2. UNDERSTANDING OUR PAST
Austen Layard dug up statues in Iraq in 1845
that were from the Assyrian civilization---
statues that were 3,000 years old
Geography---the study of people, their
environments, and their available resources
Five important themes sum up the impact of
geography on the human story---location,
place, movement, region, and human-
environment interaction
3. LOCATION
Location tells us where a place is on the
Earth’s surface
Latitude---measures distances north or south
of the Equator
Longitude---measures distances east or west
of the Prime Meridian
5. PLACE
Geographers describe places in terms of
their physical features and human
characteristics
Physical features of a place can include:
landforms, bodies of water, climate, soil
quality, resources, and plant and animal life
Human characteristics include: where most
people live, economic activities, religious
beliefs, and languages
6. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
People interact with the environment
(Common Sense!!!)
Examples---using river water to irrigate
crops, cutting down trees for farmland,
canals and roads
7. MOVEMENT
In early times, people followed herds of
animals on which they depended on for food
In more recent times, people have migrated
from rural areas into cities in search of jobs
In both ancient times and today, traders carry
goods from one part of the Earth to the other
and people such as settlers carry ideas
8. REGION
Geographers divide the world into many
types of regions
Regions can be defined based on location
(the Middle East),or by political, economic, or
cultural features
9. PREHISTORY
Prehistory is the period of time before writing
(think about it logically---without writing
anything down there was no records of
anything humans did before they learned to
write)
Prehistoric people DID NOT HAVE: cities,
countries, governments, or complex
inventions
10. ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURE
Anthropology---the study of the origins and
development of people and their societies
Culture---the way of life of a society handed
down from generation to generation
