The Foundation Of History

Niharika Singhal
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

Human history cannot be understood in a vacuum. All human societies have been, and still are, dependent on complex, interrelated physical, chemical & biological processes. Some of them are continental drift, climatic changes and earth’s position from the sun. Life depends on the maintenance of delicate balances within & between these processes.

One such process is the movement that happens within the Earth’s crust. This has affected human history by large.

The continental drift has determined the current distribution of world’s mineral resources. Coal, oil and natural gas come from the decomposition of the forests present about 300 million years ago. Continental drift determined the distribution of fossil fuel reserves in the modern world. It has also been a major influence in determining the current distribution of plants and animals. Before the drift, marsupial mammals had a worldwide distribution. As the continents drifted apart marsupial mammals were replaced in Eurasia by placental mammals. Domesticated animals of Eurasia were not present in North and South America. This influenced both their agriculture and their transport.

The position of the continents is also one major factor influencing the world’s climate and climate of the fundamental forces in shaping human history.

Large scale ice sheets could not develop without the continent clustering towards the North Pole.

Ice sheets determines the temperature of our world on earth. Different temperature zones develop different ecosystems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrC_Z5FmLwQ

All parts of an ecosystem are interconnected through a complex set of self-regulating cycles, feedback loops and linkage between different parts of the food chain. Our earth is a closed system. Nothing can get out of it. All waste products must go somewhere. This fact, combined with the limited resources available to all living things means that recycling is an essential function. The artificial waste created by human activity is, therefore, bound to affect natural processes and ecosystems.

We are part of earth’s ecosystem whether or not we are consciously aware of it. And this ecosystem is not static. All plants and animals tend to modify the environment as they compete and cooperate with others to survive and flourish. There are two factors that distinguish us from other animals. Firstly, we are the only species capable of destroying the ecosystem on which we depend for existence. Secondly, we are the only species to have spread into every terrestrial ecosystem.

The problem for human society is to balance their various demands against the ability of the ecosystems to withstand the resulting pressures.