Maps enable historians to see the influence of PLACE on civilizations. Although what is important will vary from time to time and place to place, there are a few general things you want to look for in any civilization:  

Physical Geography

Physical geography means the natural environment.  

• Type: Does the type of environment have a general name, such as steppe, rain forest, or desert?
• Climate: Is it hot or cold? Wet or dry? Predictable or not?
• Land: Mountainous or flat?  Fertile or not?
• Water: Major bodies of water, such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. Availability of water for irrigation and navigation.
• Resources:
• Biological: Main plants and animals, vegetation and wildlife.
• Mineral: Availability of iron, gold, salt, etc.

Human Geography

Maps can also reveal the spatial dimensions of human activity in a number of ways. Examples include 

• Economic landscape: sites of major production; trade routes.
• Social landscape: population centers such as cities;  population density.
• Political landscape: borders and boundaries; sites of battles; surrounding states.
• Cultural landscape: linguistic, ethnic, and/or religious regions.

Instructions

Like the Timeline Exercise, the Map Exercise has two parts: 

1. Places and Faces: Locate features on the appropriate map (the instructor will provide these); identify them and explain why they are important to the time and place assigned;
2. Geography and History: For one geographic feature, explain in some detail its effect on the time and place assigned.

See the Study Guide for the specific geographic features to be identified.

The geographic features identified can be from either physical or human geography. Use the linked Map Exercise form, along with relevant outline maps provided by the instructor. 

Created by John I. Brooks III. Last updated 01/01/04.
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