https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-0414-1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-0414-1. The Romans also made several notable additions to geographical knowledge. Princeton: Princeton University Press; 1985. DMCA Policy and Compliant. The development of geography can be summarised in In this essay I will be looking at the development of geography as an academic discipline, and then I will be discussing the role that theory has had in the development of geography. The Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, in the second century, using an Aristotelian approach and mathematics, observed the Sun, Moon, and stars moving across the sky and deductively reasoned that Earth must be at the center of the universe with the celestial bodies circling Earth. An ecological niche modeling approach to assess biogeographic response of brachiopod species during the Richmondian (Late Ordovician) invasion in the Cincinnati Arch. Parallel to this trend towards specialization, there developed a tendency to use quantitative techniques of analysis. (Graves, 1975). The law of geminate species. In: Coleman W, Limoges C, editors. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UKEssays.com. In a sense, it was reintegrating the proper role of geography into evolutionary theory in general, and speciation in particular, that allowed them to make key predictions about the nature of species and speciation in the fossil record. Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta in their travelogues contributed greatly to geographic knowledge. The journey to better understanding Earth begins here with an exploration of how scientists learn about the natural world, along with understanding the science of geography. 2010;5(12):e15584. It is more than just a body of knowledge; science is a way of thinking that provides a means to evaluate and create new knowledge without bias. The Society is the largest Geographical Society in Europe and one of the largest in the world. WebGeography differs from the discipline of geology because geology focuses mainly on the physical Earth and the processes that formed and continue to shape it. For instance, in South America, there are two species of large flightless birds or Rheas. One of Ratzels students Ellen Semple studied under Ratzel and was heavily influenced by his ideas, publishing Influences of Geographic Environment in 1911. Geography is unique in that it is not artificial. Finally, scientists design and conduct experiments based on their hypotheses. S Afr J Sci. In fact, it is the ability to prove current ideas wrong that is a driving force in science and has driven many scientific careers. The earlier geographers were descriptive Human beings under In the future technology will continue to advance and thus continue to be included and promoted in school curriculums. Most of these studies used descriptive field methods to test research questions. Most of these voyages were financed because of the potential commercial returns In this publication, Marsh warned of the ecological consequences of the continued development of the American frontier. 1999;285:12657. This method can be simplified as the geographic inquiry process. 2009a;2:3554. discovery of a Babylonian clay tablet map that dates back to 600 BCE. It made laws that applied to large groups of people and individuals, and established broad generalisations. It is somewhat interesting then that although this pattern helped convince Darwin that evolution had happened, he later came to de-emphasize allopatric speciation, particularly in Darwin (1859). Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) 1985;81:22936. Part of In 1630 Bernhard Varen, a Dutchman, in his famous work Geographia Generalis wrote on the subject matter of geography and provided modern geography a definite direction. However, disappointingly the focus on fieldwork started to weaken as it is not promoted in educational institutions because of factors such as time to cover comprehensive curricula, financial constraints, legal issues and commitment by educators. Factors such as these had the effect that the inclusion of fieldwork declined in some schools; however, with the help of funding fieldwork is still a very important and prominent part of teaching geography whenever possible. Following the publication of Darwin (1859), for a long time, most scientists tended to de-emphasize the role of allopatric speciation, although some including Gulick (1872), Wagner (1873), and Jordan (1908) did continue to assert its significance, such that climatic and geologic factors were not typically viewed as the primary factors motivating speciation. Eldredge N. The allopatric model and phylogeny in Paleozoic invertebrates. Bruce S. Lieberman. Eldredge N, Gould SJ. Mammals as a key to evolutionary theory. From the time of his birth until his death man is always engaged in obtaining knowledge of his close surroundings as well as far off places. The last branch of geography examined distinct regions on the Earth using comparative cultural studies. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol. This field of knowledge is, of course, called history. WebGeography can be traced back to Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar who lived around 276-196 B.C and who is often called the father of geography. Paleobiology. Thus, the evolving practice of geography involved mapping the world, drawing outlines of what heretofore were terrae incognitae, and filling them in with details about their physical environments and the people inhabiting them. