EQ: How can we prepare for the Global
regents exam?
Aim: How does geography shape the
development of civilizations?
Do Now: What is geography? What’s an example of
geography influencing a civilization?
HW: Go to YouTube and search for Murry Bergtraum
High school Regents Review. You will see Mr. Male.
Watch his video for HW.
Today’s power point will be posted on
www.mrmegna.com Please follow along to the review
Map Types
• Physical Map: shows physical features such as
mountains, forest, rivers, deserts etc. May
show major countries and cities
• Political Map: Shows only countries, cities,
towns etc.
• Topographical Map: like a physical map but
has contour lines to show different elevations
MAPS
• Physical map: shows the physical features of
the earth: mountains, deserts, forests
• Political map: shows the boundaries of
countries, cities, and capitals
• Climate map: shows temperature and climate
for regions
Social Sciences
• Geographer: studies the earth and its features
Also studies how the earth impacts development.
(How we adapt to surroundings)
• Archaeologist: study ancient remains and artifacts
• Sociologist: study the origins of humans and how
they develop, what to produce
• Economist: focus on distribution and movement
of goods and services, scarcity of resources, and
focus on wealth of a nation or region
****Neolithic Revolution
• Led to the stopping of hunting and gathering as the
primary method of food gathering or survival
• Introduced settled farming
• Domesticated plants and animals
• Benefit: people could now produce food to feed a
bigger population
• (population will grow, cities will grow)
• Before this people were nomadic: wander around
looking for food and shelter
• This revolution allowed for the birth of cities and then
civilizations
Peninsulas
• Land masses that are surrounded by water on
THREE sides
• Examples:
– Spain
– Italy
– Korea
– Greece
peninsula
• Land where three sides are surrounded by
water
• Archipelago: chain of islands. Ex. Japan
• Island: surrounded by water on all sides
• Landlocked nation: surrounded by land on all
sides
Geography
• All early civilizations developed near RIVER
VALLEYS
• Examples of early civilizations: Egypt,
Mesopotamia (Fertile Crescent), China and
India
• Reasons they developed near rivers:
– Fertile soil
– Water supply supports irrigation for crops
– Allow people to produce their own food
– These areas had a climate that supported the
growth of civilizations
River Valleys
• Provided the basis for the development of the
earliest civilizations: Tigris-Euphrates, Nile
River, Yellow River, Indus River
• Flooding from the rivers provided the
civilizations fertile soil but also caused damage
• Irrigation systems and Dams are examples of
adaptations to the rivers
Bodies of Water
• Oceans and seas; can be barriers to invasion
and cultural diffusion
• Many civilizations overcame this and became
expert sea travelers
• This lead to increased trade, cultural diffusion,
invasions and were a source of food
Geography of Egypt
• Developed near the Nile River
• Constant floods allowed fertile soil to support
civilization
Geography of Mesopotamia
• Developed near the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
• Had fertile soil and good climate to support
civilization
Geography of India
• Developed near the Indus and Ganges Rivers
• Geographic features: Himalaya Mountains and
Hindu Kush mountains kept them isolated
Subsistence farming
• Where people produce enough food for them
to survive
Rainforest
• Area of forest with thick vegetation; hot and
wet climate; gets little sunlight so not much
grows on the floor
• Positives: abundant animal life, natural
resources, barrier to invasion
• Negatives: limits trade, cultural diffusion,
breeding ground for disease carrying insects
• Examples: Amazon
Geography of China
• Developed near the Huang He (Yellow) and
Yangtze Rivers
• China was isolated by mountains and deserts
• They developed and ethnocentric view of the
world
• Viewed other cultures as barbarians
• Influenced Korea and Japan
Geography of Greece
• Mountainous
• The mountains separated the cities and
allowed them to develop individual city-states
• Greece also has good harbors for fishing and
an irregular coastline
Geography of Japan
• Archipelago: a chain of islands
• It has good harbors and an irregular coastline
• The mountains forced Japan to live in only a
few places throughout the country
• Was influenced by China and Korea
Early Japan
• Japan: located on an archipelago (chain of
islands)
• Mostly mountainous (compared to Greece)
• Lived off of the sea for food
• Most influenced by China and Korea which
served as a cultural bridge between the
nations
Geographic Features of China
• Asia
• ***Like all early civilizations, China developed in
River Valleys (existed in China, Egypt,
Mesopotamia, Fertile Crescent also known as the
Middle East, and India)
• Two rivers: Yangtze and Huang He Rivers
• Gobi Desert
• Himalaya and Hindu Kush mountains
Early Civilizations
• Most early civilizations developed around
RIVER VALLEYS
• Ex. China, India, Mesopotamia, Egypt
• Deserts: Sahara Desert in Africa
• Used by the West African Trading Empires of
Ghana, Mali and Songhai (800-1650)
• The desert helped promote trade throughout
West and North Africa and spread into the
Middle East.
• It helped spread cultural diffusion by blending
traditional African beliefs and goods with
Islamic and European ideas and goods
• Mountains: Himalaya Mountains in India,
Hindu Kush Mountains
• They isolated the Indian civilizations and
allowed them to develop their own unique
culture
• Geographic feature hindered cultural diffusion
because they are surrounded by mountains
and many did not know of their existence for
centuries
• Rivers: any early civilization
• Examples: Mesopotamia and the Tigris and
Euphrates, Egypt and the Nile, India and the
Ganges and Indus and China with the Yangtze
and Huang He
• Rivers are a key element of the development
of early civilizations
• Helped spread diffusion by connecting people
through trade and travel
Terrace Farming
Quiz Time
• What do you know about Human & Physical
Geography
• Review Quiz: Why is this the correct answer
and why are the other choices wrong?
Essay Practice
Theme: Geography (How Humans Change Their Environment)
Throughout global history, human societies in various nations and regions have changed their physical
environments to meet their needs. Societies have built structures, removed vegetation and resources,
and modified the land to meet their needs. These changes have often had different results.
Task:
Select two different nations/regions and for each
• Explain why the society modified their environment
• Explain how the people of that specific nation/region modified their physical environment
• Discuss the effect this modification had on that nation/region
You may use any nation or region from your study of global history. Some suggestions you
might wish to consider include Middle East (modified the land), Africa (modified the land),
Japan (modified the land), Great Britain (removed resources), South Africa (removed
resources), Brazil (removed vegetation), China (built a structure), and East Germany (built
structures).
You are not limited to these suggestions.
Do not select the United States or a region of the United States as an example
Summary/ ConclusionAfter reviewing how geography has
impacted civilizations and doing your
final essay dealing with geography.
Your task is to write a paragraph on
what you could have added to your
essay from yesterday to have received
a higher score?
You only have a few minutes to do this
so be on task.