People on the Land Chapter 2 – Part II The Human Matrix.

People on the Land

Chapter 2 – Part II

The Human Matrix

AIDS cases per 100,000

Disease diffusion

AIDS Most widely accepted theory on where AIDS began

– HIV-1 – in east-central Africa– HIV-2 – in the upper Niger River country in the Guinea

highlands of West Africa Apparently originated in the local monkey population Passed on to humans through the local cultural

practice of injecting monkey blood as an aphrodisiac

Disease diffusion

HIV-2– Most similar to the simian type– Has had less impact on humans in its source

region– Has not spread as widely beyond Africa as HIV-1

Probable diffusion of AIDS

Disease diffusion

Diffusion after humans became infected– Apparently moved throughout central and western Africa– Followed transport routes and spread through growing

urban areas– Haitians working at civil service posts in Zaire (now

Democratic Republic of Congo) carried disease back to the Caribbean in the early 1960s

– Europeans visiting central Africa diffused AIDS back to Europe

Disease diffusion

American male homosexuals vacationing in Haiti likely contracted the virus and spread it throughout the gay communities in the United States

Americans falsely believed the virus was exclusively linked to homosexual behavior

Western Europe became a secondary diffusion area

Disease diffusion

Not all diseases spread by contagious diffusion

Relocation diffusion – tourism, temporary migration

Hierarchical diffusion – disease spread by persons affluent enough to participate in international tourism

Population ecology

Cultural ecology is quite relevant to the study of population geography

Successful adaptive strategy– Permits a people to exist and reproduce in a

given ecosystem– Population size and growth offer an index to

successful adaptation Maladaptive strategies can lead to dwindling

number, even extinction

Population ecology

Preadaption – to what extend did a groups’ ways of living precondition them for success in a new land?

Successful cultural adaptation– Can lead to catastrophe if it causes significant

environmental alteration and destruction so as to undermine livelihood

– The key is sustainability– Adaptive strategy must allow many generations to use the

land in more or less the same manner

Population ecology

Environmental influence on population densities

Greatest in mid-latitudes where terrain is level, climate is mild and humid, the soil is fertile, mineral resources abundant, and accessible to the sea

Lower where there is excessive elevation, aridity, coldness ruggedness of terrain and a distance from the coast

Sweden

Climatic factors affect where people settle

Population ecology

Some climates are considered to have a “defect” of some kind and are mostly avoided by humans

Human remain creatures of the humid and subhumid tropics, subtropics or mid-latitudes

Small populations of Inuit (Eskimo), Sami (Lapps), and others live in cold or dry areas

In avoiding cold places, we may reveal even today the tropical origin of our species

Population ecology

Most mountain ranges in middle and higher latitudes have sparse population

Inhabitants of the tropics often prefer to live at higher elevations

– For dense clusters in mountain valleys and basins– Escape the humid, not climate of tropical lowlands– More people live in the Andes Mountains than in the nearby

Amazon lowlands– Many tropical and subtropical national capitals lie in the

mountain areas above 3000 feet

Population ecology

Human tendency to live on or near seacoasts– Eurasia, Australia, and South America resemble

hollow shells – majority of population clustered around the rim of each continent

– Partly stems from trade and fishing opportunities

Hollow shell

Population ecology

Continental interiors tend to be regions of climatic extremes– Australia’s interior is a land of excessive dryness

and heat– Desert regions lack water and people cluster

together where it is available from rivers (Nile), or oases

Water in the desert

Population ecology

The factor of disease in population location– Malaria depopulated Italy’s coastal regions after

Romantimes– Diseases attack domestic animals, depriving people of food

and clothing– Sleeping sickness in parts of East Africa

Particularly fatal to cattle, but not humans Cattle represent wealth and provide food Serve a religious function in some tribes Its spread caused entire tribes to migrate from infested areas

Disease can influence settlement

Population ecology

Environmental perception and population distribution

Different cultural groups often “see” the same physical environment differently

European Alps shared by German and Italian speaking people

Cultural groups can change its perception of an environment over time

Population ecology

Main reasons for American interregional migration– Mild winter climate and mountainous terrain– Diverse vegetation including forests, and mild

summers with low humidity– Presence of lakes and rivers– Nearness to seacoasts– Where?

