LESSON TITLE:

Creation and Location of Early Cities

AUTHOR:

Dianne C. Beck

AUTHOR INFO:

Dover High School, Capital School District, 1 Pat Lynn Drive, Dover, Delaware, 19904. Eastern History, Modern European History and Sociology. Email:diabeck@dmv.com

GRADE LEVEL:

Advanced Placement Human Geography

CONTINENT:

No preference

KEY WORDS/TERMS:

village, settlement, trading centers, agricultural centers, manufacturing centers, clustered rural settlements; dispersed rural settlements; circular rural settlements, linear rural settlements, transport network.

TIME NEEDED:

Three to five class periods

OVERVIEW:

In this lesson, the students will become familiar with the basic creation models of city formation. They will examine the cultural and economic reasons, they will work with models and discuss topographical requirements in order for a site to be selected. Activities will be geared toward understanding importance of location and economics. Activity One is an introductory lesson for them to discover topographical importance. Activity Two demonstrates importance of location of resources and their perceived value. This is geared to the AP Geography student because individual analysis will be key in their understanding of these concepts.

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS:

village - cluster of families whose primary focus of the group is survival and the production of food.

settlement - permanent collection of permanent buildings and inhabitants.

trading centers - settlements where the primary focus of the inhabitants and the ability to distribute scarce resources(these resources do not necessarily have to be from that settlement -- but rather could be just a central location for resources to be brought and traded).

agricultural centers - settlements whose the primary focus is to house and distribution of food (the production of the food takes place at the settlement).

manufacturing centers - settlements whose focus is the production of tools, weapons and other services.

clustered rural settlements - rural settlement where houses and buildings are situated around each other and the fields surround the settlement.

dispersed rural settlements - settlement where farms are isolated.

circular rural settlements-German model - houses in a circle and fields surround the settlement.

linear rural settlements-French or longlot model - homes are on the main water source with long lots so each inhabitant has access to the water source.

transport network - road, sea or river connections between settlements.

OBJECTIVES:

Students will be able to:
1. Identify and define key terms and concepts.
2. Analyze and evaluate the creation models of a city.
3. Discuss and evaluate locations.
4. Examine and analyze requirements for agricultural centers, trading centers and manufacturing centers.

MATERIALS:

1. Human geography text
2. Trade Routes of Russia instructions for activities
3. Transparencies'
4. Markers
5. Russia base maps
6. Trade Routes map
7. Current map of Russia with cities

PREPARATION:

Activity One - Introductory lesson - no previous preparation is required.

Activity Two - Location of Trading Centers - Students should be familiar with the trading center model.

Previous discussion should have covered the resource needs of the various locations in the activity.


BACKGROUND NOTES:



Humans are social animals. They tend to gather in central locations for a variety of reasons. Sociologists have constantly looked at the need for humans to gather and so do human geographers. According to human geographers, there are three levels of human organization. The Folk Society which is the least complex. This would be the village settlement pattern. They are pre-urban, preliterate, small, homogeneous and centered around food production. The Civilized Preindustrial or Feudal Society led to the formation of a true urban settlement or city. These were settlements where there was a surplus of food, specialization of labor, creating a class structure. The third is the modern industrial city where you find mass literacy, a fluid class system and technological breakthroughs in the sources of inanimate energy.
Anthropological reports earliest settlements were around 8,000 years ago. They were classified as villages and had no governmental authority, no public control, no public buildings and no workshops. It was an egalitarian society and its primary function was geared toward the survival of the group. Economic activity was completely tied to agriculture.

Although cities have their roots in the village tradition, they are NOT merely enlarged villages. They developed when certain categories of work were no longer carried out by the people who worked the land, but by others who were freed from this obligation and who were supported by the surplus produced by the cultivators. This distinction created a stratified society of the ruling elite and subordinates. This new class of people focused their energies on making tools (for the new farming methods that developed out of the agricultural revolution), weapons and gathering wood for shelter/heat. These jobs were not associated with the survival of the group but were created BECAUSE of the settlement.

