Читать книгу Geography For Dummies - Jerry T. Mitchell - Страница 28

Have you ever visited a locale that has many more or many fewer people than where you live? Have you ever moved a long distance? Have you ever visited a foreign country? Have you ever noticed that most of your shoes and clothing are made in a foreign country? Have you ever attempted to talk to someone, only to discover that person does not speak your language? Have you ever tried a very different cuisine (such as polishing off a mopane worm in South Africa as I have done)? If so, then you are already familiar with human systems.

Human beings characterize Earth’s surface. That is, not only do humans live here, but by constructing cities, making farms, laying railways, and building other things, humans are an actual part of Earth’s surface. Culture, trade, commerce, and government largely determine the specific ways in which people are part of Earth. And because these institutions are so diverse, so, too, are the human characteristics that are part of Earth’s surface. Key aspects of human geography will be dealt with in separate chapters. They include population characteristics (see Chapter 11), movement and migration (see Chapter 12), cultural attributes (see Chapter 13), division of Earth into political units (see Chapter 14), economic activity (see Chapter 15), and urbanization (see Chapter 17).