Human Geography

Evolution Of Man
 Evolution of Man
• Homo Sapiens
• The species name, Homo Sapiens, means
“man who thinks”-an appropriate title for
the species that formulated the spoken
language and developed more
sophisticated tools. The most ancient find
was discovered in Hungary in 1965, dating
from about 450 000 to 400 000 years ago.
• Other remains of Homo Sapiens have been
found in England, Germany, and France.
These bones date from approximately 250
000 years ago, the period between the
third and fourth ice ages.
• There are two types of Homo Sapiens; the
Neanderthals, or Homo Neanderthalis,
and Modern Human, or Homo Sapiens
Sapiens
 Continued …
• Neanderthals
• Located in Europe, Neanderthals first appeared
about 230 000 years ago and disappeared
approximately 30 000 years ago.
• Quarry workers in Dusseldorf first discovered the
remains of these people in the Neander Valley of
German in 1856. More finds have since been
located primarily in Belgium, France, and other parts
of Europe.
• They traveled as far as China and the Middle East.
Their total population at any one time probably
numbered fewer than 100 000.
• It is still unclear who the Neanderthals were,
scientists wonder whether they were our direct
ancestor or whether they were a separate species. It
is commonly held, however, that the Neanderthals
were driven to extinction by modern humans.
 Continued …

• About 40 000 years ago, modern humans moved into Europe armed with the
skills to make clothing, better shelters, and more efficient hearths.
Nineteenth-century scientists named these newcomers Cro-Magnon people
after the French rock-shelter where three anatomically modern skeletons were
discovered in 1868.
• Cro-Magnons were Homo Sapiens who evolved in Africa and slowly pushed
their way into Europe. They developed the ability to endure colder climates,
even climates as cold as those found in Iceland or Greenland.
• Cro-Magnon people were about as tall as modern northwestern Europeans.
They also had many of the same facial and cranial features as modern
northwestern Europeans.
• Eventually, their successors moved into Asia. About 30 000 years ago, they
crossed the Bering Strait after the retreat of the ice and entered the Americas.
Others reached Australia.
• With this migration, our modern human ancestors spread throughout the
world.
 Important Tribes of the World
• Aborigins or Bindibu : Australia
• Adivasis : A tribe in Bastar Distt. (Madhya Pradesh)
• Afridis : The tribals inhabiting the Pak-Afghan border area
• Afrikaner : The Dutch-born in South Africa
• Aleuts : Alaska
• Amerindian : Mongoloid racial stock distributed in various parts of
North, middle and South America
• Ainus : Japan
• Bantus : People of a black race of South Africa
• Bhils : Ancient Dravidians living in Central India & Rajasthan
• Bedouins : Nomads of Arabia and North Africa
• Berbers : People of a race of North West Africa
• Boers : Dutch settlers of South Africa
• Bushman : A group of Negroid racial stock known as Khuai or San,
confined mainly to the Kalahari desert
• Chukchi : NE Asia, USSR, North Siberia
• Dravidians : Very Ancient people (non-Aryans) living in South India
• Eskimos : Natives of Greenland and Arctic region
• Filipinos : Natives of Philippines Islands
 Continued …
• Flemings : People of Belgium
• Fellah : Agricultural Laboures of Nile Valley in Egypt
• Fulani : Western Africa
• Garos : A tribe in Assam and Nagaland.
• Gonds : A tribe in Bihar
• Gobi Mongols : Gobi
• Guicas : Amazon forest area
• Hausa : North Nigeria
• Hotten tots : Hot tropical Africa
• Ibanas : Equatorial rain forest region of South-East Asia
• India Tribes : Amazon basin
• Khasis : A hill tribe of Meghalaya
• Kalmuk : Central Asia
• Kazakhs : Kazakhistan
• Kirghiz : Asiatic steppes
• Koryakas : N. Siberia, Eurassian
• Kiwis : People of New Zealand
• Lepchas : Tribals of Tibetan origin in Sikkim
• Lapps : N. Finland, Scandinavian country
 Continued …

