CHAPTER
3. THE EARTH AS
HUMANITY'S HOME
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
This
chapter introduces you to the physical and environmental aspects of the Earth,
both past and present, and the impact of human occupancy. It also focuses on the
development of humanity during one of the most fascinating geologic epochs, the
Holocene. During this epoch, humanity developed socially, politically, and
economically. In addition, the number of humans occupying Earth soared. There is
much to learn from this chapter, both to lay the foundation for the remainder of
the text and to broaden your knowledge of human and Earth history that led to
the world we live in today.
Environment
Despite
what you may think, the Earth's environment is not stable and environmental
change is humankind's constant companion. To understand the geography of
culture, it is necessary to under-stand the complexity of the environment within
which humanity lives. Many changes in the environment have occurred since early
hunter-gatherers began to exploit the Earth's resources and deal with their
environment. The survival of humanity may well depend on an understanding and
appreciation of environmental conditions.
Earth's environment frequently changes,
and warming and cooling of the planet are natural. Far more of the Earth's
surface is water than land, as a glance at any world map will reveal, and only a
small percentage of the total surface is suitable for human occupancy. Humanity
is quite old, but compared to the age of the Earth, we are recent occupiers. The
Earth is currently in the grip of a long series of glacial advances (cooling
periods) and retreats (warming periods); modern human civilization emerged
during a warm spell between glaciations.
Technological progress notwithstanding,
terrain and climate continue to influence the distribution and nature of human
life and activity. Compare, for example, text Figure 3-4 (Global Terrain), text
Figure 3-5 (World Climates), and text Figure 4-1 (World Population
Distribution). Ask yourself why people are where they are and why they are not
in other places. In essence, humans are "where they have always been,"
relative to terrain and climate. What has changed are the numbers.
Human
Development and Innovation
The
various stages in Earth history have been divided into periods of geologic time.
The most re-cent geologic time period, the Holocene epoch, refers to the most
recent 12,000 plus years of Earth's history. Because of the unique
cultural-geographical characteristics of this period of great environmental
variation, it is sometimes referred to as "Holocene humanity." Within
this short time humanity did what it had not done in previous interglaciations.
Perhaps the single most significant
event of the early Holocene was the domestication by humans of plants and
animals, which may have occurred nearly simultaneously in areas as far re-moved
as the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Agriculture developed and surpluses were
stored for future use. Villages grew larger, towns and cities emerged, and
political organization became increasingly complex; inventions multiplied, and
tools became more efficient. Certain communities thrived, sometimes at the
expense of others. The earliest states appear to have emerged about 5500 years
ago in the middle East and southeastern Turkey. The spiral leading toward
empires, colonial realms, and global power struggles had begun.
Human
Population
Humans
have always used resources (sometimes defined as anything that humans
value), but that use is dependent on, among other things, the number of humans
and the technology available to them. The human population growth spiral began
during the Holocene epoch. Numbers at the be-ginning of this epoch have been
estimated at between 4 and 8 million. Population growth during the Holocene
began slowly at first, then accelerated. Modern humanity is indeed the product
of the Holocene epoch.
During the Holocene the Earth changed as
never before, not because of geologic forces but because of humanity’s
humanity. That imprint has become stronger over time, especially over the last
200 years when human population growth and pressure on resources have reached
unprecedented levels. This began with the Industrial Revolution in Europe and
spread globally during the period of Europeanization and colonialization. During
the twentieth century, the Earth especially felt the strains created by the
human population. Raw materials were used up at an ever faster rate while the
air, water, and land became polluted or damaged. Together, these events have
rendered environmental change one of the key issues of the twenty-first century.
CHAPTER
QUIZ
MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS
1. When America’s first lunar astronauts first looked at the Earth, the dominant color they saw was:
a. blue
b. green
c. brown
d. gray
2. Approximately 70 percent of the land surface of the earth is:
a. plateaus
b. desert
c. tropical forest
d. ice caps
3.
A glacial period was in progress as recently as ? years
ago.
a.
6,000
b.
8,000
c. 10,000
d. 20,000
4. Human population growth began during which of the following geologic epochs.
a. Miocene
b. Holocene
c. Paleocene
d. Pleistocene
5. Cultural geographer Carl Sauer suggested that plant domestication may have begun more than 14,000 years ago in:
a. Mesopotamia
b. Mesoamerica
c. Southeastern Asia
d. eastern China
6. The development of sedentary and irrigated agriculture and the rise of villages and towns initially occurred in:
a. Southwest Asia
b. East Africa
c. South America
d. Southeast Asia
7. Ancient Babylon was located on the Euphrates River in present-day:
a. Iran
b. Turkey
c. Iraq
d. Greece
8. Which of the following human activities transforms more of the Earth's surface than any other.
a. manufacturing
b. urbanization
c. farming
d. transportation
9. Africa’s most populous country is:
a. Nigeria
b. Kenya
c. Egypt
d. Tanzania
10.
The continent which consists mainly of plateaus, and therefore supports
fewer people than
the single country of India, is:
a. Australia
b. Africa
c. South America
d. Asia
TRUE/FALSE
QUESTIONS
1.
Climatic fluctuations during ice ages have little effect on Earth’s
livable space. (TF)
2.
Today Earth is going through the end of an ice age caused by global
warming. (TF)
3.
The Holocene epoch has been humankind's time of the greatest cultural
development. (TF)
4.
The Paleolithic period is the latest stage of the Stone Age. (TF)
5. The world’s oldest continuous civilization may have started in China. (TF)
6.
Domestication of plants and animals kept people nomadic because animals
ate all the nearby grass and land was worn out from farming. (TF)
7.
The first cities arose in the Fertile Crescent. (TF)
8.
Caring for plants is the same as plant domestication. (TF)
9.
In general, mountainous regions do not support any
population clusters, and never have. (TF)
10.
Industries could be found in different parts of the world 6000 years ago.
(TF)
STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
Why do geographers consider Köppen's climate classifications so
important? Compare text Figure 3-5 (World Climates) with text Figure 20-1 (World
Agriculture Regions). What correlations can you find between climate and crops
grown? How can you tell from the climate map where people are most likely to
live?
2.
Why is the Holocene epoch different from previous epochs? List the
accomplishments of humankind during this period and contrast it to previous
periods. What do you think might happen when Earth goes into another ice age?
How might people survive?
3.
Explain what caused the changes in early settlement. How was the social
structure changed? Was this change uniform among the settlements?
4.
When you read about the Pleistocene epoch can you understand the
environmental problems our human ancestors faced? Can you understand why some
branches of the early human family tree died out?