I INTRODUCTION
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, political and social concepts referring to guarantees of freedom, justice, and equality that a state may make to its citizens. Although the terms have no precise meaning in law and are sometimes used interchangeably, distinctions may be made. Civil rights is used to imply that the state has a positive role in ensuring all citizens equal protection under law and equal opportunity to exercise the privileges of citizenship and otherwise to participate fully in national life, regardless of race, religion, sex, or other characteristics unrelated to the worth of the individual. Civil liberties is used to refer to guarantees of freedom of speech, press, or religion; to due process of law; and to other limitations on the power of the state to restrain or dictate the actions of individuals. The two concepts of equality and liberty are overlapping and interacting; equality implies the ordering of liberty within society so that the freedom of one person does not infringe on the rights of others, just as liberty implies the right to act in ways permitted to others.
II HISTORY
Wartime Discrimination in Canada Canadian naval officers at Esquimalt, British Columbia, confiscate a Japanese Canadian fisherman's boat in 1941. During World War II the Canadian government confined thousands of Japanese Canadians and seized their assets. The concept that human beings have inalienable rights and liberties that cannot justly be violated by others or by the state is linked to the history of democracy. It was first expressed by the philosophers of ancient Greece. Socrates, for example, chose to die rather than renounce the right to speak his mind in the search for wisdom. Somewhat later the Stoic philosophers formulated explicitly the doctrine of the rights of the individual (see Stoicism). Traces of libertarian doctrine appear in the Bible and in the writings of the Roman statesman Marcus Cicero and the Greek essayist Plutarch. Such ideas, however, did not gain a permanent place in the political structure of the Roman Empire and all but disappeared during medieval times.
A Early Development
Bill of Rights Because the Constitution of the United States granted the federal government so much power, as compared with the earlier Articles of Confederation, several states demanded a list of amendments to guarantee individual rights against intrusion by the federal government. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, embody libertarian ideas in the United States. The amendments protect such rights as freedom of speech (First Amendment), right against unlawful search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), and the right to a public criminal trial by jury (Sixth Amendment). Individual freedom can survive only under a system of law by which both the sovereign and the governed are bound. Such a system of fundamental laws, whether written or embodied in tradition, is known as a constitution. The idea of government limited by law received effective expression for the first time in the Magna Carta (1215), which checked the power of the English king. The Magna Carta did not stem from democratic or egalitarian beliefs; rather, it was a treaty between king and nobility that defined their relationship and laid the basis for the concept that the ruler was subject to the law rather than above it. The development of constitutional government was slowed by the persistence of the ideas of absolutism, the belief that all political power should be in the hands of one individual, and divine right, which held that kings derived their power from—and were accountable only to—God. These beliefs were widely held throughout Europe until the 18th century. The notion that the people have the right to be asked to consent to acts of government did not arrive without a protracted struggle. The reigns of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs in England were marked by fierce conflicts between the Crown and Parliament.
On the European continent the struggle between authoritarian and libertarian principles developed around religious rather than secular issues. During the Reformation, freedom of religious belief and practice was a primary concern. Tolerance was rare; as late as 1612, for instance, members of the Unitarian sect were burned as heretics in England (see Unitarianism). Not until the end of the 18th century did the ideals of religious toleration become firmly established in Western civilization.
Boston Massacre Revolutionary wars in France, England, and the United States led to the incorporation of libertarian principles in the governments of each of these countries. Among these principles was the idea that people should have a voice in their country’s government. Before any of these principles could be written into the constitutions of these countries, however, each was ravaged by terrible wars. The Boston Massacre, as depicted in this print, was one of the smaller battles in the American Revolution. The event was not actually a massacre, but a street fight between a mob and a squad of British soldiers that ended with the death of five colonists. As a result of the English, American, and French revolutions, libertarian ideals were embodied in the structure of national governments. In England, the struggle between Parliament and the absolutist Stuart monarchs culminated in the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688. King James II was expelled, and the new king, William III, gave royal assent (1689) to the Declaration of Rights (English Bill of Rights), which guaranteed constitutional government. Subsequently, the monarch’s prerogatives were limited by statute and custom. The idea of a constitutional system is described in the writings of the English philosopher John Locke, which profoundly influenced the leaders of the American colonies.
The 17th century was marked also by the growth of individual freedom in Great Britain. In the common law courts, for example, the judges became more concerned for the rights of those accused of crime, and procedural safeguards were established.