URBAN SETTLEMENTS - although the majority of the world's population is rural, the importance of URBAN settlements is paramount. The "urban" revolution began in the vast, crescent-shaped plain that stretches from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. The earliest urban center was UR in Mesopotamia (Iraq) circa 3,000 BC. The largest structure in this city is the temple (see CULTURAL/RELIGIOUS model). Other cities that are in that same age group can be found in Egypt, Indus Valley and China (the Shang Dynasty). By 2,500 BC, urban centers were springing up all over with the major ones located in Troy, Knossos (Crete) and Mycenae in Greece. These were trading centers and developed into city-states which were independent, self-governing and included the main settlement and surrounding farmlands.

There are several models that discuss why people turned these very successful villages into what we now classify as "cities". The CULTURAL/RELIGIOUS model suggests that nomadic agriculturists picked a central location to bury their dead. They left priests behind to care for the souls and bodies. Buildings were erected for various religious ceremonies which encouraged periodic visits. These people needed services and the first non-agricultural jobs began to emerge. This theory can be substantiated when you look at many of the ancient cities and the temple is the main structure located in the center of the city.

Another idea coming from the CULTURAL theory is that it was a place where families could be nurtured and permanently located. By leaving the women and children behind, men could cover much more territory and do it quicker. With the women and children safe in a permanent location, the men were freed from worrying about their welfare. Women were the instrumental force behind religious structures and educational systems. These created a need for structures to be build and additional, non-agricultural jobs to be created.
The ECONOMICAL MODEL suggests that cities were begun when food was "warehoused" in a central location to be used during hard times. Under this model, there are certain elements that are required for the location to be chosen.
* water - flowing or underground water source.
* good farmland nearby - cities formed after the agricultural revolution.
* easily protected - either by resting on/in hillsides or having building materials handy to build walls or fortresses.
* trade routes - later cities sprang up between established trade routes of primary cities.

Under the ECONOMIC model, there are three categories that each settlement could fall into; the Agricultural Center, the Trading Centers and the Manufacturing Centers.

AGRICULTURAL Centers were focused around the production of foodstuff. It can be further divided into CLUSTERED or DISPERSED RURAL SETTLEMENTS. Clustered Settlements are identified by families living in a central location working in surrounding fields. Rubenstein discusses the German or Circular model and the French or Linear (Longlot) model. The Dispersed Rural Settlement is considered more efficient. Each family lives on isolated farms. This model became preferred after the Industrial Revolution and the creation of farm equipment. Large parcels of land are easier to farm and farmers saved time and energy because they did not have to go from one piece of land to another. Displaced farmers went to the cities to work in industry.


REFERENCES:



Benevolo, L. (1981) The History of the City, translated by Geoffrey Culverwell, MIT Press Edition.

Cities Their Origin, Growth and Human Impact (1973) Introduction by Kinglsey Davis, Scientific American, Inc.

De Blij, H.J. (1996), Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space , 5th edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Rubenstein, J.M. (1996) An Introduction to Human Geography , 5th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.


TRADE ROUTES OF RUSSIA

The object of this exercise is to identify the rivers most useful to early Russian trade and to place trade villages and sites as close as possible to their real historical locations. Use all the information given on this sheet to make your decisions.

Use your climate and vegetation region maps to locate the taiga and steppe on the trade map. The boundary of the taiga and the steppe also indicate a change in topography: the taiga region is much hillier than the steppe. Most rapids in the rivers stop at the boundary between the regions.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The center of trade and commerce is the fabulous city of Constantinople. Centrally located between the markets of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and East and South Asia, Constantinople grows into the largest and wealthiest city of Europe. Its dockside warehouses and marketplaces teem with the products and riches of the world.

Located near Lakes Ladoga and Oneda are deposits of amber: petrified tree sap that is honey colored and translucent. This stone is used to make jewelry. There is demand for it all along the river routes and in Constantinople.

The taiga region is rich in lumber, furs, wax, and honey, but there are not many people. Life here is harsh. The forests of southern Europe and western Asia have been cut down over the course of the past 1000 years. Nobles and wealthy merchants and their wives, love the feel and warmth of fur. The dark nights are brightened by candles and honey is valued for its sweetness. It is often brewed into a beer-like drink called mead.

