Historical Development of Geography

Geography - The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on
the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.

Ancient Greek Contributions

Greek philosophers believe in a division of world into five region. At each of

the poles was an uncharitably cold region. While extrapolating from the heat
of Sahara it was deduced that the area around the equator was unbearably
hot. Between these extreme regions both the northern and southern
hemisphere had a temperature belt suitable for human habitation.
Eratosthenes (276-194BC) First time use the word of Geography by
Eratosthenes Its described the known world and correctly divided Earth into 5
climatic regions (a torrid zone across the middle, two frigid zones at the
extreme north and south, and two temperate bands in between).
Hipparchus insists that a geographic map must be based only on
astronomical measurements of latitudes and longitudes and triangulation for
finding unknown distances. He was the first to use the grade grid to determine
geographic latitude from star observations.
Thales of Miletus (624-546 BC) proposed that the world was based on water.
He also laid down many mathematical rules that would allow geography to be
studied scientifically. He applied principles of geometry to measuring land
area
Anaximander, argued that the world was shaped like a cylinder. He learnt
about the world by gathering previous work and speaking to the sailor and
made a world map based on information from sailors.
Herodotus’ histories, his book that contains a wealth of geography description
covering much of the known world. He is the first to have noted the process
by which large rivers, such as the Nile, build up deltas, and also the first
recorded as observing that winds tend to blow from colder region to warmer
ones.
Pythagoras He was perhaps the first to propose a spherical world arguing that
the sphere was the most perfect form.
Aristotle(384-322BC) He embraced the idea of Pythagoras. Aristotle
presented empirical evidence to verify this. He noted that earth shadow during
an eclipse is curved and also that stars increase in height as one moves
north.

Roman Contributions
 Strabo (63BC-24AD), described the known world in his 17 volume work,
Geography. He regarded Earth as a sphere at the center of a spherical
universe.
Ptolemy (100-170 AD). wrote an 8 volume Guide to Geography based on
information gathered by Roman merchants and soldiers. He prepared
numerous maps, which were not improved upon for more than thousand
years.

Middle Ages

Muslim Geographers such as Al-Idrisi, Al Yaqubi, AlMasudi, Ibn Al-Faqih, Al-

Istakhri, Ibn Battuta, Ibn Khaldun etc maintained the Greek and Roman
techniques and developed new ones. The Islamic empire stretched from
Spain to Indian, and Arab and Jewish traders travelled throughout Eurasia,
Africa. And Indian Ocean.
An early supporter of environmental determinism was the Afro-Arab writer Al-
Jahiz who explained how the environment can determine the physical
characteristics of the inhabitants of a certain community. He used his early
theory of evolution to explaine the organ of different human skin colors,
particularly black skin which he believed to be result of the environment.
Abu Rayhan al-buruni in mathematical geography He combines mathematical
equations in order to develop methods of pin pointing location by recording
degree of latitude and longitude. He introduced techniques to measure the
earth and distances on it using triangulation. He found the radius of the earth
to 6339.6 km. A value not obtained in the west until 16th century

Geography Grows as a Science

German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) placed geography within a

framework of scientific knowledge. He argued that all knowledge can be
classified logically or physically. (Logical classification organizes
plants/animals into a systematic framework of species, based on
characteristics, regardless of when or where they existed. Physical
classification identifies plants/animals that occur together in particular times
and places.)

Two Opposing Views

1. Environmental Determinism
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and Carl Ritter (1779-1859) (German
geographers) The theory that the human’s physical, mental and moral habits
are directly due to the influence of their natural environment. They
concentrated on how the physical environment caused social development,
an approach called environmental determinism.
 Freidrich Ratzel (1844-1904) and his American student, Ellen Churchill (1863-
1932) claimed that geography was the study of influences of the natural
environment on people. Ellsworth Huntington (1876-1947) argued that climate
was the major determinant of civilization (temperate climate of northwestern
Europe produced greater human efficiency and better health conditions).
Characteristics of Environmental Determinism
 Environment control human action and activities
 Human are badly depended on natural environment
 Human live due to environmental force
 Human were naturalized
 Human attitude, decision making influence by environment

2. Possibilism

The geographic approach that emphasizes human environment relationships

is now known as cultural ecology. To explain the relationship between human
activities and the physical environment, modern geographers reject
environmental determinism in favor of possibilism (the physical environment
may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their
environment)
Characteristics of Possibilism
 Human were free to choose and decide their activities
 Nature does not control human being
 Nature provided opportunities and possibilities to human

Another School of Geographic Thought

By the 18th century geography had become recognized as a discrete

discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum in Europe and
Paris and Berlin. The royal geographical society was founded in England in
1830. The first real geographical intellect to emerge in United Kingdom
geography was Helford John appointed reader at Oxford University in 1887
The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA in 1888.

