The origin of life on Earth took place about 3.8 billion years ago, when the formation of the earth's crust ended. Scientists have found that the first living organisms appeared in the aquatic environment, and only after a billion years did the first creatures come to the surface of the land.

The formation of terrestrial flora was facilitated by the formation of organs and tissues in plants, the ability to reproduce by spores. Animals also evolved significantly and adapted to life on land: internal fertilization, the ability to lay eggs, and pulmonary respiration appeared. An important stage of development was the formation of the brain, conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, survival instincts. The further evolution of animals provided the basis for the formation of mankind.

The division of the history of the Earth into eras and periods gives an idea of ​​the features of the development of life on the planet in different time periods. Scientists identify particularly significant events in the formation of life on Earth in separate periods of time - eras, which are divided into periods.

There are five eras:

• Archean;
• Proterozoic;
• Paleozoic;
• Mesozoic;
• Cenozoic.

The Archean era began about 4.6 billion years ago, when the planet Earth only began to form and there were no signs of life on it. The air contained chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen, the temperature reached 80 °, the radiation level exceeded the permissible limits, under such conditions the origin of life was impossible.

It is believed that about 4 billion years ago our planet collided with a celestial body, and the result was the formation of the Earth's satellite - the Moon. This event became significant in the development of life, stabilized the axis of rotation of the planet, contributed to the purification of water structures. As a result, the first life originated in the depths of the oceans and seas: protozoa, bacteria and cyanobacteria.

The Proterozoic era lasted from about 2.5 billion years to 540 million years ago. Remains of unicellular algae, mollusks, annelids were found. Soil is starting to form.

The air at the beginning of the era was not yet saturated with oxygen, but in the process of life, the bacteria that inhabit the seas began to release more and more O 2 into the atmosphere. When the amount of oxygen was at a stable level, many creatures took a step in evolution and switched to aerobic respiration.

The Paleozoic era includes six periods.

Cambrian period(530 - 490 million years ago) is characterized by the emergence of representatives of all types of plants and animals. The oceans were inhabited by algae, arthropods, mollusks, and the first chordates (Haikouihthys) appeared. The land remained uninhabited. The temperature remained high.

Ordovician period(490 - 442 million years ago). The first settlements of lichens appeared on land, and the megalograpt (a representative of arthropods) began to come ashore to lay eggs. Vertebrates, corals, sponges continue to develop in the thickness of the ocean.

Silurian(442 - 418 million years ago). Plants come to land, and rudiments of lung tissue form in arthropods. The formation of the bone skeleton in vertebrates is completed, sensory organs appear. Mountain building is underway, different climatic zones are being formed.

Devonian(418 - 353 million years ago). The formation of the first forests, mainly ferns, is characteristic. Bone and cartilaginous organisms appear in water bodies, amphibians began to land on land, new organisms are formed - insects.

Carboniferous period(353 - 290 million years ago). The appearance of amphibians, the sinking of the continents, at the end of the period there was a significant cooling, which led to the extinction of many species.

Permian period(290 - 248 million years ago). The earth is inhabited by reptiles, therapsids appeared - the ancestors of mammals. The hot climate led to the formation of deserts, where only resistant ferns and some conifers could survive.

The Mesozoic era is divided into 3 periods:

Triassic(248 - 200 million years ago). The development of gymnosperms, the appearance of the first mammals. The division of land into continents.

Jurassic period(200 - 140 million years ago). emergence angiosperms. The emergence of the ancestors of birds.

Cretaceous period(140 - 65 million years ago). Angiosperms (flowering) became the dominant group of plants. The development of higher mammals, real birds.

The Cenozoic era consists of three periods:

Lower Tertiary period or Paleogene(65 - 24 million years ago). The disappearance of most cephalopods, lemurs and primates appear, later parapithecus and dryopithecus. Ancestor development modern species mammals - rhinos, pigs, rabbits, etc.

Upper Tertiary or Neogene(24 - 2.6 million years ago). Mammals inhabit land, water and air. The emergence of Australopithecus - the first ancestors of humans. During this period, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes were formed.

Quaternary or Anthropogene(2.6 million years ago - today). A significant event of the period is the appearance of man, first Neanderthals, and soon Homo sapiens. vegetable and animal world acquired modern features.

THE OLDEST STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

1 Geographic representations of primitive peoples.

2 The development of geographical ideas and ideas in the countries of the Ancient East (IV-I millennium BC).

3 Geographic representations of the Minoans and Phoenicians.

Geographic representations of primitive peoples. Geography arose in ancient times in connection with the vital needs of people - with hunting, gathering, beekeeping, cattle breeding and agriculture. For farming - even primitive - it was necessary to have a fairly deep knowledge local conditions- the image of wild animals and edible plants, the course of fish in rivers and lakes, seasonality and productivity of pastures, soil fertility. Geography began with the knowledge of the surrounding world and terrain features by ancient people. However, the world around man has always been incomparably larger than himself (110).

The first elementary geographical representations appeared together with labor, i.e. at the most initial stage of human development (126,279). Among the first and most important issues, which the primitive man asked himself, there were also those that related to the properties of the surrounding nature. “Like many other animals, primitive man singled out certain areas of the earth's surface as a territory necessary for his life. And like many other animals, he was constantly tormented by a vague premonition that, perhaps, in some other places the grass is even greener” (110, p. 15).

The nature of the geographical representations of the era of the primitive communal system can only be judged indirectly, since there are no written monuments for this era. Indirect judgments are based mainly on the study of the culture of backward tribes and nationalities, which, right up to the collision with Europeans, remained at the stage of the primitive communal system. A huge contribution to the study of the culture of primitive people was made by N. Miklukho-Maclay (1846-1888), L. Levy-Bruhl (1857-1939), D. Cook (1728-1779) and M.Mid (81,211,212,263,301,420,433).

