The Influence Of Physical Geography On Society

Physical geography has shaped humans, our cultures, and our societies. Physical geography refers to the weather, climate, or agriculture of a certain region. Humans cannot control the weather so, so we must adapt whatever nature brings our way. Specific life styles must come and go, and we must be able to shift from one condition to another. How has physical geography shaped the world we live in today?

In Jared Diamond’s “Guns, Germs, and Steel” he seeks for an explanation on why some societies are more developed than others. Diamond compared an American society with a New Guinean society. In America we grow food, discover new technology, and are stocked with supplies. On the other hand New Guineans gather most of their food and are mainly focused on gathering food to be sure everyone eats. Geography played a common role in these differences. During the time of the early humans, some settled in places with fertile soil, and two main crops, wheat and barley. These crops eventually migrated to the regions fit for these

crops, which are most likely to be the developed countries. The crops available to the New Guinean environment don’t contain many vitamin, and the climate limits them to their agricultural ways. Geography was on the side who eventually migrated to America. According to Diamond, since in America we have a surplus of food others can then focus on new ideas and skills.
Race is an idea of color; separating one person from another; where do our colors come from; does it really make us different?

Spencer Wells, known for his book “Journey of Man” is on the hunt for the migration of early humans, and our traits such as race or color come from. Wells states that human life started in Africa; where the sun is strong, humans started off with dark skin for protection. When humans started to move north where there is less sun directivity our skin needed to become lighter to better absorb the sunlight, in order to produce vitamin D. as for the humans that stayed in places with a great amount of sunlight their skin needed to remain dark, so they could absorb just the right amount of sunlight, and this can also be known as the balancing act. Our skin colors vary to adapt, but we are all constructed the same way. We are all humans cultures may separate us, but not color. Geography did not intend to start the inequality of

race.
Here in America we get to experience the ideas of new technology, new ways of life, and to think this is because of the role geography played in our ancestors’ life. The climate of a region determines our skin color, and we humans have come up with the idea of races. Being a different color doesn’t make us a different species, another race. We are one race, the human race. Our lifestyles around the world, and the way we like to categorize people all comes down to physical geography.