B Spread of Civil Liberties
British colonists brought the concepts of limited government and individual freedom to the New World. The early laws of Virginia, Massachusetts, and other colonies reflected interest in the reform of criminal procedure that was emerging in Great Britain. A notable event in the history of civil liberties was the successful defense (1735) in New York by the Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton of the printer John Peter Zenger, who had been charged with seditious libel for criticisms of the colonial government in his publication the New York Weekly Journal. Hamilton established the principle that the government may not punish truthful publications of matters of public concern. See The Trial of John Peter Zenger.
The events leading to the American and French revolutions inspired writings that laid the foundations for modern ideas of civil liberties by such authors as the French philosophers Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau, the British reformer John Wilkes and the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, the Anglo-American writer Thomas Paine, and the American statesmen Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France and the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States formally established libertarian principles as a foundation of modern democracy.
Although civil liberties are often considered an integral part of democratic government, the principles of limited government and personal freedom were developed in England at a time when political power was held by an aristocratic upper class. Similarly, in the American colonies, many founding fathers did not favor democracy in the modern sense. Indeed, the framers of the U.S. Constitution provided a method of electing the nation’s president that avoids a direct popular vote. Conversely, history offers numerous examples of countries in which political power is formally vested in representative assemblies, but enforcement of law is arbitrary or despotic, and minorities have few safeguards against the tyranny of majorities.
III CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE UNITED STATES
The civil rights and liberties of U.S. citizens are largely embodied in the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments to the Constitution) and in similar provisions in state constitutions. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religious exercise as well as separation of church and state (see Speech, Freedom of; Press, Freedom of the; Religious Liberty). The Fourth Amendment protects the privacy and security of the home and personal effects and prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fifth through Eighth amendments protect persons accused of crime; they guarantee, for example, the right to trial by jury, the right to confront hostile witnesses and to have legal counsel, and the privilege of not testifying against oneself. The Fifth Amendment also contains the general guarantee that no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law (see Due Process of Law). Originally these amendments were binding only on the federal government. However, decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States have established that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment (ratified in 1868) applies many of the guarantees in the Bill of Rights to actions by state and local governments.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Dpharmacy
The modern era societies have great concern about the health of their people, so they are engaged with multi disciplinary team work of physicians, pharmacists, nurses and others to optimise better health care delivery for boosting up the health of their public. The explosion of new drug products in the market has compelled physicians, other health professionals and patients to rely more and more on the expertise of the pharmacists who are better trained to understand how these drugs exert their actions, travel through the body and interact with one another. Pharmacy is among the primal pyramids of health sector, taking a quantum leap towards research and development, similar to its other counter-parts. The profession of Pharmacy has evolved from its traditional role of compounding the drugs to the pharmaceutical care, the design and development of magic drugs and their formulations and the ongoing research in medical and pharmaceutical fields to counteract the needs of the modern society. The Department of Pharmacy at the University of Lahore has been established to provide education in basic health needs of the modern era, to achieve the goals of enriching ourselves in a fast flowing stream of knowledge via electronic or audio-visual aid and to prepare professionals of matching caliber. The rigor of our academic programme, the selection of modern courses, teaching faculty and access to state of the art facilities at our campus will add prestige and recognition to the degree, we will be awarding to our students.
Mission
The mission of Department of Pharmacy is to educate and train the people for present as well as for future concern so that they become useful and productive members of health care team, thus, serving the needs of the society in a best possible way. The Department of Pharmacy is committed to provide an environment of academic excellence and research, and social responsibilities that facilitate the propagation and acquisition of knowledge and skills related to the profession of pharmacy and the disciplines in pharmacy education.
Goals: We desire to be recognized as a leader in Pharmacy education through:
1. Achieving competency in pharmacy curriculum by maintaining ethical and professional standards.
2. Preparing the pharmacy graduates by giving through knowledge, skills, motivation and professional attitude to the proper and rational use of drugs, now and in the future.
3. Promoting an environment to support research in basic
scientific training to the students in pursuing career as professional pharmacists, researchers, managers and academicians. and applied pharmaceutical & medical sciences, to advance pharmaceutical knowledge, to encourage fundamental drugs discovery and finally the attainment of advanced degrees.
4. Exploring concerns common to pharmacy and allied professions for the purpose of promoting efficient distribution and utilization of health related services.
5. Developing and maintaining high quality education programs which enable the Department of Pharmacy to:
a. Provide traditional and non-traditional educational avenues for advanced professional and academic degree studies.
b. Improve public perception of pharmacy practice
c. Increase public awareness of drugs
Scope of Pharmacy
Community / Retail Pharmacy: This area involves the practice of pharmacy in community settings or retail outlets. Pharmacists, in the community settings, are actively involved in educating patients, maintaining and monitoring drug records and providing information resource of the highest caliber. This is very rapidly growing area of pharmacy profession in which the pharmacists are deployed at store levels leading to the management positions in chain drug pharmacies or themselves become the owner of their own pharmacies.
