Page 15 - bfw-APHG-1e

a greater impact on the planet. Indeed, some scholars have
Population refers to the number of people living
proposed naming the current geological epoch, from the
in a given area. As Glenn Trewartha, a renowned
American geographer, argued more than half a century time of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s onward,
ago, the study of population is “the pivotal element in the Anthropocene — that is, the period in which human
geography, and the one around which all the others are ori- activities have had the dominant influence on the environ-
ented.” Population size and its growth and migration pat- ment, to follow the Holocene period. “Anthropo” means
terns and processes are relevant to many other topics we “human” in Greek.
study, including cultural patterns, changes in the political Geographers are interested in answering a number
landscape, rural land use, food production, the growth of of questions about the human population. Where
cities, and economic development. do humans live? How and why does population vary
How our human species, Homo sapiens, emerged in the between countries, within countries, and at even smaller
rugged terrains of eastern Africa more than 200,000 years geographic scales? What are the implications of a popu-
ago and subsequently settled and thrived in different parts lation’s age, sex, and ethnic composition for society? Is
of the world is a fascinating story. Humans have reached Earth overpopulated? Why do people move from place
virtually every part of the world, adapting to a wide to place, and how does migration affect the regions and
range of natural environments. There are now permanent countries that send or receive migrants? To answer these
human settlements on every continent except Antarctica, questions, geographers work with scholars in other disci-
where only a small number of scientists live temporarily plines, such as demography, which is the statistical study
at 70 research stations. Humans have extracted natural of population and its change. Both geographers and
resources such as minerals, oil, natural gas, and ground- demographers use many different data sources and sci-
water to ensure their survival, and they have modified the entific methods to uncover demographic patterns. Often,
environment to suit their needs. No other species has had these data come from a census, or an official count of a
country’s population, and official registries in countries
where residents are required to register with the gov-
TERMS TO KNOW . . . ernment, but sometimes scholars collect their own data

Anthropocene: The period in which human activities through field observations and questionnaires. Satellite
imagery and social media (e.g., Twitter) also provide
have had the dominant influence on the environment valuable additional data.
demography: The statistical study of population and its This Unit addresses all key population geography
change
questions.

4 Unit 2 Population and Migration Patterns and Process
©2021 BFW Publishers. Sample material is NOT FINAL and corrections will be made prior to publication.

02_Hildebrhgap1e_19224_unit02_002_131_4pp.indd 4 05/19/20 5:58 PM