HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: WHAT IT STUDIES, HISTORY AND METHODOLOGY - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The historical geography is a branch of social science that is responsible for the study of changes in the field associated with men and their interaction in the past. It uses tools such as old maps, journals and travel reports.

For many, it cannot be considered entirely a geographical science or even a historical one in itself. In any case, historical geography uses methodologies common to both disciplines. On the one hand the topographical study and on the other the collection of historical testimonies.

Source: Pixabay.

From the study of natural and cultural landscapes, geography analyzes how the first populations were distributed. Some of the elements it considers are the way in which the settlements occurred, how the space was modified or what structures or trade routes were developed.

Contrary to sciences such as psychology or medicine, historical geography has as its object of study the great social groups and not the individual. Modifying the environment and the cultural processes involved are essential.

Historical geography manages to differentiate two great variants in its field of study:

- The relationship between man and the climate: droughts, floods, earthquakes, may imply the total or partial extinction of animal and plant species. These drastic changes influence the forms of organization and survival of a society.

- The action of man on the elements: deforestation, massacres, pests. The effects of human interaction with the environment are studied through migratory movements and the impact of their activity on the environment.

Brief history

By Jan van Loon - http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-nk10241, Public Domain, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=473852).

- Ancient time

The first notions of historical geography go back to the Ancient Age, more precisely to Ancient Greece. From the time writing was invented until the beginning of the 5th century BC, the Greeks gave special importance to the "study of the Earth." In fact, the word itself refers to this concept: Geo (Earth), spelling / graphos (description).

Although the Egyptians and Mesopotamians also dedicated themselves to this discipline, it was the Greeks who made the most important advances. Figures such as Thales of Miletus, Eratosthenes or Ptolemy, continue to be relevant to this day.

Thales of Mileto focused part of his work on the study of nature, fundamentally on the solstices and equinoxes. Meanwhile, Ptolemy was the first to postulate that the planet was round and to propose that the Earth was the center of the universe.

From this time until the modern age, geography was a merely descriptive study. He was in charge of enumerating and differentiating landscapes and accidents (gulfs, cliffs, coasts, etc.)

- Modern age

First stage

During this era it is possible to differentiate two great moments that would change the course of historical geography:

- Development of the heliocentric theory: it took place during the 16th and 17th centuries and was proposed by Nicolás Copernicus, who claimed that the planets revolved around the sun.

- Discovery of America: the arrival of Europeans to "the Indies" forced a complete modification of all maps and forced a new understanding of what planet Earth was like.

At this time branches also emerge within geography, well differentiated currents of study:

- Geography as the study of maps, where cartographic analysis and development continued with the Greek heritage.

- The general geography, in charge of the study of specific territorial spaces and specific areas.

- The general or "systematic" geography that studies the earth's surface as a whole. This is divided into physical geography (it studies the climate and time) and human (from here the historical geography arises).

- Second stage

Already in the 18th century, the figure of Alexander Von Humboldt emerged, a geographer who was in charge of the study of vast regions of Latin America with great precision and dedication. His discoveries and theories earned him the title of "scientific discoverer of America" ​​and his work Cosmos is considered the mother of modern geography.

For his part, Friedrich Ratzel was the first to study the relationship between humans and inhabited space. Strongly influenced by Darwinian ideas and positivism, he is understood today as the founder of historical geography.

During the 19th century and in Germany, geography would become very important. So much so that during this century it was institutionalized and began to be studied in university settings. Soon, other European countries such as England or France, would follow the same path.

Finally and in the first decades of the 20th century, the Frenchman Lucien Febvre formally inaugurated what is now known as historical / human geography. In his book "The earth and human evolution", he was in charge of studying and arguing about how the physical environment conditions the development of civilizations.

Concepts and work methodology

In order to be able to analyze and understand the interaction of man with the environment, how some civilizations are born or die, historical geography focuses on two aspects:

- Geographic files. Considered the first step in initiating an investigation. It consists of collecting information on old maps, routes, travel logs and testimonies (especially written ones).

- Field work. Considered the second instance of the investigation. It consists of the collection and study of objects of a civilization, in order to understand its habits and culture.

Both steps are interrelated, since one cannot exist without the other. In fact, as part of the investigations, it is mandatory to carry out field work using old cartography. In other words, visiting the sites mentioned in the past in the present.

On the other hand, field work implies, in general terms, the specific study of:

- Types of structures: whether they are houses, ritual, religious, mortuary sites, etc.

- Plans of villages and ancient settlements: commonly collected in manuscripts or maps of the past.

- Field patterns used: the way of organizing spaces often also explains the social organization.

- Study of flora and fauna: whether or not there are domesticable animals or edible plants, defines the nature of a given society.

- Presence of mines or felled trees: these serve to understand the form of exploitation of natural resources.

- Existence of transport structures: either routes that can be covered on foot or carriages, or to move large volumes of water.

References

1. Sauer, CO (2004). Introduction to historical geography.
2. Buitrago Bermúdez, O., & Martínez Toro, PM (sf). Historical geography: by the genetics of space.
3. , J. (2014). Key Concepts in Historical Geography.
4. Sameni Keivani, F., & Jalali, L. (2013). An Investigation of Historical Geography.
5. Van Ausdal, S. (2006). Half a Century of Historical Geography in North America.