Hospital and Other Institutional Settings: The expansion of health care needs of the society puts the hospital pharmacists in a position to have direct involvement in patient care besides its established roles of control, supply and distribution of drugs, management functions, personnel administration, system development and planning. Hospital pharmacists continue to become more involved in providing patient-oriented services; the demand for practishnors in this area of pharmacy continues to grow.
Managed Care Pharmacy: Managed care pharmacy services are the extended health delivery system services that provides the pharmaceutical care at the primary / or preventive level. Increasingly, pharmacists are employed in various capacities within managed care organizations (MCQs). Managed care is a system designed to optimize patient care and outcomes and foster quality through greater coordination of medical and pharmaceutical services.
Pharmaceutical Industry: Another career option in pharmacy is represented by the pharmaceutical industry. Here, pharmacists are employed in manufacturing, product development / research, quality control, marketing, sales and administration. Many pharmacists obtain a postgraduate degree in order to meet the technical demands and scientific duties required in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Academic Pharmacy: Approximately 500 full- time faculty members work in the nation’s Faculty or Departments of Pharmacy, while in a developed country like USA; this figure is more than 3000. They are involved with teaching, research, public service and patient care. Becoming a member of the faculty at an Institute / Department / Faculty of Pharmacy usually requires a Postgraduate degree. After graduation, only few
pharmacists exercise the option to teach, hence there, currently exists a shortage, creating an array of excellent professional opportunities.
Other Fields in Pharmacy: Pharmacists use their basic educational background in a host of federal, state and professional positions. At the federal or provincial level, pharmacists hold posts like drug inspectors, drug controllers, pharmacists / chief pharmacists at drug testing laboratories and also as Commissioned Officers in Pakistan Armed Forces. Pharmacists with interest and special talents in organizational work also guide several national professional associations. There are pharmacist in advertising, packaging, technical writing, magazine editing and science reporting. There are pharmacists with legal training serving as patent lawyers or as experts in pharmaceutical law.
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D)
Admissions
Application for admission to the Pharm-D. program in Pharmacy will be made to the Head of Pharmacy Department, The University of Lahore. An applicant should possess F.Sc. (Pre-medical) certificate or equivalent from any recognized college of the country / B.Sc Chemistry, Botany, Zoology from recognized Institute in 2nd division. There will be an aptitude/ entrance test for each applicant and the admission will be decided after the interview. Application forms should be submitted by the applicant along with official transcripts from the institutions last attended, test scores and three letters of recommendation. Letters are sent directly to the Head of Pharmacy Department. For more information about admission to Departmental Programs, please consult the admission office or contact Student Services at 042-5411901 ext. 317
Examination System
The five years Pharm-D degree program will be conducted under Annual system of examination. There will be 1st annual examination after the end of each professional year followed by 2nd annual examination of that year. The candidate will be required to pass all the theory and practical papers separately by obtaining 50% of the marks. The students will have to clear professional exam in four consecutive examinations including 1st annual exam fixed for that class. In extraordinary cases students may be allowed 5th chance to clear his/her professional exam by the Rector of the University on the recommendation of the head of department.
If in the first professional class he/she does not clear all the subjects of first professional exam in maximum five attempts he/she ceased to be the students of University. However he/she will be eligible for re admission.
Academic Regulation
Eligibility
F.Sc with Pre-Medical or Equivalent B.Sc with Chemistry, Botany, Zoology from a recognized Institute in 2nd division.
Improvement of Division
Any subject in which a student may have enlisted more than once is considered a repeat course. With the permission of the Advisor programs, a student may enlist in the course(s) for marks improvement. The marks obtained in the said course shall be counted towards degree requirements at the time of Graduation.
Attendance: 80% attendance is essential for each student to sit in the final professional examination. It carries 10% credit marks, which will be accumulated in the finals of each year.
Promotion of the Failed students in Professional Examination: A student will only be provisionally promoted to the next higher class if he/she has failed in two subjects of the 2nd and onward professional examinations. If he does not pass even after availing three chances he/she will be reverted back to lower class.
Assignments / Test / Tutorials / teachers assessment: Assignments / tests are given after completion of each topic in every subject. These topics are then subjected to discussion in class tutorials and then the relevant teacher assesses the knowledge and participation from each student. These carry 15% of total marks.
Duration of program: The program shall be spread over a period of five professional years.
First Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I
(Organic-I) [Th.}
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I
(Organic-I (Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-I [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-I (Physical Pharmacy-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-I (Physical Pharmacy-I [Lab.]
Physiology & Histology-I [Th.]
Physiology & Histology-I [Lab.]
Anatomy
Pharmaceutical Mathematics
Semester 2
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-II (Organic-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-II (Organic-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-II [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-II (Physical Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-II {Physical Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Physiology & Histology-II [Th.]
Physiology & Histology-II [Lab.]
Biostatistics
Secomd Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutics-III (Pharmaceutical Preparations-1) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-III (Pharmaceutical Prparatins-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1 (General-1) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1 (General-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy-1 [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-1 [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-1 [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-1 [Lab.]
Pakistan Studies
Semester 2
Pharmaceutics-IV (Pharmaceutical Preparations-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IV (Pharmaceutical Preparations-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-II (General-II [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-II (General-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy –II [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-II [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology -II [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-II [Lab.]
Islamiat
Third Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pathology [Th.]
Pathology [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1II (Systemic Pharmacology-1) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-III (Systemic Pharmacology-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy-III [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-III [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-III (Instrumentation-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-III (Instrumentation-I [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-V (Dispensing Pharmacy) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-V (Dispensing Pharmacy) [Lab.]
Semester 2
Computer and its Applications in Pharmacy [Th.]
Computer and its Applications in Pharmacy [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-IV (Systemic Pharmacology-II) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-IV (Systemic Pharmacology-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy –IV [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-IVI [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry –IV (Instrumentation-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-IV (Instrumentation-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-VI (Community Pharmacy) [Th.]
Fourth Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutics-VII (Hospital Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics0I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-I) [Lab.]
Semester 2
Pharmaceutics-VII (Hospital Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-II) [Lab.]
Fifth Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-III) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-III) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XIX (Forensic Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XX (Pharmaceutical Management & Marketing-I) [Th.]
Semester 2
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-IV) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-IV) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XIX (Forensic Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XX (Pharmaceutical Management & Marketing-II) [Th.]
Doctor of Pharmacy - Condensed (Pharm-D)
Condensed course for Pharm-D is offered to those who have completed B. Pharmacy degree with 4 years course. This condense course consists of two semesters each of six months comprising of the following subjects
Anatomy biopharmaceutics, Biostatistics, clinical pharmacy, Community Pharmacy computer and its application in Pharmacy, instrumentations, Pathology Pharmaceutical Quality Management Pharmaceutical Technology. Pharmacy management and Marketing.
Objectives: The main objective is to train pharmacists and equip them with necessary competencies and skills in the art and science of preparing and dispensing medications as well as in the field of Clinical Pharmacy. In doing so, the program endeavors to provide up-to-date knowledge via Internet and rigorous. Other objectives are: Develop and apply their knowledge for safer and apt delivery of life saving drugs to the public. Understand nature of drug policies plans trends and to prevail the ethical drug practices. Clearly understand the meaning of cGMP, TQM, and standardization techniques and to practice it accordingly. Cultivate management skills in organization, planning, monitoring and evaluation relating to pharmaceutical industry and hospital design, conduct, analyze, interpret and communicate the results of pertinent studies and programs in the field of Pharmacy. Details are available from the department
Fee Structure
Doctor of Pharmacy (5 Years)
Fee Per Semester
Semester 1 - Rs. 56,700
Semester 2 - Rs. 54,000
Semester 3 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 4 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 5 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 6 - Rs. 54,000
Semester 7 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 8 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 9 - Rs. 48,600
Semester 10 - Rs. 48,600
Total Fee for ten semester 518,400
Admission & Registration Fee (one time) 25,000
Total Fee for programme 543,400
Mission
The mission of Department of Pharmacy is to educate and train the people for present as well as for future concern so that they become useful and productive members of health care team, thus, serving the needs of the society in a best possible way. The Department of Pharmacy is committed to provide an environment of academic excellence and research, and social responsibilities that facilitate the propagation and acquisition of knowledge and skills related to the profession of pharmacy and the disciplines in pharmacy education.
Goals: We desire to be recognized as a leader in Pharmacy education through:
1. Achieving competency in pharmacy curriculum by maintaining ethical and professional standards.
2. Preparing the pharmacy graduates by giving through knowledge, skills, motivation and professional attitude to the proper and rational use of drugs, now and in the future.
3. Promoting an environment to support research in basic
scientific training to the students in pursuing career as professional pharmacists, researchers, managers and academicians. and applied pharmaceutical & medical sciences, to advance pharmaceutical knowledge, to encourage fundamental drugs discovery and finally the attainment of advanced degrees.