• Masai : East & Central Africa

• Meos : Myanmar
• Magyars : Natives of Hungary
• Moplahs : People of tribe of Malabar Distt. (Kerala)
• Mayas : American Indians found in the highlands of Guatemala
• Maoris : Natives of New Zealand
• Nagas : People of Nagaland, India
• Orang Alsi : Malaysia
• Pygmies : Congo basin, Zaire
• Papuans : Tribals of New Guinea
• Red Indians : Original inhabitants of North-America
• Santhals : Aboriginal natives of Orissa and Chotta Nagpur
• Semangs : East Sumatra
• Todas : Natives of Nilgiri Hills (Tamil Nadu)
• Tapiro : Papua New Guinea
• Turregs : Sahara
• Yoakuts : Siberia
• Zulus : Natives of Natal (North Africa)
 Important Terminologies
• The birth rate (technically, births/population rate) is the total number of births
per 1,000 of a population in a year
• The crude birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 people per year
• Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a
specific cause) in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of
time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000
individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population
of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out
of the total
• The crude death rate, the total number of deaths per year per 1,000 people.
• Immigration is the movement of people into another country or region to which
they are not native in order to settle there, especially as permanent residents or
future citizens. Immigrants are motivated to leave their countries for a variety
of reasons, including a desire for economic prosperity, political issues, family re-
unification, escaping conflict or natural disaster, or simply the wish to change
one's surroundings.
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• Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region with the intent to settle
permanently in another
• When the crude death rate is subtracted from the crude birth rate, the result is
the rate of natural increase (RNI). This is equal to the rate of population
change (excluding migration)
• The net reproduction rate (NRR) is the average number of daughters that
would be born to a female (or a group of females) if she passed through her
lifetime conforming to the age-specific fertility and mortality rates of a given
year. This rate is similar to the gross reproduction rate but takes into account
that some females will die before completing their childbearing years. An NRR
of one means that each generation of mothers is having exactly enough
daughters to replace themselves in the population. If the NRR is less than one,
the reproductive performance of the population is below replacement level
 Population Growth
• The "population growth rate" is the rate at which the number of individuals in
a population increases in a given time period as a fraction of the initial
population. Specifically, population growth rate refers to the change in
population over a unit time period, often expressed as a percentage of the
number of individuals in the population at the beginning of that period.
• A positive growth ratio (or rate) indicates that the population is increasing,
while a negative growth ratio indicates the population is decreasing. A growth
ratio of zero indicates that there were the same number of people at the two
times—a growth rate may be zero even when there are significant changes in
the birth rates, death rates, immigration rates, and age distribution between
the two times.
• A related measure is the net reproduction rate. In the absence of migration, a
net reproduction rate of more than one indicates that the population of
women is increasing, while a net reproduction rate less than one indicates that
the population of women is decreasing
Malthusian Theory on Population Growth
• Thomas Robert Malthus was the first economist to
propose a systematic theory of population. His theory
was based on two principles:
– Human Population, unchecked grows at a geometric or exponentially
growth rate
– Food supply, at best, only increases at an arithmetic rate
 Demographic Transition Theory:
• Stage One: In pre-industrial society, death rates and birth rates are high and
roughly in balance. All human populations are believed to have had this
balance until the late 18th century. Birth and death rates both tend to be very
high in this stage. Because both rates are approximately in balance, population
growth is typically very slow in stage one.
• Stage Two: that of a developing country, the death rates drop rapidly due to
improvements in food supply and sanitation, which increase life spans and
reduce disease. Without a corresponding fall in birth rates this produces an
imbalance, and the countries in this stage experience a large increase in
population.
• In stage three, birth rates fall due to access to contraception, increases in
wages, urbanization, a reduction in subsistence agriculture, an increase in the
status and education of women, a reduction in the value of children's work, an
increase in parental investment in the education of children and other social
changes. Population growth begins to level off.
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• During stage four there are both low birth rates and low death rates. Birth
rates may drop to well below replacement level as has happened in countries
like Germany, Italy, and Japan, leading to a shrinking population, a threat to
many industries that rely on population growth.
• As per census of 2011, India is in later half of third stage of demographic
transition with 1.21 billion population.
 Population Structure
• This entry provides the distribution of the population according to age. It is
distributed on the basis of sex and age group (0-14 years, 15-64 years, 65 years
and over). The age structure of a population affects a nation's key
socioeconomic issues. Countries with young populations (high percentage
under age 15) need to invest more in schools, while countries with older
populations (high percentage ages 65 and over) need to invest more in the
health sector. The age structure can also be used to help predict potential
political issues. For example, the rapid growth of a young adult population
unable to find employment can lead to unrest.
Population Pyramid
 Continued …