It is known that primitive man drew his knowledge of nature from his direct experience, limited by the area of ​​habitat. However, according to scientists, this knowledge was remarkable for its amazing thoroughness. European travelers were struck by the ability of the "savages" of all continents to carefully observe and subtly feel nature (211,212). Circle of factual knowledge primitive man has always been determined by the nature of its production activity and the immediate natural environment (126,279).

For example, in the language of the Eskimos of North America, whose life is closely connected with the sea, there are up to 20 different words denoting different types and conditions of ice. The agricultural tribes have the richest terminology related to various agricultural crops, the phases of their development, and so on. Hunters and gatherers are especially familiar with wild plants and animals. The skills of excellent orientation in space are closely related to highly developed observation skills. However, for some African peoples, color perception is limited to red and blue, their language has only two words for these opposite parts of the visible light spectrum. As a result, they do not perceive such intermediate colors as orange, yellow or green (110, p. 19).

Many ancient peoples empirically approached the development of complex geographical concepts, reminiscent of modern scientific ideas about landscapes and tracts, which is reflected in their language, in local geographical names (126.322).

It is known from psychology that, perceiving surrounding objects, a person separates them in space and only then establishes spatial connections and relationships between them (110,126,366,408,423). From this follows a special way of conveying these relations - a geographical map.

Map in its elementary form, i.e. cartographic drawing, appears in primitive man long before the invention of writing. True, not a single cartographic image of those times has come down to us. However, some petrographs may contain elements of topographic drawing. More A. Humboldt (1769-1859) saw in the petroglyphs of South America the beginnings of a geographical map. If so, the beginning of cartography goes back to the Late Paleolithic. Paleolithic - this is the ancient Stone Age (the first period of the Stone Age), the time of the existence of a person who used primitive stone, wooden and bone tools, was engaged in hunting and gathering. The Paleolithic lasted from the appearance of man (over 2 million years ago) until about the 10th millennium BC. Thus, the map as a method of fixing data chronologically precedes the written description of geographical reality.

The oldest surviving map was made in Sumer (Mesopotamia) about 2500 BC She is a drawing small area terrain, made on a clay tablet (110,126,279).

Elements of geographical knowledge occupied the first place in the total amount of primitive man's ideas about the world around him. At the same time, at this first stage in the development of Homo Sapiens, human thinking had a concrete character. ancient man was able to give own names(names) to each local subject, but his language lacked words denoting general concepts, such as "river", "mountain", "plant", "animal", etc. Acute observation and relatively extensive knowledge of individual concrete facts were combined in him with the underdevelopment of abstract thinking (110,126).

2 Development of geographical ideas and ideas in the countries of the Ancient East (IV-I millennium BC) The first large slave-owning states appeared in the 4th millennium BC. among the agricultural peoples Egypt, Mesopotamia, Northern India and China. A settled agricultural economy provided more opportunities for the use of slave labor and the development of metallurgy than a pastoral one. The formation of developed slave states in these countries was facilitated by their favorable geographical conditions: position along big rivers– sources of irrigation and waterways (“ river civilizations ”, I.I. Mechnikov (1845-1916)), relatively reliable natural boundaries - mountains, deserts, etc. These states arose independently of each other. Only over time, the mutual influence of their cultures to one degree or another began to manifest itself quite clearly.

Ancient peoples The East left us the first written documents. It is curious that the earliest literary works that have come down to us were devoted to the description of travel. Tales and fairy tales about travels to distant countries are one of the oldest genres of world literature.

The theme of travel completely prevails in the most ancient epic. For example, in the ancient Sumerian epic poem about Gilgamesh (IV millennium BC) tells about the wanderings of a hero who got through the deserts and mountains to the ocean and crossed over it (26,61,110,126).

Sources of this kind (fairy tales, songs, epic, etc.), along with archaeological data, allow us to make an assumption about the spatial and geographical horizons of the peoples of the Ancient East and their ideas about the Earth.

ancient egyptians , for example, already in the III millennium BC. conducted a brisk trade with Syria, Ethiopia, the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Perhaps they also had trade relations with distant India.

Outlook of peoples Mesopotamia in III-II millennia BC spread in the north to Armenia and Transcaucasia, and in the south - to modern Oman (85,110,126).

Spatial outlook ancient chinese up to the second half of the second century. BC. limited mainly eastern part present territory of China. The ancient Chinese received reliable information about the countries of Central and Central Asia only after traveling Zhang Qian (138-126 BC). This journey marked the beginning of China's trade relations with the countries of Central Asia, and through them with the Eastern Mediterranean, where the "Great Silk Road" was laid a little later, which lasted until 23 BC. In ancient China, much attention was paid to geographical research, incl. looking for a way to Europe. The Chinese travelers did no less "discovering" Europe than the Europeans, paving the way to the "Far East". But the Chinese body of knowledge remained aloof from the stream of Western thought (110,126,158,279).

The emergence of the rudiments of scientific knowledge in the field of mathematics, astronomy and mechanics belongs to the slave-owning era. In Egypt during the era ancient kingdom (about the 2nd millennium BC), land surveying was carried out, a land cadastre was created (mainly to determine the amount of taxes). Similar works fought in Mesopotamia. The Egyptians quite accurately determined the length of the year and introduced into everyday life solar calendar . The ancient Egyptians and Babylonians knew sundial. Egyptian and Babylonian priests, as well as Chinese astronomers, established regularities in the repetition of eclipses and learned how to predict them (126).

