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In historian Jared Diamond’s book and film Guns, Germs and Steel, he attempts to explain why some parts of the world are more economically sound than others. The facts Diamond delves into extend back thousands of years. Some civilizations had what Diamond referred to as “geographic luck”, meaning that some lands were situated in an environment better suited for agriculture and other resource gathering. Other civilizations were also unable to domesticate animals that would have made farming and living on the land easier. Domesticated animals provided milk, fur, meat, as well as the ability to feed off leftover crop beds and create dung to fertilize future crops.
In the period 400-14450 Afro-Eurasia was home to the rise and fall of numerous empires. These interactions between people of different empires helped to encourage urban development. The process of decline and reconstruction in empires led to change in urban development by creating learning and religious centers and also by creating centers of trade within reconstructed empires, the trading centers most affected urban development. Between 400-1450 CE the process of decline and reconstruction of empires led to changes in urban development by creating religious and learning centers within empires.
Tawantinsuyu, or The Inca empire’s geography drastically affected the culture of the Incas. It “...was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America”(Crystal Links), they lived in the Andes mountains and started as a small tribe. They began to form at around 1200 A.D. They began to be a big empire by conquering other tribes and gaining new members.
Geography clearly plays a distinct role in societal advancement. Developed nations tend to possess an array of desirable natural resources helping them to move away from a society dependent on hunting and gathering. However, regardless of geographical advantages, culture, ideology, and societal differences have impeded upon the modernization/westernization of some nations. Professor Diamond answers Yali’s question, but in an ethnocentric viewpoint disregarding whether or not a society would want to evolve beyond a traditional society as well as the human and cultural impact on different nations. Some nations have not modernized due to decisions influenced by culture and ideology.
Growing up, I have always had an interest in geography and thinking about different countries and what makes them the way that they are. I have not been in a geography class since middle school and Human Geography was a class that made me think about things I have never thought of before. The readings of both Kropotkin and Mackinder brought up very interesting points, some that conflict and others that agree. Each author writes in a way that stimulates and makes you think about geography and certain topics in different ways which I find to be very rare in writings from this time period. Discussing Kropotkin’s and Mackinder’s general ideas, points they disagree or agree on, and my own views on the topic will all be discussed in this final paper.
Time Traveler 10 The Hittite and the Arab Empire were two powerful empires that thrived for more than 500 years across the Middle East. The Hittite and Arab Empire used the geography to aid them for hundreds of years. These two empires have many differences than similarities such as geography, size, and government. These differences controlled the way each Empire was ruled and why they had success and why the failed. They also had similarities that had positive and negative impacts upon the empires.
Sparta and Athens were two stunning examples of ancient civilizations. Yet the question that many people have tried to determine is which Greek city-state developed a better model of civilization? Sparta was the best example of an ancient Greek civilization. Sparta’s long history of having a powerful army, and intimidating war tactics helped build it build a strong foundation to grow upon. Yet most people overlook Sparta’s other robust features that lead to it being superior to Athens.
Although first millennial empires differed greatly in geographic region and culture, patterns emerge that show a shift between empires in the first part of the millennium and in the second. An empire is characterized by a plethora of languages and religions under one government. An empire extends beyond bonds of kinship and blood. There is a need for a national identity. It controls beyond its original borders and extends to people of varying cultural backgrounds.
The geography affected the civilization of Ancient Greece Politically, economically, and culturally. The geography affect Greece culturally, by having a vast and complex trading system via sea routes. This affected the culture because many other countries and cultures passed through Greece to trade. They would trade items from their culture and travel to different countries to either settle, conquer, and trade. Doing this they found and exchanged items and knowledge.
Geography influences the relationships among places and people through time, which is evident through the geographic influences that have had an impact on the basic cultural characteristics in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In Mesopotamia, the geography that the Sumerians lived upon provided them with a culture that learned to feel unsafe and fearful of the world that surrounded them. A main reason that Sumerians believed that they were unsafe in the world was due to the heavy rainfall surging into the rivers in the north. According to Kidner, the heavy rainfall “also sometimes flooded the cities without any warning and Mesopotamians lived in constant fear of floods,” which caused the Sumerians to be afraid of the natural world that surrounded them. The Sumerians also feared raids and attacks from outsiders, giving the Sumerians a feeling of a life that was full of uncertainties.
In document B the season Akhet is told to be known as flood season was when the “Fields in the Nile floodplain covered in water and fertilized by a new batch of silt” and then came the Peret and then Shemu which was the season when crops were harvested and sent to the markets. This cycle of season normally went as planned problem free except for the rare occasion that the river over flooded causing the soil to drown and become infertile. This was a major setback for the economy and a very negative impact. Just like how the Nile impacted Ancient Egypt other River Valley Civilizations had very similar situations. One example is Mesopotamia and the Tigris-Euphrates River, just like Egypt this river runs through the middle of the civilization and causes the land to be very fertile.
It was on the banks of the Indus waterway that the most punctual development in India to utilize composing, fabricate substantial structures and sort out urban communities thrived for almost one thousand years. Another critical stream in old India was the Ganga. Settlements, urban areas and towns created on the banks of this capable stream from as right on time as ancient
Furthermore, Ancient Greece's geography can affect Ancient Greek civilization in positive and negative ways. The next time you see a geographic feature, think of what positive and negative effects it has on the land you are
The central focus of the assigned Source Two states that the development of the human society and the fact that some countries were more advanced and enriched than other countries, are caused from the historical advantages that only a little amount of countries had possessed. The key word here, “historical advantage” can be interpreted as the historical backgrounds of each country that had made some places possible to be more dominant than other regions. The assigned Source Two provides a brief understanding of why some countries were able to continuously and successfully be developed. Jared Diamond’s theory clearly argues that geography was the prime reason why some locations could not be as globally wealthy as others and why they weren’t
The bays and inlets of the jagged coastal regions of Greece, and the many small islands spanned together through this shielded sea, come together to make this and idyllic zone for trade. The Aegean civilization kick starts an immensely dynamic tradition of Mediterranean culture. This civilization launches in a large island, which is quaintly placed for guarding the entrance to the Aegean-Crete. The longest consistent civilization known to man is China. This civilization is unique among the rest of the world and greatly proud regarding their traditions, resisting any influence stemming from foreign lands.
