GGR111H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Asteroid Family, Geography And Cartography In Medieval Islam, Human Geography
Document Summary
13 33: geography functions to serve society. As societal requirements change, so does geography: geographers describe and explain the world. 1st involved in discovering, describing and explaining an increasingly better world. New areas discovered > geographers worked to fit new facts into established knowledge or propose new ideas: preclassical geography. Maps (earliest geographic description): simple but effective means of communicating spatial information. Maps created with stick in sand/soil (temporary) or scratched into rock or wood. Used to show location of water, game or hostile groups. 1st civilizations (mesopotamia now southern iraq) used maps on clay tablets showing local areas. Other civilizations using maps include classical greece, nile valley, indus valley, china, Crete, greek mainland and southeast mexico: classical geography. Emergence of classical greece > maps covered larger areas (greeks 1st civilizations to become geographically mobile and establish colonies) Discourse: system of ideas or knowledge that serves as the context through which new facts and ideas are understood.