Egypt is the cradle of science. Egypt is called the cradle of science, because here in ancient times arose methods of observation, measurement and scientific generalization. The Egyptian priests had a solid practical knowledge in the field of mathematics (algebra), astronomy and geometry, necessary for the management of society. They perfected ways to measure land and determine the boundaries of fields that are constantly destroyed during floods on the Nile. They learned to determine the line of the local meridian (north-south direction) in order to accurately orient the erected monuments and public buildings. They also invented writing and found a way to obtain papyrus - material for writing - from a plant that grew abundantly in the swampy Nile Delta (110).

Mesopotamia. The peoples of Mesopotamia also contributed to the accumulation of geographical knowledge. The very first mathematicians in the world, who lived in the state of the Sumerians, owned all the basic rules of algebra already 3,000 years ago, although the algebraic symbols that we use now were not known until the 16th century. But even without them, the Sumerians understood and used many algebraic relationships. They could also extract Square root from any number.

From Mesopotamia, the ecliptic is divided into 12 signs of the zodiac, the year into 12 months, the day into 24 hours, the circle into 360 degrees. This country has adopted lunar week .

In the early slave states ancient East primitive maps were also created that served a variety of purposes. One of the oldest maps dates back to approximately 2500 BC. It is a very schematic representation on a clay tablet of the northern part of Mesopotamia with the Euphrates River and two mountain ranges. A later Babylonian map (circa 5th century BC) depicts the entire Earth as a disk surrounded by an ocean centered on Babylon (85,110,112,215).

It was in the countries of the ancient East that first ideas about divine providence . According to the religious ideas of the ancient Sumerians, the world is ruled by gods similar to people, but endowed, unlike them, with superhuman abilities and immortality. Each of the gods obeyed certain forces and phenomena of the world of nature surrounding man - the flow of rivers, sea tides, wind currents, the productivity of fields, the abundance of game. The gods competed with each other, and their attitude towards people was distinguished by despotism, and often vindictiveness.

In ancient cultures around the world, many natural phenomena were explained by reference to the existence of a single deity, whose actions were always beyond the control. This deity needed to be more often pleased with sacrifices in order to be more favorable to human beings.

The ideas of the ancient peoples about nature, although they were based on real practical experience, retained their mythological character. So, back in the III millennium BC. the ancient Sumerians created creation myths , about the flood and paradise, which turned out to be very tenacious and were reflected in the main book of all Christians - the Bible.

Belief in the direct influence of the luminaries on the fate of people led to the emergence astrology . This "science" was especially popular in Babylon. The ideas about the Earth among all ancient peoples were based on the direct perception of the surrounding world.

Observations over the foreseeable horizon led to the view of the Earth as a fixed, flat disk located in the center of the world. In a similar, though more poetic form, the origin of the Earth is depicted in the sacred book of the Brahmins - "Vedah": “The earth arose from water and is like a blossoming lotus flower, one of the petals of which forms India” (126).

3 Geographic representations of the Minoans and Phoenicians. Among the most developed peoples of the III-II millennium BC. belonged to the Minoans and Phoenicians. By the II millennium BC. intermediary trade between the Western and Eastern Mediterranean was in the hands of Minoans who founded a powerful maritime power on the island of Crete. There is evidence that the trade links of the Minoans stretched from british isles to the Canary Islands, Senegal and India. However, from the middle of the II millennium BC. Dominance on the sea routes of the Mediterranean Sea passes to the Phoenicians.

Phoenicians, whose homeland was located on the territory of modern Lebanon, were among the first navigators and discoverers of new lands. In their voyages, they penetrated far beyond known lands. However, occupied only with trade, they reported almost nothing about the countries and peoples they visited.

In one of the mountain valleys of modern Beirut in those distant times, an ore body was discovered in which copper and tin were successfully combined. The Phoenicians developed it, made bronze and traded it. In general, in the ore deposits of the Mediterranean basin, with an abundance of copper, tin was clearly lacking. Therefore, the Phoenicians made regular sea voyages to the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Great Britain, where they mined tin. They also traded in cedar wood, which grew abundantly in the mountainous forests of Lebanon. One of the oldest written documents, compiled in 3000 BC, is an inventory of cedar logs loaded in the Phoenician port of Byblos on forty ships that were supposed to deliver this cargo to Egypt.

The Phoenicians founded many trading ports along the Mediterranean coast, including Carthage . They also own the creation of the first phonetic alphabet. It consisted entirely of consonants, like the modern Semitic alphabet. Somewhat later, the Greeks supplemented this alphabet with short vowels. The Phoenician language formed the basis of the vast majority of all European alphabets known today. In the VI century. BC. Phoenicia was conquered by the Persians, and in 322 BC. conquered Alexander the Great . In 146 BC. Carthage was destroyed (11,110,126).

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. Make a detailed plan of the text § 2.

Geography of antiquity. Conquest is the engine of ancient geography. Agriculture and animal husbandry expanded knowledge about the Earth.

Ancient Greece is the birthplace of geography. Herodotus as the founder of geographical science. Aristotle expressed the idea that the earth is spherical.

Geography of the Middle Ages. The development of geography was continued by the Arabs. Shipbuilding development. Discovery of the compass by Europeans. Travels of Marco Polo.

Age of the Greats geographical discoveries. Discovery of new continents and sea routes.

The era of the first scientific expeditions. Even greater development of geography, the discovery of new lands, laws physical geography, new species of plants and animals, the study of new peoples.

Modern era. Launches of space vehicles, generalization of knowledge and creation of theories. International associations of geographers.

2. Name the main eras in the development of geographical knowledge. Which of the epochs enriched geography with knowledge about the structure of the Earth's surface?

Geography of antiquity. Ancient Geography. Geography of the Middle Ages. The era of the great geographical discoveries. The era of the first scientific expeditions. Modern era.

Enriched by the era of the great geographical discoveries.

3*. Which of the travels and expeditions led to the most important discoveries?

Discovery of America by Columbus. Expedition of Vasco da Gama to India.