4. Exploring concerns common to pharmacy and allied professions for the purpose of promoting efficient distribution and utilization of health related services.
5. Developing and maintaining high quality education programs which enable the Department of Pharmacy to:
a. Provide traditional and non-traditional educational avenues for advanced professional and academic degree studies.
b. Improve public perception of pharmacy practice
c. Increase public awareness of drugs
Scope of Pharmacy
Community / Retail Pharmacy: This area involves the practice of pharmacy in community settings or retail outlets. Pharmacists, in the community settings, are actively involved in educating patients, maintaining and monitoring drug records and providing information resource of the highest caliber. This is very rapidly growing area of pharmacy profession in which the pharmacists are deployed at store levels leading to the management positions in chain drug pharmacies or themselves become the owner of their own pharmacies.
Hospital and Other Institutional Settings: The expansion of health care needs of the society puts the hospital pharmacists in a position to have direct involvement in patient care besides its established roles of control, supply and distribution of drugs, management functions, personnel administration, system development and planning. Hospital pharmacists continue to become more involved in providing patient-oriented services; the demand for practishnors in this area of pharmacy continues to grow.
Managed Care Pharmacy: Managed care pharmacy services are the extended health delivery system services that provides the pharmaceutical care at the primary / or preventive level. Increasingly, pharmacists are employed in various capacities within managed care organizations (MCQs). Managed care is a system designed to optimize patient care and outcomes and foster quality through greater coordination of medical and pharmaceutical services.
Pharmaceutical Industry: Another career option in pharmacy is represented by the pharmaceutical industry. Here, pharmacists are employed in manufacturing, product development / research, quality control, marketing, sales and administration. Many pharmacists obtain a postgraduate degree in order to meet the technical demands and scientific duties required in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Academic Pharmacy: Approximately 500 full- time faculty members work in the nation’s Faculty or Departments of Pharmacy, while in a developed country like USA; this figure is more than 3000. They are involved with teaching, research, public service and patient care. Becoming a member of the faculty at an Institute / Department / Faculty of Pharmacy usually requires a Postgraduate degree. After graduation, only few
pharmacists exercise the option to teach, hence there, currently exists a shortage, creating an array of excellent professional opportunities.
Other Fields in Pharmacy: Pharmacists use their basic educational background in a host of federal, state and professional positions. At the federal or provincial level, pharmacists hold posts like drug inspectors, drug controllers, pharmacists / chief pharmacists at drug testing laboratories and also as Commissioned Officers in Pakistan Armed Forces. Pharmacists with interest and special talents in organizational work also guide several national professional associations. There are pharmacist in advertising, packaging, technical writing, magazine editing and science reporting. There are pharmacists with legal training serving as patent lawyers or as experts in pharmaceutical law.
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D)
Admissions
Application for admission to the Pharm-D. program in Pharmacy will be made to the Head of Pharmacy Department, The University of Lahore. An applicant should possess F.Sc. (Pre-medical) certificate or equivalent from any recognized college of the country / B.Sc Chemistry, Botany, Zoology from recognized Institute in 2nd division. There will be an aptitude/ entrance test for each applicant and the admission will be decided after the interview. Application forms should be submitted by the applicant along with official transcripts from the institutions last attended, test scores and three letters of recommendation. Letters are sent directly to the Head of Pharmacy Department. For more information about admission to Departmental Programs, please consult the admission office or contact Student Services at 042-5411901 ext. 317
Examination System
The five years Pharm-D degree program will be conducted under Annual system of examination. There will be 1st annual examination after the end of each professional year followed by 2nd annual examination of that year. The candidate will be required to pass all the theory and practical papers separately by obtaining 50% of the marks. The students will have to clear professional exam in four consecutive examinations including 1st annual exam fixed for that class. In extraordinary cases students may be allowed 5th chance to clear his/her professional exam by the Rector of the University on the recommendation of the head of department.
If in the first professional class he/she does not clear all the subjects of first professional exam in maximum five attempts he/she ceased to be the students of University. However he/she will be eligible for re admission.
Academic Regulation
Eligibility
F.Sc with Pre-Medical or Equivalent B.Sc with Chemistry, Botany, Zoology from a recognized Institute in 2nd division.
Improvement of Division
Any subject in which a student may have enlisted more than once is considered a repeat course. With the permission of the Advisor programs, a student may enlist in the course(s) for marks improvement. The marks obtained in the said course shall be counted towards degree requirements at the time of Graduation.
Attendance: 80% attendance is essential for each student to sit in the final professional examination. It carries 10% credit marks, which will be accumulated in the finals of each year.
