Evolution of Geography

• Geography is an ancient science that has evolved over time, initially focused on the universe and the planet Earth, but now includes the description and analysis of physical and human aspects.

Evolution of Geographic Sciences

• As a formal study, geography started in ancient times and remained descriptive until the Middle Ages.
• Ancient Greeks studied the planet's configuration, exploring the Mediterranean coasts and North Africa.
• Pythagoras proposed the Earth was a sphere, while Aristotle provided evidence by observing the curved shadow projected on the Moon and the changing position of stars by latitude.
• Eratosthenes accurately calculated the Earth's circumference.
• Greeks named imaginary lines related to latitude and longitude as parallels and meridians and created cartographic projections and Claudio Ptolemy created the first world map.
• Romans did not make significant changes to geographic science but gave it a practical sense through descriptions of the environment and inventories of physical and social conditions for conquered territories.
• In the Middle Ages, geographic knowledge advancements were limited, with Arab scholars like Al-Idrisi and Ibn Batuta describing the world.
• Vikings reached American coasts around the year 1000, explorers like Leif Ericson and Erik the Red.
• Marco Polo traveled to China, Japan, and India, promoting Far East trade and overseas journeys, during this era, geography remained mainly descriptive.
• During the Modern Age (15th-16th centuries), geography was revitalized as a tool for territorial and commercial expansion for European powers.
• Portulan maps were used to explore new territories, and the spherical shape of the Earth was confirmed, and continental profiles were mapped, maritime trade routes were established, and the exploration of the American continent began.
• Nicolaus Copernicus proposed that the Sun was the center of the universe and the Earth revolved around it, this was initially rejected by the Catholic Church but later accepted.
• Bernhard Varenius introduced the division between General Geography (Systematic) and Special Geography (Regional).
• Contemporary geographic science became explanatory, investigating causes, processes, and effects of geographic phenomena due to Alexander von Humboldt and Karl Ritter.
• Humboldt studied physical phenomena, classified them, and related them scientifically with human activities, while Ritter specialized in comparative regional studies, emphasizing social and historical phenomena and established relationships between the physical environment and human beings.
• Friedrich Ratzel proposed geographic determinism, which establishes a causal relationship between the physical environment and human activities.
• Paul Vidal de la Blache proposed possibilism, stating that the physical environment offers possibilities that humans can either use or waste, but does not strictly determine human activities.
• Population growth and economic activities reduce available territory, leading to the need for adequate planning and organization of geographic space.
• Geography is essential for organizing modern societies and geographers are needed by governments for urban/rural planning in housing, transportation, recreation, healthcare, etc.
• Geographic knowledge provides access to the world and its regions, maps and data enable understanding of geographic space, natural resources, and lifestyles of other societies.
• Geography helps understand opportunities and limitations of nature; geographic science informs about characteristics of soils and vegetation for settlements, roads, and crop zones.
• Geographic knowledge helps build a world with respect and tolerance among people, contributing to a harmonious relationship with nature.

Organization of Geography

• Contemporary geography studies the Earth and the relationships between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and especially the interaction between humans and the environment.
• The discipline is concerned with the spatial distribution of phenomena and their changes, and cartography is a central tool, along with automated cartography, remote sensors, and geographic information systems.
• To achieve its goals, geography specializes and subdivides its field into two branches:
  • General/Systematic Geography: Studies the geographic location and distribution of natural, cultural, economic, or political phenomena on the Earth's surface.
  • Regional Geography: Examines a particular region, identifying characteristics, similarities, and differences with other geographic areas.
• General geography studies the physical and human aspects of the Earth, while regional geography studies natural and human regions.
• General Geography divides into Biogeography (vegetation and fauna), Soil Geography, Climatology, Geomorphology, and Hydrology.
• Human Geography has Economic, Urban and Rural, Historical, and Political Geography.
• Divisions of Regional Geography divide by continents, river basins, ecosystems, and specific regions.

Auxiliary Sciences of Geography

• General Geography relies on auxiliary sciences like Cartography, Geodesy, Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Hydrology, Meteorology, Seismology, and Volcanology.
• Human Geography uses sciences like Anthropology, Ethnography, Demography, Economics, History, and Sociology.