• A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's

population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as
well as economic development. The population is distributed along the
horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The
male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups
represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age
groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population
pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and
international migration trends.
 Human Development Index
• The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic of life
expectancy, education, and income indices used to rank countries into four
tiers of human development. It was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul
Haq and Indian economist Amartya Sen in 1990, and was published by
the United Nations Development Programme.
• The 2010 Human Development Report introduced an Inequality-adjusted
Human Development Index (IHDI). While the simple HDI remains useful, it
stated that "the IHDI is the actual level of human development (accounting for
inequality)" and "the HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential' human
development (or the maximum IHDI that could be achieved if there were no
inequality)
 Urbanization in India
• Urbanisation has become a common feature of Indian society. Growth of
Industries has contributed to the growth of cities. As a result of
industrialisation people have started moving towards the industrial areas in
search of employment. This has resulted in the growth of towns and cities.
• Urbanisation denotes a diffusion of the influence of urban centres to a rural
hinterland.
• Urbanisation can also be defined as a process of concentration of population in
a particular territory.
• According to Mitchell urbanisation is a process of becoming urban, moving to
cities, changing from agriculture to other pursuits common to cities.
 Causes of Urbanisation
• Various reasons have led to the growth of cities. They are as follows:
i. Industrialization:
– Industrialization is a major cause of urbanization. It has expanded the employment
opportunities. Rural people have migrated to cities on account of better employment
opportunities.
ii. Social factors:
– Many social factors such as attraction of cities, better standard of living, better educational
facilities, need for status also induce people to migrate to cities.
iii. Employment opportunities:
– In rural sector people have to depend mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. But Indian
agriculture is depending on monsoon. In drought situations or natural calamities, rural people
have to migrate to cities.
iv. Modernization:
– Urban areas are characterized by sophisticated technology better infrastructure,
communication, medical facilities, etc. People feel that they can lead a comfortable life in
cities and migrate to cities.
 Continued …
• Rural urban transformation:
– It is an interesting aspect that not only cities are growing in number but rural community
is adopting urban culture, no longer rural communities are retaining their unique rural
culture. Rural people are following the material culture of urban people. Urban rural
transformation can be observed in the following areas.
• Spread of education:
– The literacy rate has increased among the rural people. They have become more
modernised.
i. Change in Dress habits.
ii. Adoption of modern Technology
iii. Enlightenment of women.
iv. Modern transport & communication.
v. Active involvement in politics.
vi. Growth of infrastructure like Banks, Post office
vii. Awareness among rural consumers.
viii. Increasing demand for sophisticated products like cosmetics etc.
• Thus it can be noticed that there are significant changes in the life style of village people.
Indian villages have adopted urban culture and urban style of living. However, all villages
in India are not transformed. Only certain villages situated close to the cities have been
transformed.
 Effect of Urbanisation
• With a high rate of urbanization significant changes have taken place. The effect of
urbanisation can be summed up as follows:
• Positive effect:
– i. Migration of rural people to urban areas.
– ii. Employment opportunities in urban centres.
– iii. Transport and communication facilities.
– iv. Educational facilities.
– v. Increase in the standard of living.
• Urbanization can yield positive effects if it takes place up to a desirable limit.
Extensive urbanisation or indiscriminate growth of cities may result in adverse
effects. They may be as follows:
• i. Problem of over population:
• Concentration of population is a major problem of cities. It has resulted in
accommodation problem, growth of slums etc.
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• ii. Disintegration of Joint family:

• Joint family can’t be maintained in cities on account of high cost of living:
People prefer to live in the nuclear type of families.
• iii. Cost of living:
• High cost of living is a major problem of cities. In Metro cities like Mumbai,
Bangalore etc. it is very difficult for lower income groups to maintain a decent
standard of living.
• iv. Increase in Crime rates:
• Urban centers are known for high rate of crimes. Theft, Dacoit, Murder,
Cheating, Pick pocketing, rape etc. are common in urban centers.
• v. Impersonal relations:
• Urban centers are characterized by highly secondary relations. The concept of
neighborhood, community life are almost absent in cities. Urban life is highly
monotonous. This may have an adverse psychological effect on individuals.
People are often self centered and they have no concern for the fellow human
beings.
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• vi. Problem of Pollution:

• In industrialized cities pollution is a major problems. It may be caused by
industries or by excessive movement of vehicles.
• viii. Stress:
• Urban life is characterized by stress which may even strain family relations. In
cities employment of women is almost inevitable to meet the increasing cost
of living. Changing role of women in the family creates stress in the family
which may result in divorce or strained relations.
• Thus urbanization has its own merits and de-merits. Urbanization can’t be
avoided. But the negative effect of urbanization can be minimized.