The steppes is a fertile plain with a larger population. No southern European or western Asian country can grow enough wheat, barley, or millet for its people. All need to import some for breads. Grains also can be fermented and distilled into alcoholic drinks. Slaves are always in demand for galley ships, farm laborers, household servants and status.

Western and southern European regions produce iron and bronze tools, and other metals, wines and cloth. Western Asian regions make jewelry and produce cotton and wool.

Your people live in Scandinavia. You are seamen who trade and plunder. You live along the Baltic and use it and the Gulf of Finland as your primary waterways since other tribes of your people have monopolized the routes of the Atlantic.

Your primary vessel is a thirty to fifty foot long, narrow ship. It can be sailed or oared, and is designed for simplicity and speed. It carries a crew of forty sailors/warriors, a formidable force. Others of your ships are broader and are used to transport trade items, and have a smaller crew. Each crew is fully capable of portaging (carrying the ship) the ship from river to river to complete a journey. Some others of your ships are larger, some smaller, with appropriately numbered crews. All but your largest ships can travel up all the rivers, almost to their sources.

You decide to use the major waterways of Eastern Europe to trade with Constantinople.

1. Select the three best rivers for you to use, make up a name for each and label them on the map.

2. Select the best sites for portage and place an "X" to indicated trade villages there. You may portage your ship only twice.

3. Decide the products you will trade for, or buy, at each site. Make sure there is a demand for them in Constantinople.

4. Select one site as your primary trade port. It should be located far enough upriver where products from all regions can be consolidated onto larger boats for transport to Constantinople, but below the major rapids. Place a * at its location, name and label it on the map.


ACTIVITIES:



INTRO ACTIVITY:


*see Russia base map
1. Put up Russia base map overhead with nothing labeled except ocean. Overhead should have rivers and lakes drawn in without labels of any kind. Pass out a copy to each student.
2. Have students mark dots wherever they think cities would be located.
3. Overhead 2 - show latitude lines. Ask students if they think that the location of their cities would change. Give them time to erase and relocate cities.
4. Overhead 3 - show frozen Arctic Ocean, Tundra and Taiga. Students should have previous knowledge of these terms but this does afford the opportunity to discuss why people might or might not be located in those areas. Again, give students the opportunity to move their cities to new locations.
5. Have students answer the following questions: a. Where are the majority of the cities located? Why? b. What factors were involved in your site locations for your cities? c. Discuss challenges those cities along the east coast would face in their relation with the other cities in this country. d. What are the necessary elements for a site location? Discuss each and its importance.
6. Have students get in groups of three or four. Have them choose four or five major cities from their combined sites.
7. Discuss why these cites would be core cities. Ask: What are the factors that were discussed during the selection process?
8. Put up overhead of current Russia. Do the students choices correspond to the current map? Discuss why or why not. (Focusing on new methods of transportation such as air travel).

ACTIVITY TWO

- Trade Location and Transport Networks.
1. Pass out Trade Routes of Russia instructions and map. Go over handout as a class. Discuss the importance of resources in each location.
2. Make charts on the map for each central resource location: what they have, and what they need.
3. Have students follow the instructions on the handout, picking a trade route that allows them only three rivers and one land crossing.
4. Discuss the following questions: a. Why did you pick those routes? b. Why do you think that the exercise would only allow three water routes and one land route? c. Which areas received the best barter on their goods? d. Where were the major trading centers located? Why? e. What elements were present to make that a central trading center?

EXTENSIONS:


1. Have students do a trade center map of their local county, state, United States or other country. Using archive maps, have them plot their cites for primary agricultural, trading and manufacturing centers. Compare those with a current map of those cities.
2. Have students do research on major centers such as New York, Paris, London, Chicago, Los Angeles and trace their development from rural to urban settlement.












ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS:



FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS:

1. Using the economic model, analyze the components necessary for city development. Discuss factors necessary for a city to qualify as an Agricultural, Trading, or Manufacturing Center. Use specific examples to demonstrate each.

2. Evaluate the hazards of categorizing city development as either cultural/religious or economic. Use specific examples to illustrate each.

RUBRIC:

4. Answered all parts of the question in an outstanding manner. Presented material in an organized manner. Sentences were concise and precise.
3. All parts of the essay were covered, some in more detail than others. Organization was adequate.
2. Some parts of the essay were not covered. Those covered were done in an organized and clear manner. Student tended to ramble over areas he/she was not sure.
1. Question was not answered. Student had little organization to the material presented.