Chinese Expeditions of Zheng He. Expeditions of Vavilov. Expedition of Magellan.

4. Give examples of discoveries that you learned about on your own from books and other sources.

In the book "Children of Captain Grant" you can learn about new countries and islands. "Niels' Wonderful Journey with the Wild Geese" tells about the geography of Sweden

5*. What questions does modern geography answer?

How and what natural processes create mountains and plains, how the Earth's relief changes, what general patterns affect the melting of glaciers, the growth of trees, the location of cities. Modern geography tries not only to explore and describe the entire surface of the Earth, but also to explain why it is arranged this way and not otherwise. Geography predicts all changes that occur in nature, especially those that can occur as a result of human activities. The role of geographical science in our days is growing significantly, as there are fewer and fewer territories on the geographical map of the world that we still need to discover.

6. What new knowledge about the Earth and the nearest space do scientists get with the help of the latest research methods?

1. Methods of field geological survey study of geological outcrops, core material extracted during drilling, rock layers in mines, volcanic eruptions, direct field study of geological processes occurring on the surface.

2. Geophysical methods are used to study the deep structure of the Earth and the lithosphere. Seismic methods based on the study of the propagation velocity of longitudinal and shear waves, made it possible to isolate the inner shells of the Earth. Gravimetric methods, which study the variations in gravity on the Earth's surface, make it possible to detect positive and negative gravity anomalies and, therefore, to assume the presence of certain types of minerals. The paleomagnetic method studies the orientation of magnetized crystals in rock layers. The precipitated crystals of ferromagnetic minerals are oriented with their long axis in accordance with the directions of the field lines magnetic field and signs of the magnetization of the Earth's poles. The method is based on the inconsistency (inversion) of the polarity sign magnetic poles. The Earth acquired modern signs of the magnetization of the poles (Brunhes epoch) 700,000 years ago. Previous epoch of Matuyama reverse magnetization.

3. Astronomical and space methods are based on the study of meteorites, tidal movements of the lithosphere, as well as on the study of other planets and the Earth (from space). They allow a deeper understanding of the essence of the processes taking place on Earth and in space.

4. Modeling methods allow in the laboratory to reproduce (and study) geological processes.

5. Method of Actualism Geological processes currently taking place under certain conditions lead to the formation of certain rock complexes. Consequently, the presence of the same rocks in the ancient layers indicates certain, identical modern processes that have taken place in the past.

6. Mineralogical and petrographic methods study minerals and rocks(search for minerals, restoration of the history of the development of the Earth)

One should distinguish between the history of travel and territorial discoveries on Earth, the history of the development of geographical ideas and ideas, thinking (according to N. N. Baransky), the history and evolution of methods and the development of the theory of geography. The result is the formation of a scientific geographical picture of the world, reflected in geographical laws, patterns, and the presence of large geographical schools.

The history of science is a branch of knowledge that collects and analyzes facts, discoveries, theories, and teachings related to different periods.

The history of geography, according to V. S. Zhekulin (1989), is a branch of geographical science that studies in mutual connection the history of the territorial discovery of the Earth (the history of travel), the history of the development of geographical ideas and the discovery of new geographical laws and patterns. Domestic geographer N. G. Fradkin in the book Geographical discoveries and scientific knowledge of the Earth (1972) gives a modern definition of this concept. If in the past a geographical discovery meant the first visit to an object (continents, islands, straits, volcanoes, lakes, etc.) by representatives of peoples who had a written language, characterized this object or put it on a map, now geographical discovery should be understood as not only a territorial, but also a theoretical discovery in the field of geography, the establishment of new geographical patterns.

Let us give two examples of geographical discoveries of the mid-twentieth century. In 1948, Soviet high-latitude expeditions discovered the underwater Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean, which extends from the Novosibirsk Islands through the central part of the ocean to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and rises above the bottom by an average of 3000 m.

Another example concerns the establishment of the most important pattern of migration chemical elements in natural landscapes, established in 1961 by A.I. Perelman. The concept of a geochemical barrier was formulated - a section of the earth's crust in which, at a short distance, there is a sharp decrease in the intensity of migration of elements and, as a result, their increased concentration is observed. Barriers are diverse, as are the types of substance migration. There are mechanical, physicochemical, biogenic and technogenic barriers. Here is a striking example of a physicochemical barrier. In the forest zone, under conditions of oxygen deficiency in the soil, iron is usually divalent and easily migrates in solutions. When the waters come to the surface, under conditions enough oxygen, iron passes into the trivalent form and precipitates, which is marked with brown spots.

Geography is an ancient science. Reliable geographical information has come down to us since the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. And refer to Babylonia, Egypt, Ancient China. The oldest maps and plans, information about travels have been preserved. Like other sciences, geography has gone through several major stages in its development.

Ancient Mediterranean civilization (according to Yu. G. Saushkin), or geography during the period of the slave system. 4th century BC e.- 5th century n. e. Natural science in ancient times was undifferentiated. Therefore, geographers were simultaneously philosophers, astronomers, and mathematicians. Main achievements: a) speculative idea of ​​the Earth as a ball, and then its scientific proof(Miletian or Ionian philosophical school of Thales); b) the creation of maps and plans, the determination of geographical coordinates, the introduction of parallels and meridians, cartographic projections (K. Ptolemy); c) the introduction of Eratosthenes in the III century. BC e. the term geography and the calculation by Eratosthenes of the size of the Earth; d) the beginnings of the differentiation of geographical sciences: hydrology, meteorology, oceanology (Aristotle); Strabo (1st century BC) - the founder of geomorphology and paleogeography; e) formation of regional studies - 17 volumes of Strabo's Geography; f) the first ameliorative hydrotechnical works as forerunners of the transformative (reclamation) direction in geography.