Population ecology

Immigrants to Arizona reveal a preference for its sunny, warm climate

Immigrants to Florida cite attractive environment as the dominant factor

Different age and cultural groups often express different preferences as reasons for migrating interregionally in the United States

– All are influenced by their perception of the environment– Misinformation is at least as important as accurate impressions– People often form strong images of an area without ever

visiting it

Quartzsite, Arizona

Aging and Environmental Preference

Landscapes of the elderly become especially noticeable in societies with aging populations – those with low birth rates and long life expectancy.

Many North American retirees become part of a migratory population known as “snowbirds.”

Traveling northward in summer and southward in winter, they frequently follow specific circuits of places and events.

Aging and Environmental Preference

Here in the desert, a giant swap meet and lapidary festival is held in February.

Close to a million individuals, mainly retirees attend.

More than 50,000 winter in Quartzsite but in summer as temperatures rise, the resident population drops to about 3000 and snowbirds head for more comfortable climes

Population ecology

Population density and environmental alteration– Through adaptive strategies people, especially

where population density is high, can radically modify their habitats

– Can happen even in low density areas where the environment is fragile

– The carrying capacity of Earth varies greatly from one place to another

Population ecology

We are facing a worldwide ecological crisis– Partly because at present densities many adaptive

strategies are not sustainable– Close relationship between population explosion and

ecological crisis– Haiti

Rural population pressure particularly severe Most available biomass (humus) now being used in small

intensively cultivated kitchen gardens Surrounding fields and pastures becoming increasingly

denuded

Population ecology

Overpopulation can precipitate environmental destruction

– Yields a downward cycle of worsening poverty– Many cultural ecologists believe attempts to restore balance

of nature will not succeed until we halt or reverse population growth

Adaptive strategy is as crucial as density– Population pressure can lead to more conservational land

use– Rural China offers supportive evidence

Population ecology

Vegetation changes in western and central Europe– Farmers cleared vast forests during the Middle

Ages– These fertile agricultural districts became densely

populated– During population declines the forests expanded

again

Population ecology

Worldwide ecological crisis is not just a function of overpopulation– Relatively small percentage of Earth’s population

controls much of the industrial technology– Absorbs a gargantuan percentage of the world’s

resources each year– Americans (US), who make up less than 5% of

the world’s population, account for about 40% of the resources consumed each year

Cultural integration and population patterns

Cultural factors– Basic characteristics of a group’s culture influence

the distribution of people– Rice domestication influenced high population

growth in Southeast Asia– In environments similar to Southeast Asia where

rice was not grown, populations did not reach such densities

Cultural factors

In the 1700s, the introduction of the potato to Ireland allowed a great increase in rural population– It yielded much more food per acre than

traditional Irish crops– In the 140s, failure of the potato harvests reduced

Irish population through starvation and emigration.

Cultural factors

France – first place in the world where sustained fertility decline took root

– Did not keep pace with nearby lands of Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom

– Was the most populous of these four countries in 1800– Became the least populous after 1930 and still is– During the years between 1800 and 1930 millions of

Germans, British, and Italians emigrated overseas

Cultural integration

Few French left their homeland French Canadians in Quebec continued to favor

large families– About 10,000 people left France between 1608 and 1750– Today, Quebec’s population of about 7 million does not

include those that migrated to New England and other areas

Some unknown cultural factor worked to produce demographic decline in France


Why some cultural groups differ in their tendency to migrate

– Religious ties bind some to traditional homelands Travel outside sanctified bounds of the motherland considered

immoral Responsibilities to tend ancestral graves and perform rite at

parental death kept many Chinese in China Navajo Indians bury the umbilical cord in the floor of the hogan

at birth, which seems to strengthen attachment to the house– Some groups consider migration a way of life– Poverty stricken Ireland proved so prone to migration that

today Ireland’s population is about half the total of 1840

Political factors

Governments can restrict voluntary migration Haiti and Dominican Republic share island of

Hispanola– Haiti supports 620 people per square mile– The Dominican Republic has only 440 people per square

mile– Government restrictions on migration into the Dominican

Repluc make migration form Haiti difficult– If Hispanola were one country its population would be more

evenly distributed

Haiti-Dominican Republic

Political factors

All cultures have laws based in the political system to maintain order within society