The modern period of geography began toward the end of the 18th cent. with
the works of Alexander von Humboldt and Karl Ritter. Thenceforth two
principal methods of approach to geography can be distinguished: the
systematic, following Humboldt, and the regional, following Ritter. Of the
national schools of geography that developed, the German and the French
schools were the most influential. The German school, which dealt mainly with
physical geography, developed a scientific and analytical style of writing. The
French school became known for its descriptive regional monographs
presented in a lucid and flowing manner; human and historical geography
were its forte. Although emphasis has shifted several times between the
approaches and viewpoints, their interdependence is recognized by all
geographers.

Regional studies, developed in France during the 19th century. Also called the
cultural landscape approach, it was initiated by Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-
1918) and Jean Brunhes (1869-1930). It was later adopted by American
geographers, including Carl Sauer (1889-1975) and Robert Platt (1880-1950).
They rejected the idea that physical factors simply determine human actions.
They argued that each place has its own distinctive landscape that results
from a unique combination of social relationships and physical processes.
Everything in the landscape is interrelated.

Since the end of World War II, geography, like other disciplines, has
experienced the explosion of knowledge brought on by the new tools of
modern technology for the acquisition and manipulation of data; these include
aerial photography, remote sensors (including infrared and satellite
photography), and the computer (for quantitative analysis and mapping). The
quantitative method of geographical research has gained much ground since
the 1950s, Edward Ullman and William Garrison of the United States and
Peter Haggett of Great Britain being leading exponents.

Important contributions to the advancement of geography and to the

development of geographic concepts have been made by Ferdinand von
Richthofen, Albrecht Penck, Friedrich Ratzel, Alfred Hettner, Karl Haushofer,
and Walter Christaller in Germany; Paul Vidal de la Blache, Jean Brunhes,
Conrad Malte-Brun, Elise Reclus, and Emmanuel de Martonne in France; and
William Morris Davis, Isaiah Bowman, Ellen Churchill Semple, Carl O. Sauer,
Albert Brigham, and Richard Hartshorne in the United States. Today
geography is studied by governmental agencies and in many of the world's
universities. Research is stimulated by such noted geographic institutions as
the Royal Geographical Society (1830, Great Britain), the American
Geographical Society (1852, United States), and the Socit de Geographie
(1821, France).

In writing geography constructed historically relationship with people.

Scientists from all the periods in the development of the geography and made
strong beneficial relation with the people. Now geography is further divided in
branched major are human geography and physical geography as well as sub
other branches. All time its valuable but now a day’s geography becomes
important and valuable subject which have much influence in development of
man GPS system is one the example of this
Geography: Methods and Branches

Geography is a synoptic science that uses the same elements as the other
sciences but in a different context. It integrates data spatially, making
elaborate use of maps as its special tool. Geography may be studied by way
of several interrelated approaches, i.e., systematically, regionally,
descriptively, and analytically.
 The systematic approach organizes geographical knowledge into
individual categories that are studied on a worldwide basis;
 The regional approach integrates the results of the systematic method
and studies the interrelationships of the different categories while
focusing on a particular area of the earth;
 The descriptive approach depicts where geographical features and
populations are located; and,
 The analytical approach seeks to find out why those features are located
where they are.

In the study of geography two main branches may be distinguished, physical

geography and human (or cultural) geography, originally anthropogeography.

The first, based on the physical sciences, studies the world's surface, the
distribution, delineation, and nature of its land and water areas. Climate,
landforms (geomorphology), and soil are examined as to origin and are
classified as to distribution. Drawing on the biological sciences, fauna and
flora (biogeography) are brought into an areal pattern. Through the
mathematical sciences the motion of the earth and its relationship to the sun
(seasons), the moon (tides), and the planets are studied, as well as
mapmaking and navigation.

