Human Geography

Since 1945 human geography has contained five main divisions. The first four—economic, social, cultural, and political—reflect both the main areas of contemporary life and the social science disciplines with which geographers interact (i.e., economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science and international relations, respectively); the fifth is historical geography.

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Peoples of Africa Peoples of Asia Peoples of Australia & Oceania Peoples of Europe Peoples of the Americas Peoples of the Middle East

Human Geography Encyclopedia Articles

ABA-BAM

BAM-CEB

CEL-DOL

DOM-HAW

HAY-KAL

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MIX-NāG

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REN-SOU

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TYL-ṢAQ

Featured Articles

Distribution of North American Plateau peoples

Plateau Indian

Plateau Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples inhabiting the high plateau region between the Rocky Mountains and the coastal mountain system. The Plateau culture area comprises a complex...

Distribution of American Subarctic cultures

American Subarctic peoples

American Subarctic peoples, Native American peoples whose traditional area of residence is the subarctic region of Alaska and Canada. Those from Alaska are often referred to in aggregate as Native Alaskans,...

Great Basin Indian

Great Basin Indian, member of any of the indigenous North American peoples inhabiting the traditional culture area comprising almost all of the present-day U.S. states of Utah and Nevada as well as substantial...

Northwest Coast Indian

Northwest Coast Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples inhabiting a narrow belt of Pacific coastland and offshore islands from the southern border of Alaska to northwestern California. The...

distribution of aboriginal South American and circum-Caribbean cultural groups

South American Indian

South American Indian, member of any of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting the continent of South America. The customs and social systems of South American peoples are closely and naturally related to the...

Distribution of North American Plains peoples

Plains Indian

Plains Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples inhabiting the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. This culture area comprises a vast grassland between the Mississippi River and the...

ancient Italic people

Ancient Italic people, any of the peoples diverse in origin, language, traditions, stage of development, and territorial extension who inhabited pre-Roman Italy, a region heavily influenced by neighbouring...

Distribution of American Southwest peoples

Southwest Indian

Southwest Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples inhabiting the southwestern United States; some scholars also include the peoples of northwestern Mexico in this culture area. More than 20...

Indigenous peoples of the American Southeast

What was the significance of corn in the Southeastern Indigenous cultures? Corn was the economic mainstay, providing a high yield of nutritious food with minimal labor. It allowed for men to embark on...

South American nomad

South American nomad, indigenous inhabitants of South America living as nomadic hunters, gatherers, and fishers. In the past, South American nomads could be found from Cape Horn to the Orinoco River in...

Aboriginal people of Galiwnku Island in Australia

Australian Aboriginal peoples

Australian Aboriginal peoples, one of the two distinct groups of Indigenous peoples of Australia, the other being the Torres Strait Islander peoples. It has long been conventionally held that Australia...

Middle American Indian

Middle American Indian, member of any of the aboriginal peoples inhabiting the area from northern Mexico to Nicaragua. The physical spine of Middle America is the broad mountain chain extending from the...

African Americans

African Americans, one of the largest of the many ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are mainly of African ancestry, but many have non-Black ancestors as well. African Americans are...

Native American

Native American, member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, although the term often connotes only those groups whose original territories were in present-day Canada and the United...

South American forest Indian

South American forest Indian, indigenous inhabitants of the tropical forests of South America. The tribal cultures of South America are so various that they cannot be adequately summarized in a brief space....

Distribution of Indigenous California peoples

California Indian

California Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples who have traditionally resided in the area roughly corresponding to the present states of California (U.S.) and northern Baja California...

Distribution of Northeast American peoples

Northeast Indian

Northeast Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples living at the time of European contact in the area roughly bounded in the north by the transition from predominantly deciduous forest to the...