Module 1 GEOGRAPHY 1

(HUMAN GEOGRAPHY)
 Chapter 1 Geography Concept and Culture of the World

Intended Learning Outcomes: At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:
1. Discuss the history of Human Geography
2. Define the basic geographic concepts used.
3. Apply the methods of geographic analysis

1.1 Geography Definition

What is Geography?

Geography (came from Greek word, geographia meaning, “earth description”).

Is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and
phenomena of the Earth and planets. The first person to use
the word geographia was Erastosthenes. Geography is an all
encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth
and its human and natural complexities- not merely where
objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be.

Geography is often defined in terms of two branches: Human

Geography and Physical Geography.
What is Human Geography?
Human Geography or Anthropogeography is the branch of geography that
deals with humans and their communities, cultures, economies, and
interactions with the environment by studying their relations with and across locations.
It analyzes patterns of human social interaction, their interactions with the
environment, and their spatial interdependencies by application of qualitative and
quantitative research methods.

1.2 The Emergence of Man

The Origin of Man (Biblical Approach)

According to the story of creation, God created the first man and woman
through his own image and
likeness. They were placed in the garden
of Eden and they were filled with
prosperity and abundance. Until the
time that they disobey the command of
God and they were sent out from the
garden. Starting that time, they worked,
tilled the land and plant crops to
survived. They had children and became
farmers and herders. They hunt, gather
foods, and engaged in farming to sustain their daily living. These humans became the
descendants of the modern-day people.
(Read Genesis Chapter 2, 3 and 4)

Evolution of Man (Scientific Approach)

The first people or human beings appeared on Earth some 200, 000 years ago
on the plains of Sub-Saharan Africa. All modern humans belong to the species known as
Homo Sapiens that evolved from earlier species of hominids.
The term "people" can also be extended to
all forms of humans, including earlier
hominids from which modern humans
derive. In this case, the first people are
Homo habilis, who evolved in Africa over
2.4 million years ago. Homo Habilis, their
immediate successors Homo erectus and
modern Homo sapiens, were all originally
hunter-gatherers, using simple stone,
wood, and bone tools to organize themselves in small tribal families.
(Read the evolution of Man by Charles Darwin)

1.3 Stages of Human Development

The Old Stone Age (Paleolithic Era)

During this time humans used stone to maake tools and stone was used many
times as part of the actual tool. Tools are objects that make our lives easier.
Paleolithic is a word that comes from the two Greek words palaios, meaning old and lithos
meaning stone.
The first stone tools were used to meet people’s
basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. These
were difficult times; there were no stores to buy
food and people had to cooperate in small groups
to make clothing and shelter. To hunt for food,
early humans formed spears, first by sharpening
the ends of sticks, but later by attaching a sharp
stone spear-tip to wood using animal sinew. A tool
made up of more than one material is called a
composite tool.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 3 of 8
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 Flaking was one of the first uses of technology.
Technologies are tools and skills that make our lives
easier. Flaking is an example of a Stone Age
technology skill. Flaking involves using a hammer
stone to form sharp edges on an object stone by
striking it on its sides. By flaking, early humans could
sharpen spear and arrow tips to hunt prey.
The earth’s climate during this time was very
different compare today. The world was much colder place to live on than our modern
world. Wild herds of animals roamed the land in search of food, which was scarce at that
time. For stone age people to survive, they had to move with these herds of animals.
Old stone age people were always on the move. A
person who moves from place to place is called a
nomad. Because of their nomadic lifestyle, Old Stone
Age people built temporary homes, rather than
permanent homes. People travelled in small groups;
we think these groups could have been extended
family groups. Old Stone Age people had two ways of
obtaining food, by hunting and gathering. Gathering
is finding wild berries and other plants to eat. We
sometimes call these people hunter-gatherers.
There were not many humans at this time, and they were spread out, rather than living
close together. Experts think there were no more than one million humans living during
any time of the Paleolithic Era. That might sound like a lot of people, but today there are
about seven billion people, 7,000 times more people than in Paleolithic Era.
Archaeological evidence points to humans beginning in the continent of Africa, and later
migrating to other continents.
The New Stone Age (Neolithic Era)

Like the Old Stone Age, the people of the New Stone Age used stone for tools. Neo is a
root we use in the English language, it comes from the Greek word neos, which means
new or recent. So, Neolithic means "New Stone."
If people were still using mostly stone for tools, why do we bother separating these two
eras? The New Stone Age was a time when the Earth's climate was warmer than the
climate in the Old Stone Age. No one knows for sure why the Earth warmed; around
12,000 years ago, the Earth ended its last great ice age.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 4 of 8
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 As the Earth warmed, the population of
people and animals
increased. A temperate climate meant
that animals and people could stay in
one place. Some people decided to give
up their nomadic lifestyle and settle
down. Homes became permanent.
People learned to grow their own crops,
rather than search for wild berries and
grains. The raising of crops and animals is
called agriculture.
The people of the New Stone Age also learned
how to train animals to be useful to humans.
The training of crops and animals is called
domestication. No one is sure which animal was
the first to be domesticated by humans. At one
time, all animals were wild. Experts think that
the dog could have been the first domesticated
animal.
Rather than the small family groups of the Old
Stone Age, we have evidence that the people of the New Stone Age settled in large city
complexes. Catal Hoyuk, Turkish for “fork mound,” in the modern country of Turkey is an
outstanding example of a Neolithic City. In Neolithic Cities, people living close together
had to cooperate; they most likely created rules to live by to get along with each other.
This led to civilization, which means “to live in a city”.
Farmers in Neolithic times produced
a surplus of food that they could
share with other people in their
community. This surplus of food
meant that not everyone had to farm.
People in the New Stone Age began
to specialize in skills other than
farming. Specialization means doing
one thing well. Some made tools and
homes, while others created jewelry
and artwork. Catal Hoyuk is a
Neolithic City rich with evidence of artwork. Archaeologist have found artifacts like
figurines and jewelry. There are also frescoes on the walls of the homes of Catal Hoyuk.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 5 of 8
Chapter 1