Laws, especially those concerning inheritance, can affect population density

– In Europe, the code derived from Roman law requires that all heirs divide the land and other property equally. Farms fragment as generations pass. Rural population density increases

– In Germany, primogeniture is favored – inheritance of all land passes to the firstborn son. But in south Roman law was practiced and severe rural overpopulation occurred in mid-nineteenth century

Economic factors

In the past 200 years, industrialization has caused the greatest voluntary migration in world history as people have clustered in manufacturing regions

Agricultural changes can have a similar effect with less impact on population distribution

Economic factor

Mechanization of cotton and wheat cultivation in 20th century America– Allowed crops to be raised by a much smaller

labor force– Resulted in profound depopulation– Many small towns ceased to exist


Research often produces negative results that are enlightening

Experts long assumed vegetarianism in India, based on Hindu belief, led to protein deficiency, malnutrition, and resultant health problems

Study revealed no spatial correlation between vegetarians and consumption of animal protein

Nonvegetarians also eat little or no meat Greatest protein deficiency occurs in areas where rice,

rather than wheat bread accounts for the greater part of cereal consumption

Malnutrition in India

Gender and geodemography

Gender frequently interacts with other factors to influence geodemographic patterns and migrations– Women from specific countries are viewed as

“desirable” immigrants– 19th century Irish females often found work as

domestic servants


James Tyner studied Philippine migration– Female “entertainers” made up 95% of migrants

to Japan– In part poverty provided the “push” factor– Pull factor – Japanese males see Filipinas as

highly desirable, exotic sex objects– Japenese males also see Filipinas as culturally

inferior and “willing victims”


Migration for purposes of marriage – India– Parts of rural north and west India there is a tradition of

marriage taking place between persons from different villages. Women move to their husband’s village. 1/5th or fewer live in the village of their birth

– South, west, and far north Kashmir females are far less likely to marry outside their village. Some parts of India have matrilineal societies. Even in patrilineal south communitie.s marriage within villages prevails. Marriage migration is uncommon

Marriage migration – India

The settlement landscape

Farm villages– Where many farming people group themselves

together in clustered villages– Nucleated settlements fro a few dozen to several

thousand inhabitants– In the village, farmstead are the house, barn,

sheds, pens, and garden– Fields, pastures and meadows lie out in the

country


Farm villages– Farmers journey out from villages each day to

work the land– Most common form of settlement in:

Much of Europe Many parts of Latin America Densely settled farming regions in India, China, Japan,

Africa and Middle East

– Most are irregular clusterings developed spontaneously over the centuries

Clustered farm village

Val Tavetsch, Switzerland

This is a clustered or nucleated settlement in a glaciated region of the Swiss Alps.

The importance of religion is suggested by the central position of the Protestant church, the tallest structure.

Farmers live in the village and journey to and from their fields as needed.

Val Tavetsch, Switzerland

The main crops are hay and other feeds for dairy herds thar are grazing in alpine pastures for the summer.

Feed crops are mowed and stored for winter in barns beneath people’s living quarters or in outlying storage buildings high on the slopes.

Semiclustered row village

Inner Mongolia, China

This Chinese-Mongol linear settlement is situated in the context of feng-shui considerations.

Proper orientation dictates “back to the north and face to the south.”

The dryer slope is facing south. Correct placement also calls for mountains behind and a

stream in the front. The straw pile is from wheat which is threshed by human and

animal power. Horses, sheep and pigs are also raise here. Coal for fuel is delivered by truckload.

Farm villages


Other types are very regular in their layout and reveal a planned design

The street village is the simplest of the planned types

– Farmsteads grouped along both sides of a single central street

– Produce an elongated settlement– Particularly common in Eastern Europe including much of

Russia

Street village


Green villages – farmsteads grouped around a central open place, or green, which forms a common

– Occur on the plains areas of northern and northwestern Europe– English immigrant laid out some in colonial New England


Checkerboard village – based on a gridiron pattern of streets meeting at right angles

– Found in the layout of Utah’s Mormon villages– Dominate most of rural Latin America and northeastern

China


Why farm people huddle together in villages– Defense – countryside was threatened by roving bands of

outlaws and raiders– Villages grew larger in times of insecurity then shrunk

during peaceful times– In deserts and limestone areas ground absorbs moisture

quickly, so farmsteads huddled at good water sources– In marshes, swamps, and areas subject to floods people

settle on available high ground


Various communal ties bind villagers together– Blood relationships– Religious customs like Mormon clustered villages in Utah– Communal or state ownership of land – China and Israel

Closely knit villagers usually depend on crops for their livelihood

– Tillage requires less land than stock raising– Villagers do not have to travel far distances from farmstead

to field


Isolated farmsteads

– Found mainly in Anglo-America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa

– Most are in lands colonized by emigrating Europeans– Some appear in Japan, Europe, and parts of India

Isolated farmstead


Isolated farmsteads Reasons for isolated farmstead development

– Removal of the need for defense– Colonization by individual pioneer families rather than

socially cohesive groups– Agricultural private enterprise as opposed to a form of

communalism– Rural economies dominated by livestock raising– Well drained land where water is readily available– Most date from colonization of new farmland in the last two

or three centuries


Semiclustered rural settlement– Share characteristics of both clustered and dispersed types– Hamlet – the most common kind, consists of a small

number of farmsteads grouped loosely together Farmsteads lie in a settlement nucleus separate from the

cropland Smaller and less compact, containing as few as 3 or 4 houses Occur most often in poorer hill districts Common in parts of western Europe, China, India, the

Philippines, and Vietnam

Irregular clustered village


Irregular village – several hamlets lying close to one another share a common name

– Often linked to various clans or religious groups– Most comon in southeastern Europe, Malaya,

Bangladesh, southern Japan, India– A deliberate segregation of inhabitants, either voluntary

or involuntary– India’s farmers of the “untouchable” cast are occasionally

segregated


Row village – a loose chain of farmsteads spaced at intervals along a road, river or canal, often extending for many miles

– Appear in the hills and marshlands of central and northwestern Europe

– Also found in French-settled portions of North America – Quebec and Louisiana

“Cajun” row villages are found along Bayou Lafourche in Louisiana Dwellings are so close to one another that a baseball could be thrown

from house to house for more than a hundred miles

Reading the cultural landscape

Rural settlement forms provide a chance to “read” the cultural landscape, but we must look for the subtle too, and not jump to conclusions

Maya Indians of Yucatan peninsula in Mexico


Reside in checkerboard villages

Before Spanish conquest, Mayas lived in templed wet-point villages of irregular clustered type

Villages located along cenotes – natural sinkholes providing water in a land with no surface streams


Spanish destroyed original settlements replacing them with checkerboard villages to accommodate wheeled vehicles

A close look reveals the prevalence of Mayan ways with a casual distribution of dwellings


Spanish influenced architecture remains confined to areas near the central plaza

– Flat-roofed houses of stone

– Town hall, church, and a hacienda mansion


Indian influence increases markedly with distance from the plaza

– Traditional Maya pole huts with thatched, hipped roofs

– Separate cook houses of the same design

– Doorway gardens surrounding each hut contain traditional Indian plants

– Yards are ringed with traditionally dry rock walls where pigs share the ground with turkeys

– Many still speak the Mayan language

– Though Catholicism prevails, the absence of huts around the cenote suggest a lingering pagan sanctity

Conclusions

Humankind unevenly distributed across the Earth

Spatial variations in demographics depicted as cultural regions

Use of cultural diffusion in analyzing human migration, spread of birth-control, and diseases

Conclusions

Viewpoint of cultural ecology– How environment and peoples’ perception of it influence human

distribution– Population density linked to level of environment alteration– Overpopulation’s destructive impact on the environment

Use of cultural integration to suggest how demography and mobility are linked

– Cultural attitudes can encourage people to be mobile or stay in one place

– Spatial variation in demographic traits are enmeshed in the fabric of future

The cultural landscape expresses how people distribute themselves across Earth’s surface

People on the Land Chapter 2 – Part II The Human Matrix.

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Transcript of People on the Land Chapter 2 – Part II The Human Matrix.