These are notes from the fourth lecture in the “Understanding Cultural and Human Geography” course. This lecture was about the influence of changes in climate.
Notes
- Geographic conditions influence what people in a region can and will do.
- Changes in climate affect history. But usually the relationship isn’t simple, because there are other factors involved.
- As examples, the lecturer mentioned the abandonment of Norse settlements in North America, changes in the Mayan civilisation in the Yucatán peninsula, and the end of the early civilisation in the Indus Valley. All of these events were influenced by changes in climate (although we have less evidence for the Indus Valley civilisation). But there were other factors that probably affected people’s ability to adapt to the changes.
- The Earth’s climate is currently changing much more rapidly than during those three historical examples.
Reflections
Movies like to show us dramatic visuals. But the most expensive natural disaster is drought, because of the widespread damage to agriculture.
The visibility of a threat (and how dramatic it seems) definitely influences how we think about threats. But by how much? And how can we assess threats more wisely?
Related
My notes on the previous lecture: On “Understanding Cultural and Human Geography 3”
Category: Notes and Reflections