Theories of Cultural Ecology:

Environmental Determinism v.
Possibilism
AP HUG
2015
Last summer on my trip to Ethopia I
went to a city called Lalibela (Lalibela
is a ______. A way to describe place.)
 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• I flew into the capital
city of Addis Abba.
Addis Ababa serves
as a ____________
region in terms of
international
transportation and as
headquarters for the
African Union.
Lalibela is located
at 12°01′54″N
39°02′28″E. (The
grid coordinates of
Lalibela describe
place is term of its
________ ______.
Lalibela sits in the north central region of Ethiopia.
It is east of the town of Gondar and north of
capital, Addis Ababa. The following description of
place is called __________.
The most amazing thing was that all 11
churches in Lalibela were carved by hand
from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
 Terms to know
• Cultural landscape is a combination of
cultural, economic and physical features of a
place (ex. Language, industry, climate)
• Cultural Ecology is the geographic study of
human-environment relationships
• Environmental Determinism is theory that
environment causes social development or the
idea that natural environment influences people.
• Possibilism is theory that people can adjust
or overcome an environment.
 Clash of the Titans

• As you view each of the slide, ask yourself

these questions:
a. Who wins the people or environment?
b. Why?
c. In this photo, does the environment
determine people’s destiny?
d. How has the environment been altered by
the people?