Human geography places humans in their physical setting; it studies their

relationship with that environment as well as their conscious activities and
continuous progress in adapting themselves to it (and to other humans) and in
transforming their environment to their needs. Human geography may in turn
be subdivided into a number of fields, such as economic geography, political
geography (with its 20th-century offshoot, geopolitics), social geography
(including urban geography, another 20th-century ramification), environmental
perception and management, geographical cartography, geographic
information systems, and military geography. Historical geography (which
reconstructs geographies of the past and attempts to trace the evolution of
 physical and cultural features) and urban and regional planning are
sometimes considered branches of geography.

Questions Geographers Seek to Answer

1. Where?

The first question geographers ask is where. Rubenstein defines location as "the
position that something occupies on Earth's surface". We can answer where
questions in four ways by describing the following features of a location:
• place-name, also known as a toponym
• situation
• site
• mathematical location

If we can answer where for one place, we can answer where for several places.
Once we answer the where questions for one or more locations, we can then
approach the very interesting why questions.

2. Why?

To understand why things are located where they are and distributed as they are,
geographers generally apply two sets of organizational tools, or methods of
analysis: regional analysis and spatial analysis. These tools allow geographers to
analyze spatial events in terms oftheir locations and relationships. Each method of
analysis has its own terminology and concepts.

Regional Analysis

Regional analysis, or what Rubenstein calls regional studies, identifies the

unique geographic characteristics of a place or area. Rubenstein identifies three
types of regions:

• formal
• functional
• vernacular
 A formal region has a defined boundary, within which everything shares
some trait. For example, the state of Indiana is a formal region, and within it
everyone must follow the state's traffic laws. A functional region has a center, and
within Indiana you can see many of these. For example, listeners of Indiana
University radio station WFIU get good reception near Bloomington, but the farther
away from Bloomington they travel, the worse the signal gets, until eventually
listeners can no longer pick up the station. A vernacular region, or a perceptual
region, is a bit trickier to define. Some people believe that southern Indiana is part of
the South, a vernacular region ofthe United States. Most ofus agree that there is a 9
Lesson 1 Geography G11 0 region called the South, but we all probably have
different perceptions of where its boundaries are. Some would say the line dividing
the South from the North runs through Bloomington, Indiana. Others would say it
starts at the Ohio River where Indiana and Kentucky meet, with Kentucky as part
ofthe South. Still others would claim the dividing line for the South is the northern
border of Tennessee. None ofthese views are wrong; each person bases his or her
understanding of vernacular regions on an individual mental map. Each ofus has a
different reason for choosing a particular boundary according to different criteria--
e.g., climate, dialect, religion, or even food or musical preferences.

Spatial Analysis

Spatial analysis focuses on the interactions between two or more areas,

including the diffusion, or spread, of people and their characteristics from one place
to another over time. Rubenstein defines distribution as "the arrangement of a
feature in space". Throughout the course, we will explore the spatial distribution of
languages, religions, industries, agriculture, and other phenomena. They include the
following:
• density
• concentration
• pattern
• relocation diffusion
• expansion diffusion
• hearth
Name: _____________________________________ Score: _________________
Course: ____________________________________ Date: __________________

GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

Directions: Answer the following questions as completely as the readings allow. I

encourage you, when possible, to draw on outside sources or personal knowledge.

1. Geographers are required to know certain vocabulary relevant to the discipline.

Using examples, briefly define the terms listed below.

a. location
b. scale
c. projection
d. GIS
e. map
f. toponym
g. site
h. situation

2. Regional analysis and spatial analysis are two approaches geographers use to
answer why questions. Each approach has its own terminology (see the bulleted lists
for each approach on pages 4 and 5 of this learning guide). Describe a situation you
are familiar with using these terms. Make sure to use the terms appropriately. Use all
of the terms in your examples.
References

Castree, N., Kitchin, R., & Rogers, A. (2013). "Human geography." In A Dictionary of
Human Geography. : Oxford University Press. Retrieved 14 Mar. 2017
Geography retrieved from https://online.seterra.com/en/p/history-of-geography
InfoPlease. (2012). Retrieved from www.infoplease.com:
https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/earth/geography/general/geography
/bibliography

Jones, A. (2012). Human geography. The basic. Routledge. Taylor and Francis
Group. London and New York
Timms, B. F. (2004). Introduction to human geography. Indiana University, School of
Continuing Studies, Independent Study Program
slideshare. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.slideshare.net:
https://www.slideshare.net/aroj/historical-development-of-geography

Prepared by:

RANDY F. SORIANO, PhD

Instructor I