What can be the source of knowledge? Sources of geographical knowledge
Since childhood, we have come to hear that the most faithfulthe source of knowledge is a book. In fact, there are much more sources. With their help, we develop and learn to live in the world around us. What are the sources of knowledge? Which of them will be useful in geography?
Knowledge and knowledge
In the broadest sense, knowledge is a form ofrepresentations about the world, image or attitude of a person to the actual reality. In a narrower sense, knowledge is information, skills and skills that a person owns and that are based on awareness.
The process of obtaining knowledge is called knowledge. It can be sensual, rational and intuitive. Sensual cognition occurs with the help of sight and sensations (taste, hearing, touch, smell). Rational is based on thinking, it includes understanding, reasoning and inference.
Knowledge is a unionsensory and rational cognition. The main methods of obtaining it are observation and experience. These are the most ancient sources of knowledge. Primitive and ancient people did not have books and computers. They studied the world, watching him. So, they made inferences, revealed for themselves certain regularities.
Simultaneously, an experienced path was used. Trying to hold a sharp stone on a wooden stick, the man realized that you can sharpen it and use it as a weapon or a tool for hunting. Thanks to attempts, people obtained fire, first cooked food, planted the plant, tamed the animal and developed to the modern level.
Speech as a source of knowledge
At the initial stage of human formationThe only place to store information was memory. All the thoughts, information and conclusions that people may have made remained in their heads. With the advent of related speech and language, it became possible not only to reflect on something, but also to share it with others.
Observing the phenomena of nature generatedset of questions. Why does it rain, does the sun shine or does the bird fly? To explain these phenomena, people come up with myths, fairy tales, legends and beliefs. This is how people create a certain idea of the world, which they convey to the younger generation.
The oral source of knowledge reflects the vision of the world andlife of the people. Thanks to him, intergenerational communication is carried out. Of these, folklorists, ethnographers and historians can understand how people lived before, what they believed, what problems they had. Language and speech are of great importance in the modern world. With their help we communicate with people, learn news, adopt traditions and norms in behavior.
Material Sources
An important source of knowledge is materialculture. For the first time it manifested itself in the form of rock carvings and statuettes. Even in the Paleolithic people painted themselves and animals on the walls in caves, carved from natural materials totems, amulets and small sculptures. Subsequently, these findings were the most important evidence of the development of ancient people.
The main sources of knowledge for anthropologists andhistorians - these are objects of everyday life, tools, ornaments, religious attributes, weapons, coins. They report the most important data on the nature and structure of ancient society.
Real sources are andremains of people. According to them, biologists and anthropologists find out what people looked like, what work they did, and what diseases they had been exposed to. The remains of architectural structures give information about the ancient architecture. Much of this knowledge is not only familiarizing in nature, but also used in modern spheres of life.
Written sources
Developing language skills, a person beginsto feel the need to somehow record their speech. For this, he comes up with special signs that bear a certain meaning. So there is writing. The first records are cut out on wooden and clay tablets, carved on stones. Then there is parchment, papyrus and paper.
Attempts to create a letter there are another 9 thousandyears ago. One of the oldest written sources are the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Sumerian cuneiform, the Babylonian Code of Hamurapi, written by a Cretan letter, etc.
Initially, the letter was created manually and there was nois available to all. Mainly religious texts and epistles were written down, as well as modern events. The invention of printing made writing more accessible. Now the most common source of knowledge is the Internet. It can also be considered a part of writing, although the text is distributed virtually, electronically.
Sources of geographical knowledge
Geography is one of the most ancient sciences inworld. She studies the landscapes, natural spheres and shells of our planet, the location of various objects on Earth. This is eloquently reported by its name, which translates as "land description".
The earliest and simplest sources of geographicalknowledge - it's hiking. People moved around the planet, observed and collected information about the location of rivers, lakes, cities, mountains. They saw what they saw and sketched, thereby creating new sources of knowledge.
As a type of drawing, maps appeared. With the development of mathematics and physics, they improved, became more precise and understandable. So, many geographers used the workings of their ancestors, using maps and books. Until now, they remain the most faithful sources of knowledge in this discipline.