Middle Ages (until the middle of the 15th century). A significant role in the development of geography was played by the Arab scholars and travelers Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, Idrisi, and especially Ibn Batuta, who traveled from 1325 to 1349. The great European Traveler was Marco Polo. The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin traveled the Caspian, Black and Arabian seas, reaching the shores of India, describing the nature, life and life of the population of this country.

The era of the great geographical discoveries (XV-XVIIcenturies).

Characterized during the Renaissance by the discovery of H. Columbus of America, the voyage of Vasco da Gama to India and, of course, the first round-the-world trip of F. Magellan. Thus, the idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth was confirmed experimentally, and the unity of the World Ocean was established. In 1515, the hypothetical Southern Continent was shown on the map of Leonardo da Vinci.

Geographic cartography is characterized by two outstanding events: the compilation of the Mercator map (1512-1594), which shows the real outlines of the continents and their coastlines, and the creation of the Great Drawing of the Russian state.

The theoretical results of the development of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries were summed up in the General Geography of B. Varenius (1850), where the subject of geography was defined, its division into general and particular was given, and considerable attention was paid to the ocean.

Geography in Russia XVII-XVIIIcenturies . The most striking events in the geography of this period: a) the intensive movement of Russian explorers to the east (E. P. Khabarov, V. D. Poyarkov, S. I. Dezhnev, V. V. Atlasov and others); b) creation in 1739. M. V. Lomonosov of the Geographical Department; c) the organization, on the initiative of Peter I, of an expedition to study Siberia and the Far East (D. G. Misserschmidt, V. Bering, A. I. Chirikov); d) the first description of Russia by Ivan Kirillov The flourishing state of the Russian state since 1731; e) creation in 1745 by the Academy of Sciences of the Atlas Russian Empire; f) the first scientific system of geographical sciences of V. N. Tatishchev; g) geographical works and activities of M. V. Lomonosov; H) general land surveying of Russia under Catherine II - land use cadastre.

Geography in Western Europe in XVIII-XI10th century The period is characterized by a combination of significant territorial discoveries (D. Cook, D. Livingston, etc.) and the development of theoretical geography by S.I. Kant, K. Ritter, E. Reclus, I. Thunen). An outstanding contribution to geography was made by A. Humboldt, the greatest theoretical geographer and no less famous traveller. Introduced comparative method into geography. Explored Central and South America, Ural, Altai, coast of the Caspian Sea, south-west of Siberia. For the first time he compiled a map of isotherms of the Northern Hemisphere, proposed isohypses for displaying on a map of the earth's surface relief. Author of more than 600 works, including a generalizing work on the geography of the five-volume Cosmos.

Geography in Russia XIX- start XX centuries . Russian round-the-world travels of I. F. Kruzenshtern and Yu. F. Lisyansky, the discovery of Antarctica by F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev. The birth of the first scientific geographical school of the Military Academy General Staff, established in 1832. In 1845, the establishment of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg and the formation of its school (F. P. Litke, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N. M. Przhevalsky, P. A. Kropotkin, N (N. Miklukho-Maclay, A. I. Voeikov, V. A. Obruchev, P. K. Kozlov, etc.)

In 1884, D. N. Anuchin created the first department of geography at Moscow University (Department of Geography, Anthropology and Ethnography), which served as the basis for the formation of the Anuchinsky geographical school of Moscow University. The creation of the school of geography at St. Petersburg University is associated with the names of V. V. Dokuchaev and A. I. Voeikov.

Among the exceptional achievements of the early twentieth century. it should be noted the American polar traveler R. Peary, who reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909; Norwegian polar explorer R. Amundsen, who reached the South Pole of our planet on December 14, 1911.

Soviet period of development of geography. The period is extremely productive, which had a huge impact on world geographical and even environmental science.

Numerous expeditions continued to study the nature, population and economy of the country, including the development of the Northern Sea Route, the SP-I expedition of I. D. Papanin, the organization of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (1955), the study of the World Ocean, etc.

In the 70s, on the initiative of K.K. Markov, the geography of the World Ocean began to develop intensively, which resulted in the publication of a seven-volume series devoted to the physical and economic geography of the ocean.

The cartographic support of science and practice was improved, state topographic and thematic maps, published the Great Soviet Atlas of the World (1937), the Physical and Geographical Atlas of the World (1964), a series of regional and specialized atlases.

Various geographical schools were formed, including complex general and regional physical geography (the school of A. A. Borzov - L. S. Berg - N. A. Solntsev, the academic school of process science A. A. Grigoriev - I. P. Gerasimov) , geomorphological schools of I.S. Schukina - A.I. Spiridonov and I.P. Gerasimov - Yu. A. Meshcheryakova; landscape-geochemical B.B. Polynova - A.I. Perelman - M.A. Glazovskaya and the economic and geographical school of N.N. Baransky - N.N. Kolosovsky - Yu. G. Saushkin and many others.

The system of geographical sciences developed, its differentiation into branch geographical sciences (for example, permafrost, botanical geography) and integration.

New and latest methods for studying the geographic shell and its components (geochemical, geophysical, cartographic, paleogeographic, mathematical, aerospace) were developed and introduced.

Academic geographical institutes and geographical departments were opened at universities and pedagogical universities. In 1918, the Industrial Geographical from Affairs, which later grew into the Geomorphological Institute (1930), then to the Institute of Physical Geography (1934), and since 1936 the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The Institutes of Geography were created in Siberia (in Irkutsk) and in Far East(in Vladivostok). Scientific and popular science geographical journals appeared, stable textbooks for higher education and a series of monographs devoted to describing the nature of the USSR were published. Always clearly visible scientific activity geographers with the practice of the national economy.

scientific schoolD. N. Anuchin at Moscow University . A scientific school is understood as a group of scientists headed by its leader, founder, united by a single theoretical and methodological approach and common views on the essence of the phenomena being studied, who use similar research methods. The most important feature of the scientific school is continuity from teacher to student. Scientific school is a broad concept. Schools can differ significantly in number, form of unity (around a professor at a university, around a scientific journal, academic laboratory, problematic seminar), in time of existence, in importance and scale of the problems being solved. Many outstanding schools are known to science, for example, academicians P. L. Kapitsa in physics or I. P. Pavlov in physiology.

