Geography of Asia PDF

GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA THE CONTINENT OF ASIA KARLO S. TOLENTINO, LPT, MAEd.  Asia Asia is the largest and most populous continent in the world Sharing borders with Europe and Africa to its West, Oceania to its South, and North America to its East It is believed that the name ma...

GEOGRAPHY OF ASIA THE CONTINENT OF ASIA KARLO S. TOLENTINO, LPT, MAEd.  Asia Asia is the largest and most populous continent in the world Sharing borders with Europe and Africa to its West, Oceania to its South, and North America to its East It is believed that the name may be derived from the Assyrian word asu, meaning “east.” The total area of Asia, including Asian Russia (with the Caucasian isthmus) but excluding the island of New Guinea, amounts to some 17,226,200 square miles (44,614,000 square km)  West Asia Countries within West Asia include Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen The Caucasus and Central Asia The Caucasus Central Asia is located includes Armenia, just north of Iran and Afghanistan and south of Azerbaijan, Russia, consisting of Georgia, and parts Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, of Russia Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. East Asia The countries of East Asia include China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia (as well as Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan)  South Asia South Asian countries include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka  Southeast Asia The countries of Southeast Asia include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (or Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor (or Timor-Leste), and Vietnam Theories on the origin of man ORIGINS AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION Creation Story/Theory  The Origins of Species by means of Natural Selection oCharles Darwin o1859 oContrary to the Creation Story oChain of evolution oFour (4) Stages of evolution of man oHominids oHomo Habilis oHomo Erectus oHomo Sapiens  Man’s Earliest Ancestors oAustralopithecines oAustralopithecus (Southern Ape) oAppeared more than 4 million years ago in Africa oProbably used tools made from the bones of animals fed on  Ramapithecus oLived for about 12 to million years oEurope, Asia and Africa Australopithecus Afarensis oAustralopithecine girl named “Lucy” olived between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. oIt retained the apelike face with a sloping forehead, a distinct ridge over the eyes, flat nose and a chinless lower jaw. o It had a brain capacity of about 450 cc. It was between 3'6" and 5' tall. oIt was fully bipedal and the thickness of its bones showed that it was quite strong.  Australopithecus Africanus owas quite similar to afarensis and lived between three and two million years ago oIt was also bipedal, but was slightly larger in body size o Its brain size was also slightly larger, ranging up to 500 cc. o The brain was not advanced enough for speech. oThe molars were a little larger than in afarensis and much larger than modern human. Australopithecus Robustus oBelieved to live for about 1.5 to 2 million years ago oHad a body similar to that of Africanus but has larger and more massive skull and teeth oIt’s huge face was flat and with no forehead oIt had large brow ridges and a sagittal crest oBrain size was up to 525cc with no indication of speech capability Australopithecus Boisei oNut-cracker man o hominid ate a rough and hard to chew diet oHe had huge molars and jaws and a large sagittal crest oMassive chewing muscles were anchored to this crest ono indication of speech functions  Hominids oEarly forms of man oAppeared in the period called the Pleistocene or Ice Age oHomo is the Latin word for “Man”  Homo Habilis oMeans “Handy Man” or “Tool User” oNamed by Dr. Louis Leakey oFound the fossils and bone fragments at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Africa oBelieved to have developed from the Australopithecines oWas only 1.22 meters (4 feet) tall oHands and fingers suggested that it was able to make simple stone tools for slicing meat and tearing plant food apart Homo Erectus oUpright man or erect man oAppeared about 1,600,000 million years ago in Africa oIt had low forehead and a large chinless jaw oMade and used a wider variety of stone tools oMastered the use of fire oHunted animals oUsed chapping tools and simple hand-axes Homo Erectus PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS OR JAVA MAN SINANTHROPUS PEKINENSIS OR PEKING MAN  Homo Sapiens oMeans “wise man” or “intelligent man” oFirst found in Swanscombe, England and in Stenheim, Germany 450,000 years ago oResembles to Homo Erectus but had a larger brain and smaller jaws and teeth oDeveloped round skull and long straight limbs Homo Sapiens – Neanderthalensis (Neanderthal Man) oFound in Neander Valley oBelieved to have live between 150,000 – 31,000 years ago oHad a longer skull, with a huge bulge called occipital bun oProduces more complex tools and weapons, engaged in hunting and used fire Homo Sapiens – Cro-Magnon Man oLived in Northern Africa, Western and Central Asia, and Europe oThey stood over 5 ½ feet tall oResembled to todays Scandinavians in build oThey made flake tools, fished and hunted birds and large mammals  Homo Sapiens Sapiens oModern Man o120,000 years ago up to present oHas a brain size of about 1,450 cc oWell proportioned face with fully developed chin oUsed advance tools such as harpoons made from antlers and stone tools for scraping Cultural Evolution  The Old Stone Age (400,000 BCE – 8,000 BCE) oKnown as Rough Stone Stage or Paleolithic Age (Greek roots meaning “old” and “stone” oDivided into three: Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic  Lower Paleolithic Age oAssociated with homo erectus oAcheulian – the most widespread tool- making tradition oWhich took its name from the French village of St. Acheul, where it was first identified oUsed for digging roots and other foods from the ground oAssociated with hunter’s prey – deer, horses, monkeys and birds  Middle Paleolithic Age oAssociated with the Neanderthals oTool making revolved around the so called Mousterian technology oTools for scrapers, sawing, gouging and piercing oE.g. Flake tools used by the Homo Neanderthalensis  Upper Paleolithic Age oAssociated and traditions of early Homo Sapiens Sapiens oEmphasized blade tools oLonger than flakes oMade modified to produce a variety of special-purposes oRequirements for cooperative hunting of woolly mammoths, rhinoceros, bison, wild boars, horses, bears, and reindeer  The New Stone Age (8,000 to 4,000 BCE oAlso known as polished stone age or “Neolithic Age” oStone tools made generally round or oval in shape oThe body, as well as the weapon blade showed signs of polishing oAxes and knives had a tongue-like shape oStarted to wear bark cloths oCultivate the soil and domesticated animals oWheat and barley were the earliest grain plants  Age of Metals oLate Neolithic age oMan entered a new stage of development using metals oArtisans in the Near East made use of metals oDivided into three period: The Copper Stage, The Bronze Stage and The Iron Stage  The Copper Age oFirst metal discovered by man oFair and easy to extract oThe Egyptians first used copper as early as 5,000 BCE oSoft copper was largely used for ornamental purposes. The Bronze Age oMixture of copper and tin oUse to made stronger and more durable tools, weapons and utensils such as swords, daggers, axes, knives, hammers, arrow heads and farm implements  The Iron Age oHittites of Asia Minor first learned to smelt a new metal from one oHarder and more durable than bronze oDiscovery improved method because of iron oBetter road and cities emerged during this period END K.S.T.