Question 1
The development of the human society depends so much on the interaction of the members of the society. The people living in the same society share most of the characteristics because their forms of interaction are defined by the conditions of the environment in which they live (Tignor et al. 288). Most of the social problems that face members of the same society contribute to the history of the society. Additionally, the development of the human societies faces the effects of their interaction.
Consider for example societies whose members have been together for almost their entire life. Such members are likely to behave in the same manner socially mainly because the experiences they went through were similar (Tignor et al. 288). It is a fact in sociology that any group of individuals subjected to similar conditions and life experiences will develop their social beliefs and values in more so the same manner. Owing to this belief, the community or rather society members living in the same region undergoes uniform technological and economic developments.
For example, the society shares the same learning institutions, the same amenities like hospitals and other common activities and points of societal convergence (Tignor et al. 290). Therefore, it is evident that they share various developmental aspects, which is one of the issues that leads to a common code of ethics as well as the commonness in sharing ideas about issues relating to development.
Another very common facility that plays a bigger role in shaping the interaction of society members is the celebration activities. Universal celebrations such as New Year celebrations and holy days for the case of a religious community help a lot in bringing the people together (Tignor et al. 290). Ideally, this coming up of individuals will strengthen the ties leading to the formation of common goals and ambitions that in the end will result in common values.
The environmental or habitat differences have significant effects on the economic development of various regions. It is evident that the environmental differences foster economic as well as technological exchanges among nations (Tignor et al. 288). The regions that are far apart from each other tend to undergo slightly close developmental regimes, as well as economic climates. For example, the development of one region may lead to the economic growth of the other region. The technological advancement tends to spread along the regions that are not significantly close but also not far apart. For instance, if one of the regions gets access to electricity, the same power is transferred to the other region (Tignor et al. 288).
Environmental differences also affect the rate of development of a region because rugged terrains, for example, will pose bigger challenges to the transport sector. The poor transport facilities such as roads will, in turn, lower the accessibility of an area hence subsequently lower its productivity (Tignor et al. 289). On the other hand, a well accessible region will attract investors and support businesses hence will end up been much more developed than the former.
Along the “Silk Road”, the constant movement and mixing of populations led to the transmission of knowledge, ideas, beliefs, cultures, and they had a significant history among the Eurasian people living near the road (Tignor et al. 287). The travellers along the road got attracted not only by trade but also by intellectual and cultural practices, among the Germans and the Eurasian people.
Various travellers who used the road develop the interest of carrying out businesses with the individuals bordering the road. By doing so, a complex mixture of populations was achieved at the end, which then ended up promoting social values and behavioural improvement (Tignor et al. 289). The ‘Silk Road’’ therefore promoted the mixing and in turn the transfer of very valuable values and ideas across the populations. This interaction leads to the development and improvement of beliefs, cultures, and knowledge within the Eurasian people.
Question 2
Furthermore, during this period when agriculture was emerging speedily, the man got more interest in farming and rearing livestock and therefore led to the innovation of various simple technological methods of farming all with the aim of improving food security. Some of these technological advances include an adaptation of large-scale farming, use of furrow irrigation and use of crop variety capable of producing high yields. For example, in Europe, those people living the western regions of Afro-Eurasia adapted a form of farming being practiced by their neighbors called settled agriculture around 6000-5000 BCE.
During the development of agriculture, the man saw it important to form simple social organizations whose purpose was to unite during farm plowing, bush clearing, planting, and crop harvesting. Therefore, small groups of people began forming whose aim was to develop the society collectively. Over the years, factors such as common language, common economic activity, and common color caused these small groups join to form government and states. These governments had rules and law that dictated core of living the community. These governments differed at times in opinion and therefore led to conflicts that resulted in minor wars. Man interest to gain power led to technological advancement in weaponry and some of these weapons invented by man negatively influenced the natural environment.
Nevertheless, despite the improvements in food security that resulted from advancement in agriculture, the agricultural activities caused negative impacts on the environment. For example, the formation of large-scale farms in Europe between 5000 BCE and 4000 BCE led to massive deforestation, which in turn influenced rain patterns in several regions of the world. In addition, construction and operation of food processing factories led to a massive pollution of air, increased acidity in the rain, led to slow depletion of the ozone layer and led to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses causing global warming.
Therefore, history gives us the origin of the environmental problems we are currently facing such as prolonged droughts, depreciation in water resources, an increase in heat on the earth surface and the crack of ice in the Antarctic region. We can use this information of history to correct the environmental mess through programs such as tree planting; regulation of factory exhaust, regulation of extends of farming and embracing technological advancements that are environment oriented.
Works Cited
Tignor (Robert), Jeremy Adelman, Peter Brown, Benjamin Elman, Xinru Liu, Holly Pittman, and Brent Shaw, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, Volume 1: Beginnings through the Fifteenth Century, 4th Edition (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014).