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 We have evidence of trade between
Neolithic Cities. While excavating in
Jericho, one of the world’s oldest cities,
archaeologists found obsidian knives and
blades that originally came from Catal
Hoyuk. Obsidian is volcanic glass that was
abundant near Catal Hoyuk. Obsidian
products made up a big part of their
economy. There is no available obsidian
any where near Jericho, located in modern
day Israel. Could people of Jericho have traded their abundant salt from the nearby Dead
Sea to the people of Catal Hoyuk in exchange of obsidian objects?
Toward the end of the Neolithic Era, people began to use tools made from metal. Copper
was the first metal used for tools. Eventually copper replaced stone, leading to the Copper
Age. We will talk in class about an amazing early Copper Age discovery in the mountains
near the Italian and Austrian border

Age of Metal

The Metal Age is the period of prehistory after the Stone Age which is composed of the
Copper Age, the Bronze Age, and Iron Age. It originates in the years 4,000 B.C., and ends
in the years 405 B.C., in the continents of Europe, Africa and Asia. This time of humanity
is marked by the birth of metallurgy and the manufacture of metal tools for agriculture
and livestock and for the construction of combat weapons.
The Metal Age can be divided into three major parts, such as the Copper Age, the Bronze
Age, and the Iron Age. But it is important to say that this stage begins with the
development of metallurgy in different continents as Europe, Africa and Asia.
The Metal Age is divided into three moments and these are its characteristics:

Copper or Chalcolithic Age

• It develops between 6,500 and 2,500 B.C.

• Gold, silver and copper were the most used metals in prehistoric times.
• Metallurgy develops.
• Agriculture and cattle breeding are developed.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 6 of 8
Chapter 1

USMKCC-COL-F-050
 By about 4, 200 B.C., people began to pick
up small nodules of copper and used them
to make green or blue paints or to fashion
ornaments by hammering flat into various
shapes. Repeated heating and hammering
resulted in annealing, which made the
metal harder but also brittle. In this way,
they made simple flat axes and daggers.
They also learned to melt pure copper over a fire and poured it into simple molds. Later
they learned how to “smelt” the copper from ore, by melting it at 1200 degree Celsius
and combining it with charcoal to precipitate out the pure copper.
Copper was still a scarce commodity, so stone continued to be the primary material for
many tools until the Bronze age.

Bronze Age

• It takes place between 2,500 and 1,500 B.C.

• More complex societies are created than in Neolithic populations.
• Bronze was found in India, Iran, Armenia, Egypt, and Sumerian.
• The Aegean Sea is an exclusive space for bronze trade

Bronze is an alloy made primarily of copper with

about 10 percent tin and small amounts of other
elements. In the late Copper Age, around 4, 500
years ago, metalsmiths in China and the Middle
East learned how to purify tin from ore and then
combine it with copper. The resulting alloy was
much stronger and tougher than copper, making
it useful for many applications and replacing
copper and stone implements in many locations.
Bronze of different types was developed around
the world, and used in ploughs, swords, axes,
spearheads, armor, helmets, and shields, as well
as artistic decorations and scientific implements.
Iron Age

• It develops from 1,500 B.C.

• This metal is used to make weapons and tools.
• The Hittites were the first to use iron in 1,300 BC.
• Being harder than bronze, new metallurgical techniques had to be developed to
work it.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 7 of 8
Chapter 1

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After the Bronze Age, the Iron Age began
about three thousand years ago between
1200 B.C. and 1000 B.C. As people became
more adept at mining and metalworking,
they learned to make useful objects from
the iron found in meteorites dropped from
space.
Later, they learned to smelt iron ores, which
are quite common, creating superior
weapons and agricultural implements.
Iron is stronger and more plentiful than
copper and tin and became much cheaper than bronze so that regular farmers could
afford iron ploughs. The result was an agricultural explosion that altered the pattern of
societies.
Iron remained the primary metal of industry for more than two thousand years until the
discovery of steel.

This course studies the world, its people, communities and cultures with an emphasis
on relations of and across space and place. It analyzes the geopolitics and its
principles, cultures of the world and its relation to the environment. It focuses on how
culture is shaped by environment and vice versa. Page 8 of 8
Chapter 1

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