history of geography unit one. 4 traditions of geography developed by william pattison a.earth...
TRANSCRIPT
History of Geography
Unit One
4 Traditions of Geography
Developed by William Pattison a. Earth Science Tradition – physical geography,
Earth’s featuresb. Locational Tradition – making mapsc. Cultural Environment Tradition – describing
people and how they lived. Area-Analysis Tradition
Why did people study geography?
• Evolved over the last 5,000 years of human civilization
• Practical reasons: trade routes to distant and dangerous lands
• Phoenicians – sea faring culture, colonized the Mediterranean, travelled into the Atlantic– Modern alphabet comes from Phoenicians
Greek geographers
• Eratosthenes (Ἐρατοσθένης) 276BC-195BC– Chief librarian at Alexandria, Egypt– Accurately calculated the circumference of the
Earth, invented the term “geography”• Ptolemy (Πτολεμαῖος) AD90-168– Guide to Geography– Used a global grid system similar to latitude and
longitude
Eratosthenes Map of the World
Ptolemy’s Map of the World
Age of Exploration
• Little advance in geography was made until 1400 - (European Dark Ages AD 500 – 1000)
• Explorations by Chinese, Muslims and Europeans expanded human knowledge of the world
Zheng He
• Chinese explorer/trader in early 1400s• Indian Ocean, east coast of Africa
China’s 1418 World Map?
European Explorers
• Bartholomeu Dias – Tip of Africa, entered Indian Ocean
• Da Gama – sailed all the way to India, opened trade routes for Portugal
• Christopher Columbus – discovered the Caribbean while trying to get to India
• Magellan – first voyage to circumnavigate the Earth
1507 Map of the World
16th Century Map of Americas
Is geography still important?
• The whole world has been mapped and discovered– Google Earth
• Geography now focuses on the five themes – discovering patterns, looking at changes in places and people