Promotion of the Failed students in Professional Examination: A student will only be provisionally promoted to the next higher class if he/she has failed in two subjects of the 2nd and onward professional examinations. If he does not pass even after availing three chances he/she will be reverted back to lower class.
Assignments / Test / Tutorials / teachers assessment: Assignments / tests are given after completion of each topic in every subject. These topics are then subjected to discussion in class tutorials and then the relevant teacher assesses the knowledge and participation from each student. These carry 15% of total marks.
Duration of program: The program shall be spread over a period of five professional years.
First Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I
(Organic-I) [Th.}
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I
(Organic-I (Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-I [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-I (Physical Pharmacy-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-I (Physical Pharmacy-I [Lab.]
Physiology & Histology-I [Th.]
Physiology & Histology-I [Lab.]
Anatomy
Pharmaceutical Mathematics
Semester 2
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-II (Organic-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-II (Organic-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-II [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Biochemistry-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-II (Physical Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-II {Physical Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Physiology & Histology-II [Th.]
Physiology & Histology-II [Lab.]
Biostatistics
Secomd Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutics-III (Pharmaceutical Preparations-1) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-III (Pharmaceutical Prparatins-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1 (General-1) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1 (General-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy-1 [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-1 [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-1 [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-1 [Lab.]
Pakistan Studies
Semester 2
Pharmaceutics-IV (Pharmaceutical Preparations-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IV (Pharmaceutical Preparations-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-II (General-II [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-II (General-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy –II [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-II [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology -II [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Microbiology-II [Lab.]
Islamiat
Third Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pathology [Th.]
Pathology [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-1II (Systemic Pharmacology-1) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-III (Systemic Pharmacology-1) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy-III [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-III [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-III (Instrumentation-I [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-III (Instrumentation-I [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-V (Dispensing Pharmacy) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-V (Dispensing Pharmacy) [Lab.]
Semester 2
Computer and its Applications in Pharmacy [Th.]
Computer and its Applications in Pharmacy [Lab.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-IV (Systemic Pharmacology-II) [Th.]
Pharmacology & Therapeutics-IV (Systemic Pharmacology-II) [Lab.]
Pharmacognosy –IV [Th.]
Pharmacognosy-IVI [Lab.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry –IV (Instrumentation-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-IV (Instrumentation-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-VI (Community Pharmacy) [Th.]
Fourth Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutics-VII (Hospital Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics0I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-I) [Lab.]
Semester 2
Pharmaceutics-VII (Hospital Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-VIII (Clinical Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-IX (Industrial Pharmacy-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-X (Bio Pharmaceutics-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XI (Pharmaceutical Quality Management-II) [Lab.]
Fifth Professional Pharm-D
Semester 1
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-III) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-III) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-I) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XIX (Forensic Pharmacy-I) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XX (Pharmaceutical Management & Marketing-I) [Th.]
Semester 2
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutical Chemistry-V (Medicinal-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-IV) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVII (Clinical Pharmacy-IV) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XVIII (Pharmaceutical Technology-II) [Lab.]
Pharmaceutics-XIX (Forensic Pharmacy-II) [Th.]
Pharmaceutics-XX (Pharmaceutical Management & Marketing-II) [Th.]
Doctor of Pharmacy - Condensed (Pharm-D)
Condensed course for Pharm-D is offered to those who have completed B. Pharmacy degree with 4 years course. This condense course consists of two semesters each of six months comprising of the following subjects
Anatomy biopharmaceutics, Biostatistics, clinical pharmacy, Community Pharmacy computer and its application in Pharmacy, instrumentations, Pathology Pharmaceutical Quality Management Pharmaceutical Technology. Pharmacy management and Marketing.
Objectives: The main objective is to train pharmacists and equip them with necessary competencies and skills in the art and science of preparing and dispensing medications as well as in the field of Clinical Pharmacy. In doing so, the program endeavors to provide up-to-date knowledge via Internet and rigorous. Other objectives are: Develop and apply their knowledge for safer and apt delivery of life saving drugs to the public. Understand nature of drug policies plans trends and to prevail the ethical drug practices. Clearly understand the meaning of cGMP, TQM, and standardization techniques and to practice it accordingly. Cultivate management skills in organization, planning, monitoring and evaluation relating to pharmaceutical industry and hospital design, conduct, analyze, interpret and communicate the results of pertinent studies and programs in the field of Pharmacy. Details are available from the department
Fee Structure
Doctor of Pharmacy (5 Years)
Fee Per Semester
Semester 1 - Rs. 56,700
Semester 2 - Rs. 54,000
Semester 3 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 4 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 5 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 6 - Rs. 54,000
Semester 7 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 8 - Rs. 51,300
Semester 9 - Rs. 48,600
Semester 10 - Rs. 48,600
Total Fee for ten semester 518,400
Admission & Registration Fee (one time) 25,000
Total Fee for programme 543,400
Poverty Of Pakistan
Pakistan is a poor country. Its economy is facing fluctuations now a day. At the time of independence Pakistan has very low resources and capital, so the processes of progress were very slow. Unfortunately the politicians of Pakistan were all not well aware of modern global system and the progress processes and the needs of country. Due to bad policies today Pakistan is facing a lot of problems. The continuous failure of policies leads the people of country to miserable conditions. The major problem in the country is poverty which is becoming the cause of crime and social disorder.