The school of D. N. Anuchin is described in detail in the textbooks of Yu. G. Saushkin History and Methodology of Geographical Science and V. S. Zhekulin Introduction to Geography.

Scientific school of the Russian Geographical Society. The history of the Russian Geographical Society and its role in the development of geography has been described in sufficient detail in the literature. Traditionally, the anniversaries of the Society were marked by the publication of generalizing publications. So, on his centenary, President Acad. L. S. Berg published the book All-Union Geographical Society for a Hundred Years (1946). In 1970, under the editorship of another president of the Society, acad. SV Kalesnik published a collective monograph Geographical Society for 125 years (1970). For the centenary celebrated in August 1995, a collective monograph was published by the Russian Geographical Society. 150 years, edited by A. G. Isachenko (M., 1995). The scientific school of the Geographical Society is briefly described in the textbook by V. S. Zhekulin Introduction to Geography.

History: 1. The scientific circle-seminar of statisticians and travelers, organized in 1843 by the ethnographer and statistician P. I. Koeppen, is the forerunner of the Geographical Society. Organizational preparation and the special role of K. M. Baer, ​​F. P. Litke and F. P. Wrangel. On August 6 (18), 1845, Nicholas 1 approved the idea of ​​establishing the Russian Geographical Society (from 1850 it became known as the Imperial Society). Prince Konstantin was appointed its chairman. The first meeting of the founders of the Society took place on September 19 (October 1), 1845. Among them are the most famous scientists, travelers, cultural figures - I. F. Kruzenshtern, P. I. Keppen, K. I. Arseniev, V. Ya. I. Dahl, VF Odoevsky, etc. The first de facto leader of the Russian Geographical Society was F. P. Litke. For 41 years (from 1873 to 1914) the society was led by an outstanding geographer, a prominent statesman P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.

2. P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and his contribution to the development of geography. Field expeditionary research in Central Asia. Main works: Geographic and Statistical Dictionary of the Russian Empire (1863-1885), Picturesque Russia, Russia. A complete geographical description of our fatherland (1899-1914), Etudes of the history of Netherlandish painting. Organization of expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society by P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Pupils and followers: N. M. Przhevalsky, P. A. Kropotkin, N. A. Severtsov, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, I. M. Mushketov, M. V. Pevtsov,
V. I. Roborovsky and others.

3. The role of AI Voeikov in the development of geography, climatology, meliorative geography. Research and travel of AI Voeikov in Western Europe, America, Asia, in various regions of Russia. A. I. Voeikov is the author of more than 1700 works in various areas and sections of geography. Climates of the globe, especially Russia (1884), Snow cover, its influence on soil, climate and weather, and research methods (1889), Irrigation of the Transcaspian region from the point of view of geography and climatology (1908), Land improvements and their relationship with climate and other natural conditions (1910), etc.

4. Regional expeditionary research carried out under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society.

5. Outstanding figures of the Geographical Society of the 20th century: N. I. Vavilov, L. S. Berg, E. N. Pavlovsky, S. V. Kalesnik, A. F. Treshnikov and others.

Foreign geography in the twentieth century. traveled a difficult path from the classical task of describing the earth's surface to the search for those laws that could form a new subject of research. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. there was a threat of turning geography into a compilation of loosely connected information about the Earth, collected by representatives of private sciences studying the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, pedosphere, society, etc. However, the gradual awareness of geographers of different specialties since the 19th century. its unity was manifested in the formation of professional organizations: geographical societies different countries(the first - in 1821 in France), the holding of International Geographical Congresses since 1871, the creation in 1922 of the International Geographical Union. The chorological concept of the German scientist L. Gettner, who saw the task of geography in identifying terrestrial spaces by their differences and spatial relationships, had a great unifying influence on the development of geography. The horological concept was developed in the USA in the works of R. Hartshorne, who saw the purpose of geography in the study of the territorial differentiation of the earth's surface and the allocation of individual regions. In this theoretical basis in the first half of the century in the UK, USSL, Australia, work on zoning of the territory was widely developed, including for the needs Agriculture(L. Herbertson, D. Whittlesey, D. Stemp, K. Christian). An important role was played by the idea of ​​the interaction of natural components and the interaction of man with the environment in small areas. The focus is on the spatial morphology of phenomena, the development of mapping and zoning methods, as well as intercomponent relationships, and analysis of the factors of the genesis of spatial differentiation. The greatest contribution to the development of these problems was made in Germany by Z. Passarge, E. Banse, A. Penk, O. Schlüter, K. Troll, J. Schmithusen, and in the SSL by K. Sauer and I. Bowman. A powerful school of regional geography has developed in France, which has set as its goal the compilation of complex descriptions of regions (P. Vidal de la Blache, A. Demangeon, E. Martonne, J. Beaughe-Garnier).

A large place in the history of foreign geography is occupied by two concepts that explain the dependence of social phenomena on natural features. Geographical determinism, popular in English-speaking geography at the beginning of the century, directly derives historical and economic processes from natural conditions(E. Semple, E. Huntinggon). Possibilism, which was formed in France, claims that a person chooses the type of nature management from several alternative ones that best suits the opportunities provided by natural conditions.

