emerged. Our world has been left in astonishment and awe wondering how these civilizations were developed. Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first ancient river civilizations to create cities and their own ways of living. Society, geography, and religion played an enormous role in the development of the ancient cities. Although there is evidence of early Sumerian contact with the Egyptians, Egypt's civilization was largely self-generated and its history and cultural patterns differed from Mesopotamia.
Cities are the central feature of a civilization. The first cities emerged shortly after farmers began cultivating fertile lands along river valleys and producing surplus foods. These surpluses allowed the population to expand. As population grew, some villages expanded into cities. These cities rose independently in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The contributions of the civilizations of Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent, classical China, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire laid the foundations for living in the modern world. Breakthroughs in a multitude of fields, including art, architecture, math, science, philosophy, law, government and others are crucial to the way people live all over the world. Although these ancient civilizations may seem primitive today, they shaped the progress of the world for many centuries.