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1832. He wrote a book named Geographia. Geography could again stand as a strong scientific discipline in schools and universities. Abu Zafar Muhammad bin Musa has also written a book on geography based on the ideals of Ptolemy. such as Israel, humans have overcome the constraints set by the natural The Romans controlled people and resources in their Empire by building an infrastructure of roads, bridges, and aqueducts. As a result, an increasing number of researchers in geography are studying how humans modify the environment. Correspondence to Open Access New York: McGraw Hill; 1989. Vrba ES. understand the processes that were becoming more diversified and complicated. In 1521 Magellan and his companions sailed round the world and finally proved that the earth is round. Article activities such as nomadic pastoralism. happen in the future. Kant also divided geography into some sub-disciplines. Ptolemys publication Geographike hyphegesis or Guide to Geography compiled and summarize much of the Greek and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time. Rode AL, Lieberman BS. The earliest evidence of such explorations comes from the archaeological discovery of a Babylonian clay tablet map that dates back to 2300 BC. the most important change which has occurred is the realization that any progress in understanding phenomena studied by geographers involves the conscious use of scientific methods and the development of a body of theory to explain such phenomena. (Graves, 1975) With advanced technologies, wider geographical research will also be capable and new discoveries will be made. This stasis need not be obdurate, there could be subtle oscillations in morphology (Lieberman et al. Between the 9th and 14th centuries. Brooks DR, McLennan DA. more scientific compared to words. to explore places outside their homelands. During the eighteenth century, geography began to be taught in certain institutions of higher learning, though the substance of what was being taught varied immensely in quality. (Graves, 1975) This was followed by Harvard University abolishing geography as a subject in 1948. The natural features include mountains, plateaus, plains. development and enrichment of the subject. In his own words, The need for research in geography education: it would be nice to have some data. (Downs, 1994b:57). Book Also during the Renaissance, Martin Behaim created a spherical globe depicting the Earth in its true three-dimensional form in 1492. 2011;278(1706):6819. This work is still considered by Dedicated to your worth and value as a human being! J Biogeogr. This field of knowledge is commonly known as geography. The word has been in use in astronomy before Christian era, describing the round shape of the earth. The first few steps forward for geography were the opening of the first geographical institutions, such as the establishment of the first institution by Humboldt and Ritter in Germany in 1874, The National Geographic Society in 1888 and also the Royal Geographical Society, founded in 1830 in Britain. Instead, the focus will be on some of the key developments in evolutionary theory post-Darwin (1859), especially in the area of macroevolution, and further how these involved more thoroughly and properly integrating geography into evolution through analysis of patterns preserved in the fossil record (Lieberman 2008). Eratosthenes calculated the equatorial circumference to be 40,233 kilometers using simple geometric relationships. But the subject matter of geography has been made very extensive for the purpose of studies. For example, the study of the enhancement of the Earths greenhouse effect and the resulting global warming requires a multidisciplinary approach for complete understanding. If, by contrast, various groups of species that occur in the same region show different patterns of evolution across geographic space, it suggests that the individual ecological characteristics of species played the primary role in motivating diversification. The German 1908;42:7380. One of the important developments in this period here our team solve your academic problems daily. Barrett PH, Gautrey PJ, Herbert S, Kohn D, Smith S. Charles Darwin's notebooks, 18361844. Geography has a long history that dates back to ancient civilizations such as Greece, Rome, and China. On the one hand, the development of punctuated equilibria certainly did very much rely on correctly incorporating geography into evolution, but of course it did also rely on a more literal reading of the fossil record than Darwin promulgated. They also promoted geography in schools and universities, leading to the first university lecturer appointed in 1888. (The word Geography is appropriately described in Hindi as BHUGOL meaning round earth. c) emerged in the 20th Century with the development of geographic information systems (GIS). In 1919, Geography was the established as a Bachelor of Arts degree, and Cambridge University appointed its first professor in 1933, which was a great step forward for geography being such an influential place of learning. Despite being one of the oldest disciplines, in todays society, geography struggles to define itself as an academic subject. Combining the knowledge of both of these academic areas gives us a more comprehensive understanding of why this environmental problem occurs. geographers concerned with answering questions like what is where on the Being such an important and significant place of learning, this eradication had an adverse impact on the way geography was viewed. Chapter 11 Economic Geography: Industry, R. Adam Dastrup; David Dorrell;Joseph Henderson; Todd Lindley;; and Georgeta Connor, 13. Notably, phenomena akin to allopatric speciation were described before Darwin's voyage on the Beagle; for instance, by Leopold von Buch in 1825, based on his work in the Canary Islands. Physical geographys primary subdisciplines study the Earths atmosphere (meteorology and climatology), animal and plant life (biogeography), physical landscape (geomorphology), soils (pedology), and waters (hydrology). Greek culture was absorbed by the Romans. At its best, science uses objective evidence over subjective evidence to reach sound and logical conclusions. A scientific theory can never completely be proven correct; it is only after exhaustive attempts to falsify competing for ideas and variations that the theory is assumed to be true. Society started to wonder whether it sat as a science or a humanity subject. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4). Eldredge N. A question of individuality: Charles Darwin, George Gaylord Simpson and transitional fossils. Lieberman BS. He recognized the following six branches: Physical, mathematical, moral, political, commercial, and theological geography. 2005), but overall net stability prevailed. As such, usually it would be difficult to capture speciation in action in the fossil record. Copyright 2018-2023 BrainKart.com; All Rights Reserved. To do this, geographers go through a geographic methodology that is quite similar to the scientific method, but again with a geographic or spatial emphasis. school of thought such as Mackinder, Ellen Semple and Huntington believed that WebWhen we trace these modern-day species through evolutionary history, we see patterns of trait evolution that are driven by the continental shifts of the Late Cretaceous, similar to If a deductive conclusion is derived from sound principles, then the conclusion has a high degree of certainty. Some of the dominant themes in these studies include environmental degradation of the hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere; resource use issues; natural hazards; environmental impact assessment; and the effect of urbanization and land-use change on natural environments. Human geography is a social science that focuses on people, where they live, their ways of life, and their interactions in different places around the world. Sunderland: Sinauer; 2004. by the work of various individual philosophers who helped to expand the scope Both Humboldt and Ritter shared similar views. three phases namely (1) The age of discovery (1400-1800), (2) The period Henderson (1968) the adjectival geography: agriculture geography, urban geography, social geography, settlement geography and so on. These numerous modern geographies started to make it easier to for geography to be defined. New York: Penguin; 1839. Knowing where something is, how its location influences its characteristics, and how its location influences relationships with other phenomena are the foundation of geographic thinking. Scientists conduct scientific investigations by asking testable questions that can be systematically observed and careful evidenced collected. map making has become digital and easier especially due to advances in computer We will first attempt to understand the answers to some of these questions in this post. The epics, Ramayana and are full of geographic details. WebIt is a normative discipline of sociology seeking to study the structures, environmental processes, changes and problems of an urban area and by doing so provide inputs for urban planning and policy making. showed the importance of geographic factors in the composition of a state. London: E. Stanford; 1873 (translated from the 1868 German version published by Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig). Darwin C. On the origin of species. J Mammal. Lighter polygons show the ranges for the mosasaur Tylosaur. The list of new lands and landforms kept on increasing with these new discoveries. Paleobiology. Varenius also suggested that the discipline of geography could be subdivided into three distinct branches. Evolution, species and fossils: how does life evolve? New York: Columbia University Press; 1942. reprint edition. Geography is the study of the physical and cultural environments of the earth. The focus here is on outlining This is known as the heliocentric model, and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) was the first to offer a solid mathematical explanation for it around 1543. In the Medieval period Arabs made great advances in geography. Both of them were foremost and one of the first persons to write on geography. Parmenides (450 B.C.) It proved an inspiration to many geographers, who saw in Darwins idea of natural selection the possibility of a general theory of man-land relationships so man needed to adopt modes of living which were consonant with the environment in which he lived (Graves, 1975). In the later period of 19th century geography subject gained great popularity in schools. Together these two branches form the early beginning of what we collectively now call physical geography. This style of speciation is especially significant to evolutionary theory because if speciation is primarily allopatric, then the forces that produce geographic barriers play a big role in causing evolution. On the other hand, geography involves a much broader approach to examining the Earth, as it involves the study of humans as well. Proponents of environmental deterministic To describe earth, we use the word geography in English. In accordance with the rules of lexicon word meanings and their syntax have variants and may even change.). who laid the foundations and gave a solid form to geographic studies and on Regional geography is the study of world regions. most academics in the United States considered geography a marginal discipline (Jill Freund Thomas) In May 1993, Roger Down worked towards making research in geography education to be an integral part of work. The focus here is on outlining some of these major developments, specifically in the context of paleontology, by emphasizing the significance of geographic isolation and allopatric speciation, punctuated equilibria, and the Turnover Pulse Hypothesis to evolutionary theory.
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