SHORT ANSWERS:

1. Sketch and compare the German Model and the French Model of Agricultural settlements.

2. Discuss the Cultural/Religious Model of Settlement.

3. Explain what urban settlements had to offer that led them to become even larger.







MULTIPLE CHOICE:

1. The ECONOMIC MODEL for city development includes all of the following except:
a. flowing water or underground water source within walking distance.
b. good farmland nearby to produce foodstuff for the inhabitants.
c. a money or barter economy to handle the newly established trading partners.*
d. locations on or adjacent to established trade routes.
e. locations which are easily protected and defended against invaders and attackers.

2. The basic element that separates a city from a village is:
a. In a city, the population has grown past its ability to sustain itself.
b. In a city, a significant proportion of the population is devoted to non-agricultural type jobs. *
c. In a city, a formal governing authority is in charge of inhabitants and those in the surrounding area.
d. A city is a trade center where goods are exchanged for money or barter.
e. A city has permanent, centrally located structures with farmland in surrounding fields.

3. All of the following are examples of the physical layout of a city except:
a. The German Model.
b. The French Model.
c. The Clustered Rural Model.
d. The Dispersed Rural Model.
e. The Urban Settlement Model. *

4. The Longlot Model of Urban Settlement is recognizable:
a. By its even distribution of farmland to all of the individuals in the community.
b. Because each parcel of land is equally removed from the city's core.
c. By the location of farms and lots, each located on the water source.*
d. Because it redistributed land each year so each farmer had years on the best land.
e. Because it let the natural topography of the area dictate farm boundaries.
5. On the basis of archaeological research, the earliest settlements came about for all of the following reasons except:
a. religious
b. economic *
c. nurturing
d. political
e. military

6. The Cultural/Religious model of settlement is based on its need for:
a. a place of worship.
b. a place to participate in religious ceremonies.
c. a permanent structure of honor to its god(s).
d. a place to bury their dead. *
e. a permanent place for their priests and holy men.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT: Students will present a brief historical sketch of a city of their choice. They will illustrate (either on poster board, PowerPoint presentation, or with any GIS program) the original settlement model of their city, discuss its growth, and make predictions for the future based on their research.

RUBRIC

5. presentation is clear, concise, attractive. Covers origin, growth and future predictions. Presentation goes the required 10 minute time limit.
4. presentation is clear and attractive. Could be more organized. Student has covered, at least in part origin, growth, and future predictions. Time was met or short by no more than 2 minutes.
3. presentation is not clear or concise. Organization is lacking but the basic points are covered. Time is short - between 6 - 8 minutes.
2. presentation is disorganized and work is not presented in an attractive manner. One of the points is missing. Time is short.
1. presentation is not complete. One or more of the key components are missing. Time is under 5 minutes.


PORTFOLIO:

RESEARCH PROJECT: This is an in-depth research project on how the agricultural and urban revolution affected a city of their choice. This project should discuss the establishment patterns of their city, its growth, its economic development and diffusion. Included in their research should be maps illustrating trade routes, urban sprawl, and population location. Problems currently facing their city should be discussed in detail with the student making suggestions for the future. Research should be at least ten pages long (maximum of 15 pages), typed, double spaced, done in MLA style, and include a minimum of 5 visual aids (three of which must be maps discussed above).

RUBRIC

5. All basic components of the report are presented in an outstanding manner. Proper length and style are used with no mistakes noted. Product is attractive. Visual aids are clear, attractive, relevant, and useful.
4. All basic components are presented. Proper length and style. Visual aids are clear, relevant, and useful.
3. Some components are not covered as well as others. Proper length, however, some mistakes in MLA were noted. Visual aids are present but not necessarily useful or relevant to the topic.
2. Some components are not covered. Paper is short and mistakes in MLA are noted. Some visual aids are unclear and not relevant.
1. Only one or two components are covered. Paper is short. MLA was not followed. Visual aids are missing and those that are present are unclear and unorganized.
 
 
Resources:
Constantinople Trade Routes.JPG
Russian Trade Routes.JPG

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