Under the influence of the works of C. Darwin, the ideas of development and evolution penetrated geography, primarily within the framework of geomorphology through the efforts of W. Davis, who created the doctrine of the cycles of relief development. In biogeography, the idea of ​​change in time began to be taken into account after the work of F. Clements on changes in vegetation cover. Schools of historical geography were formed in the USA (K. Sauer) and Great Britain (H. Darby). K. Sauer laid the foundations of human ecology and saw the basis for the unity of geographical science in the study of the interaction between nature and man. The main task of geography, in his opinion, is to study the process of transforming a natural landscape into a cultural one.

Stormy political events of the twentieth century. stimulated the development of geopolitical theories, which proceeded from the idea of ​​the state as an organism with the living space it needs (F. Ratzel, R. Kjellen, H. Mackinder).

In the second half of the twentieth century. a new stage in the theoretical understanding of the experience of applied work began, when foreign geographers were no longer satisfied with the tasks of identifying and describing homogeneous territories. A search began for ways to formalize geographical knowledge, to build a theory that could generalize the laws of the spatial distribution of phenomena over the earth's surface. The main efforts were concentrated in the creation of an apparatus for spatial analysis using mathematical methods, including geometry, and aerospace information. The leaders were Anglo-American geographers, mainly of the socio-economic direction,
F. Schaefer, B. Berry, W. Garrison, P. Haggett, W. Bunge, W. Izard. Many saw this as the unifying beginning of private branches of physical and social geography with such basic concepts as direction (orientation), distance, and interconnection (relative location). The peak of the quantitative revolution came in the 1950s. A theory of central places by V. Kristaller and A. Lesh has developed, which makes it possible to explain the hierarchy and spatial arrangement of settlements. In geomorphology, the work of R. Horton and L. Strahler laid the foundation for the quantitative morphology of river basins. The theory of island biogeography by R. MacArthur and E. Wilson explained the quantitative ratios of the size of isolated habitats and the species richness of wildlife. At the same time, a systematic approach was introduced, which focused on the concepts of feedback between the components of geosystems, hierarchy, self-regulation, stability (R. Chorley, B. Kennedy, R. Hagget, R. Bennett).

If in the first half of the century the thesis about the need to study the processes that formed the natural and economic regions (S. Woolridge) was often disputed within the framework of geography, then in the postwar period the study of the dynamics of various phenomena on the earth's surface became a priority. The achievements of the quantitative revolution were applied in studies of the processes of relief formation, the circulation of matter in geographical envelope, climate change, glacier movement, landscape transformation under anthropogenic impact. The work of the Swedish geographer T. Hegerstrand on the diffusion of innovations laid the foundation for the unification of space-time studies. In the 1970s and 1980s, the study of the problem of the hierarchy of processes in time and spatial objects came to the fore. Within the framework of social geography, behavioral geography (behaviorism) is gaining ground, explaining the connections between personal perception of the surrounding world and the spatial behavior of people (D. Wolpert, K. Cox, R. Golledzh). Since the 90s, studies on the perception and aesthetics of the landscape have been popular, especially in France (J. Bertrand, A. Decamps).

At the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, greening geographical research; many geographers see human ecology as one of the main subjects of study (D. Stoddart, A. Gowdy, G. Haase, I. Simmonet, F. Heer). Ecologization was especially pronounced in climatology, which developed models of global climate change and the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. Increased research volume natural disasters and comparing them with socio-economic reality (G. White, R. Chorley, D. Parker).

The powerful apparatus of spatial analysis developed in geography attracted the attention of ecologists, who applied geographic methods to the study of populations. In the 1970s and 1980s, landscape ecology was formed, within which ecologists - natives of biology and geographers - successfully cooperated. This branch of science, closest to Russian landscape science, is designed to answer the main question, which natural processes form certain spatial structures and how spatial structures are reflected in the state of wildlife. Geographical methods of spatial analysis made it possible to take into account in ecological studies the factors of space properties (size, shape, distance, proximity of ecosystems) and factors of the scale level of manifestation of interactions of living organisms with the abiotic environment. The development of landscape ecology was stimulated by a powerful flow of remote information about the spatial distribution and configuration of ecosystems, the spread of statistical methods that became familiar to geographers in Europe and North America during the quantitative revolution, and the development of geoinformation technologies. Awareness in the 70s of the onset of global and regional environmental issues required the development of the concept of nature management, nature protection, which was proposed by landscape ecology. Authoritative centers of landscape-ecological research have developed in the Netherlands (I. Zonneveld, R. Jongman, P. Opdam), Slovakia (M. Ruzicka, L. Miklos), Great Britain (R. . Ise), Denmark
(E. Brandt), France (M. Gaudron, A. Decamps), USA (R. O "Neill, R. Foreman, J. Wu,
M. Turner, R. Gardner, D. Wins), Poland (E. Solon, L. Ryzhkovsky, A. Richling), Germany
(H. Leser, Father Bastian), Israel (3. Naveh), Australia (R. Hobbs), Norway (Fry). Since 1982 there has been the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE).

Significant progress has been made in the design of networks of protected natural areas taking into account the interaction of all components of the landscape and the spatial structure of the territory. Since the 1980s, environmental policy in Europe has been based on a landscape-ecological approach. The creation of ecological networks and green corridors using landscape ecology methods allows for the spatial conjugation of undisturbed habitats and plays a key role in biodiversity conservation. The key concepts used by landscape ecology in the design of green networks are defined - the sensitivity of organisms to the configuration of habitats, connectivity and fragmentation of habitats, edge effects, ecotones, landscape permeability for migration, the relationship of landscape and biological diversity with the sustainability of ecosystems.

The main applied value of landscape ecology lies in land-use planning and, more broadly, in landscape planning. Among the topical issues addressed by landscape planning are how to enter land use types into the spatial structure of the landscape, how to take into account the conflicting interests of land users, what factors and processes determine the development of the landscape, in what ways they can be regulated, what are the consequences of anthropogenic impact in different types landscape, how to preserve cultural landscapes.