It is difficult to point out all causes of poverty in Pakistan but the major causes of are given below:
Government Policies:
Government is not well aware of present conditions of country. The policies of government are base on the suggestions of officials which do not have awareness about the problems of a common man. After implementation the policies do not get effective result. After the failure of one policy, government does not consider its failure and announces another policy without studying the aftermaths of last one. Heavy taxes and unemployment crushes the people and they are forced to live below poverty line. The suitable medical facilities are not provided to people and they are forced to get treatment for private clinics which are too costly.
Corruption:
Another cause of poverty is corruption. There are two types of corruption. There is not morality and every one is trying to earn more and more by using fair and unfair means. Officials waste their time has low efficiency. Only one relationship that is exists in society is money. One has to pay a heavy cost to get his right. Law and order conditions are out of control and institutions are failed to provide justice to a common man. Justice can be bought by money only. But government is unable to control such type of things. In this whole scenario some corrupt people has been occupying the resources and common man is living in miserable conditions.
Division of Agricultural Land:
Pakistan is an agricultural country. Most of people are farmers by profession. One has land which is fulfilling the needs of his family but he has to divide the land into his children when they got young. After division the land is not sufficient to support a family. Now the families of his children are suffering and spending their lives below poverty line.
Materialism:
In our society social bonding are gradually becomes thinner and thinner. A race of material object has been started even no one tried to understand the problems of others. Every one is gradually changing from human to a bioman which only know about his needs and have no concept about the limitations of others. People are not ready to help each other. At last every one has lose his trust on others which effect our social and economic system and it is another cause of poverty.
Lack of Education:
The literacy rate of Pakistan is very low. Most of people do not have any concept about the modern earning sources. Most people are unable to adopt technology for their business needs, that’s why business do not meet international standards and results as decrease in revenue which lead the society to poor financial conditions.
Large Scale Import:
The import of Pakistan is greater than export. Big revenue is consumed in importing good every year, even raw material has to import for industry. If we decrease import and establish own supply chains from our country natural resources the people will have better opportunities to earn.
Law and Order:
There are lot of problems regarding law and order. Terrorist attacks create uncertainty in stock markets and people earning from stock are getting loss due to which the whole country faces uncertain increase in commodity prices.
Fluctuated Foreign investment::
Foreign investor comes to local markets. They invest millions of dollars in stock markets and stock market gets rise in index. Then the investor withdraws his money with profit and market suddenly collapses. The after math always be faced by poor people.
Privatization:
Government is unable to manage the departments and country has low reserve assets. So the meet the requirements some companies run by government are sold to foreign investors. The commodities or services provided by the companies are becoming costly. For example if government sold a gas plant then prices for gas in country rises.
Moral Culture:
The main reason for poverty is the social dishonesty and irresponsible behavior of people. Every one is trying to get rich by using unfair means. A shop keeper is ready to get whole money from the pocket of customer. People doing jobs are not performing their duties well. In society the man considered brave or respectful who do not pay taxes or continuously violate the laws. This irresponsible behavior continuously increases and produces loss for county.
It is difficult to point out all causes of poverty in Pakistan but the major causes of are given below:
Government Policies:
Government is not well aware of present conditions of country. The policies of government are base on the suggestions of officials which do not have awareness about the problems of a common man. After implementation the policies do not get effective result. After the failure of one policy, government does not consider its failure and announces another policy without studying the aftermaths of last one. Heavy taxes and unemployment crushes the people and they are forced to live below poverty line. The suitable medical facilities are not provided to people and they are forced to get treatment for private clinics which are too costly.
