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Overview:
In places as diverse as Mongolia, Tibet, and Iran, people who live where the environment does not allow for sufficient agricultural production may be nomadic—moving throughout the year—and rely on animal herds for their food, clothing, housing, and trade. They move their homes and herds from time to time to follow sources of food for their herds rather than depend on crops. For these people, the boundaries of home change regularly. They do not wander aimlessly, however, but generally follow a route that allows them to maintain their herds from season to season. This exercise explores the way humans have adapted to regions that do not sustain communities through agriculture and the influence this has on how they live and view the boundaries of their home.
This lesson is one in a series developed in collaboration with The Asia Society, with support from the Freeman Foundation, highlighting the geography and culture of Asia and its people.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: "How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process and report information"
Standard 4: "The physical and human characteristics of places"
Standard 12: "The process, patterns, and functions of human settlement"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"
Time:
One to two hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
- "Nomadic Pastoralism" focus sheet (PDF, Adobe Reader required)
- Paper/writing implement for journals
- Markers, colored pencils, or crayons for illustrating journals
Objectives:
Students will
- define the terms pastoralism and nomadic;
- explain what environmental factors lead people to maintain a pastoralist lifestyle;
- identify how pastoralists rely on herds to be self-sufficient;
- examine the physical features of Mongolia, Tibet, and Iran; and
- use standard writing conventions in describing the life of a pastoralist.
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Answering Geographic Questions
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Introduce or review with students the notion that most contemporary communities are relatively stable regions with identifiable boundaries. A city, for example, has boundaries that may be visible on a map or easily seen as walls or gates. Individuals in a community may have a personal space that includes a home and yard, fields, or living space within a particular building. The members of the community may remain in this area over long periods of time because food supplies are stable through local agriculture or means of trade. Ask students what might happen if they lived in a region that couldn't produce or access food. What alternative ways of life might evolve?
Development:
Ask students to generate a list of conditions that might make sedentary, or settled, agriculture difficult. Answers should include the following:
- lack of sufficient rainfall or water for irrigation
- lack of arable soil
- regions with very short growing seasons
- areas of extreme environmental/weather conditions
- areas of extreme elevation
Introduce the idea of nomadic pastoralism as it has existed, and continues to exist, in Central Asia. The development of nomadic pastoralism was a true advance in the evolution of human civilization. About 9,000 years ago, the domestication of sheep and goats in this specialized form of agriculture was first found in Central Asia. Herds of animals were moved to rangeland areas where consistent water supplies and extreme weather conditions made growing crops difficult. People became experts in raising their livestock and moved frequently based on the weather and the availability of food and water. While mobility is an important part of nomadic life, the movements are usually planned based on rotating livestock through different seasons. Since it is difficult to move many possessions with such frequency, the number and health of the animals became the measure of wealth for the family or community.
Highlight the need for reliance on herds rather than crops, which forces groups to move their homes regularly. Have students examine the following maps, which may provide clues to areas that would face this challenge. As students explore the maps, have them list possible areas that would lend themselves to nomadic life. (If your students have not yet used the National Geographic MapMachine, you may first need to familiarize them with its functionality and features.)
National Geographic: MapMachine—Asian Precipitation in July Map
National Geographic: MapMachine—Asian Altitude Map
National Geographic: MapMachine—Asian Temperature Map
Closing:
Using the National Geographic MapMachine, have students view the terrain in Iran, Mongolia, and Tibet. Give each student a copy of the "Nomadic Pastoralism" focus sheet (PDF, Adobe Reader required). Tell students to zoom in on images of communities of pastoralists to answer the questions on the focus sheet. Then have students record the ways that these people can live in harsh environmental conditions by depending on herds rather than crops. Finally, as a class, review the focus sheets.
Suggested Student Assessment:
Ask students to write at least four journal entries from the point-of-view of a nomadic pastoralist in one of these identified regions. Tell the students to include at least one entry for each season and to create illustrations to visually highlight the ways in which the pastoralist adapts to the environment. Have students print out or make a map of the region they wrote about in the journal.
Extending the Lesson:
- Have students investigate the changes that are taking place in traditionally pastoralist regions by answering the following questions through online research:
- What role does the government play in the change of lifestyle of a nomadic pastoralist?
- How does the notion of boundaries and ownership influence the government's policies toward nomadic pastoralists?
- Where do these people live?
- What jobs do they take?
- Have students watch the National Geographic film The Story of the Weeping Camel. This film explores the life of a nomadic pastoralist family in Mongolia and their daily lives. (Note that the film is rated PG and should be previewed by the teacher prior to showing in the classroom. You may wish to show only portions of the film as it contains some mature content [characters smoking, a camel giving birth, a child being bathed, etc.].) After viewing the film, allow students to discuss examples of how the family members are nomadic pastoralists and modern influences on the family that might threaten the existence of their way of life.
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