Main theoretical problem landscape ecology at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. - the problem of identifying the hierarchy and determining the rational scale of the study of landscape processes. Landscape research is inevitably multi-scale, since landscape processes manifest themselves at different spatial and temporal scales. The problem is generated by the contradiction between the regional scale of nature management and the local scale of data collection, which greatly hinders the understanding and resolution of global problems.

Topic 1. The main stages in the development of geography

The study of the content of the paragraph provides an opportunity

Ø supplement ideas about the origins of geographical knowledge;

Ø to study the stages and features of the development of geographical knowledge in each of historical stages development of society;

initial stage in the history of the development of geographical science are the geographical knowledge of primitive peoples. Geographical knowledge they needed in Everyday life, and the direction of knowledge was determined by the nature of the classes. They were associated with the need to find and locate the best pastures, soils, hunting and fishing grounds, and settlement sites. Geographical knowledge was based on intuition, observation, knowledge of natural phenomena and the ability to see their relationships and patterns. Thanks to writing, geographical knowledge of the peoples of ancient civilized countries (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Babylon, China) has reached our time. ( Recall what research has been done in these countries?).

Geography of Antiquity. The geography of ancient times covers the VI century. BC e - IV c. e., and it distinguishes the ancient Greek (VI-I centuries BC) and ancient Roman (I-IV centuries AD) periods.

Ancient scientists tried to create a theory about the origin and structure of the surrounding world, to depict the countries known to them in the form of drawings. The results of these searches were the idea of ​​the Earth as a ball, and then its scientific proof; creation of maps and determination of geographical coordinates, introduction of parallels and meridians, cartographic projections.

Summarizing ideas about the Earth and solar system, the Greeks created a system of knowledge called musical-numerical system of the Universe. The name is due to the fact that the sequence of removal of the planets from the Sun and the distance between them was equated to the musical scale. Later appeared geocentric and heliocentric models of the Universe (Remember from the course of history, what are these models of the Universe?).

The main source of geographical information and geographical knowledge for the ancient Greeks was land and sea travel. The Greeks called the description of sea voyages "peripluses", and land "perieges". The performers of the perieges were "logographs", who traveled overland and made a description of everything that they observed in nature, but paid special attention to the customs and life of the population.

Of the scientists of this time who contributed to the development of geographical thought, Thales, Aristotle, Eratosthenes, Strabo and Ptolemy should be distinguished ( Remember from the history course when these scientists lived?).

At the beginning new era the geographical knowledge of Greek scientists was systematized by the ancient Greek scientist Strabo. He argued that the surface of the Earth is constantly changing, and the distribution of land and sea is the result of ups and downs of the seabed.

Ancient geography ends with works Claudius Ptolemy. It is known that Ptolemy is the author of the Almagest, a classic astronomical work in which the Earth was proclaimed the center of the Universe. Ptolemy did a lot for the development of cartography. He calculated the coordinates of 8000 geographical points. Created about 30 geographical maps of various areas of the earth's surface.

Thus, already in ancient times, the future began to emerge within geography. regional studies(Strabo), mathematical geography(Eratosthenes, Ptolemy) and some other natural geographical sciences.

Geography of the Middle Ages (VI-XV centuries). During the Middle Ages, under the strong influence of religion, many of the materialistic views of ancient scientists were forgotten or rejected as anti-religious. But, despite the general stagnation in the development of science, culture, education, inherent in the Middle Ages, some geographical discoveries took place at that time. First of all, they were associated with the campaigns and discoveries of new lands by the Scandinavians and the geographical discoveries of scientists from the Arab countries (scientists and travelers Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, Idrisi, Ibn Batuta). ( Remember from history when and where these scientists lived?).

The Vikings discovered and then founded in the IX-XI centuries. the first settlements in Iceland, Greenland and North America.

Arab scholars in the X century. created the first climate atlas of the world, highlighting 14 climatic zones and having established that the climate changes not only in latitudes, but also from west to east.

Arabic medieval geographical literature is diverse. Known are such works of medieval Arab scholars as "The Book of Ways and States", "Wonders of the Countries" or "Wonders of the Earth", as well as geographical sections in historical writings.

During the Middle Ages, relatively high level science and culture was preserved in Byzantium. This is explained by the fact that Byzantine scientists were able to adopt and develop many traditions of ancient geographers.

The era of the great geographical discoveries. The most significant discoveries on land and at sea, made in the XV-XVIII centuries, are called Great geographical discoveries. The era of the great geographical discoveries is the flourishing of geography against the backdrop of a general rise (revival) of culture and science. The era of the Great Geographical Discoveries was marked by grandiose achievements, both in the field of territorial discoveries and in the field of scientific theories and research methods.

The search for new lands and routes was carried out on a state scale. The fixation of acquired knowledge, mapping and generalization of the information received has become more important ( What role did F. Magellan, H. Columbus play in the discovery of new lands during this historical period).

When new lands were discovered, a need arose for their cartographic representation and description. This led to the formation scientific cartography. Flemish cartographer Gerhard Mercator(1512-1594) created the first cylindrical conformal projection of the world map, which is still used today and bears the name of Mercator. He also developed a method for using isotherms for climate mapping and hypsometric curve method to characterize the relief, compiled a collection of maps and descriptions European countries, which, when published in 1595, received the name "Atlas".

Questions and tasks:

1. What determines the main differences between the geography of antiquity and the geography of the Middle Ages?

2. Why do you think it was in the Arab countries that geography developed especially rapidly in the Middle Ages?

3. What achievements in other fields of knowledge contributed to the development of geography?

4. * What needs of society did geography satisfy in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries?