Historian Vs Geography Essay

Types of Evidence

The historian and the geographer use many different types of evidence to explain important topics in their fields. This evidence varies, depending upon what is needed to tell the story of that time in history. While these two disciplines are by their definition and purpose, “different,” there are many similarities in some of the evidence needed to complete the picture.

Historians and geographers utilize many of the same types of evidence, but in different ways. For instance, both historians and geographers use maps, landscapes, and bodies of water to explain their work. If a historian were to explain how the Titanic sank, he would need to be familiar with oceanography in addition to knowledge of large ship maneuverability

in the early twentieth century. On the flip side, a geographer may want to know the speed of ocean currents pertaining to that day, or how sea level has varied over time.
The fact that the historian and the geographer use similar types of evidence for different reasons is apparent in that the research phase of development, which includes primary and secondary sources, ties in well with the human and physical branches of geography.

In the research phase of development, the historian consults primary and secondary sources. A primary source includes materials that come from the period the historian is researching; secondary sources are materials written or produced by other historians. The branches of geography consist of physical geography, which is the study of the distribution of land and water; and human geography, which explains the relation of humans to the physical environment. One example of how the research phase and both the human and physical branches of geography collaborate with one another is if a historian finds some jewelry pertaining to Queen Nefertiti, this is beneficial to a human geographer as well.

Types of evidence are not usually the same between the historian and the geographer. Historians base their work on people and events from the past, while geographers study maps, mountains, land masses, oceans, streams, etc. Sometimes, history that takes place doesn’t have anything to do with geography. Some examples are, “Lincoln’s assassination” or the invention of the light bulb. Geographers are more interested in how volcanoes form over time, or how the continents formed and split

apart.

Historians and geographers work together in order to answer difficult questions. As a matter of fact, historians need geographers for the bulk of their work. Geography is one of the “sister disciplines” that a historian has. “Sister disciplines” is the name of a group of people from different fields of study that help historians find answers to different historical questions. A historian may need to know why Pompeii was built next to a volcano, or why did people in East Africa walk across the Sahara Desert to settle land in West Africa?

History and Geography are interchangeable. Although these occupations are completely different, historians and geographers have many things in common. Sometimes the historian depends on the geographer for answering the “how” question. A geographer can tell geographic strategies of the past that may help a historian solve clues and find answers to mysterious questions about events and people of the past.