Corruption:
Another cause of poverty is corruption. There are two types of corruption. There is not morality and every one is trying to earn more and more by using fair and unfair means. Officials waste their time has low efficiency. Only one relationship that is exists in society is money. One has to pay a heavy cost to get his right. Law and order conditions are out of control and institutions are failed to provide justice to a common man. Justice can be bought by money only. But government is unable to control such type of things. In this whole scenario some corrupt people has been occupying the resources and common man is living in miserable conditions.
Division of Agricultural Land:
Pakistan is an agricultural country. Most of people are farmers by profession. One has land which is fulfilling the needs of his family but he has to divide the land into his children when they got young. After division the land is not sufficient to support a family. Now the families of his children are suffering and spending their lives below poverty line.
Materialism:
In our society social bonding are gradually becomes thinner and thinner. A race of material object has been started even no one tried to understand the problems of others. Every one is gradually changing from human to a bioman which only know about his needs and have no concept about the limitations of others. People are not ready to help each other. At last every one has lose his trust on others which effect our social and economic system and it is another cause of poverty.
Lack of Education:
The literacy rate of Pakistan is very low. Most of people do not have any concept about the modern earning sources. Most people are unable to adopt technology for their business needs, that’s why business do not meet international standards and results as decrease in revenue which lead the society to poor financial conditions.
Large Scale Import:
The import of Pakistan is greater than export. Big revenue is consumed in importing good every year, even raw material has to import for industry. If we decrease import and establish own supply chains from our country natural resources the people will have better opportunities to earn.
Law and Order:
There are lot of problems regarding law and order. Terrorist attacks create uncertainty in stock markets and people earning from stock are getting loss due to which the whole country faces uncertain increase in commodity prices.
Fluctuated Foreign investment::
Foreign investor comes to local markets. They invest millions of dollars in stock markets and stock market gets rise in index. Then the investor withdraws his money with profit and market suddenly collapses. The after math always be faced by poor people.
Privatization:
Government is unable to manage the departments and country has low reserve assets. So the meet the requirements some companies run by government are sold to foreign investors. The commodities or services provided by the companies are becoming costly. For example if government sold a gas plant then prices for gas in country rises.
Moral Culture:
The main reason for poverty is the social dishonesty and irresponsible behavior of people. Every one is trying to get rich by using unfair means. A shop keeper is ready to get whole money from the pocket of customer. People doing jobs are not performing their duties well. In society the man considered brave or respectful who do not pay taxes or continuously violate the laws. This irresponsible behavior continuously increases and produces loss for county.
Civilization
Definition
Civilization is often used as a synonym for the broader term "culture" in both popular and academic circles. Every human being participates in a culture, defined as "the arts, customs, habits... beliefs, values, behavior and material habits that constitute a people's way of life".However, in its most widely used definition, civilization is a descriptive term for a relatively complex agricultural and urban culture. Civilizations can be distinguished from other cultures by their high level of social complexity and organization, and by their diverse economic and cultural activities.
In an older but still frequently used sense, the term "civilization" can be used in a normative manner as well: in societal contexts where complex and urban cultures are assumed to be superior to other "savage" or "barbarian" cultures, the concept of "civilization" is used as a synonym for "cultural (and often ethical) superiority of certain groups." In a similar sense, civilization can mean "refinement of thought, manners, or taste".
In his book The Philosophy of Civilization, Albert Schweitzer one of the main philosophers on the concept of civilization, outlined the idea that there are dual opinions within society; one regarding civilization as purely material and another regarding civilization as both ethical and material. He stated that the current world crisis was, then in 1923, due to a humanity having lost the ethical conception of civilization. In this same work, he defined civilization, saying:
"
It is the sum total of all progress made by man in every sphere of action and from every point of view in so far as the progress helps towards the spiritual perfecting of individuals as the progress of all progress.
In the sixth century, the Roman Emperor Justinian oversaw the consolidation of Roman civil law. The resulting collection is called the Corpus Juris Civilis. In the 11th century, professors at the University of Bologna, Western Europe's first university, rediscovered Corpus Juris Civilis, and its influence began to be felt across Western Europe. In 1388, the word civil appeared in English meaning "of or related to citizens". In 1704, civilization began to mean "a law which makes a criminal process into a civil case." Civilization was not used in its modern sense to mean "the opposite of barbarism" — as contrasted to civility, meaning politeness or civil virtue — until the 18th century.
According to Emile Benveniste (1954), the earlist written occurrence in English of civilization in its modern sense may be found in Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society (Edinburgh, 1767 - p.2):
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Not only the individual advances from infancy to manhood, but the species itself from rudeness to civilization.
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It should be noted that this usage incorporates the concept of superiority and maturity of "civilized" existence, as contrasted to "rudeness", which is used to denote coarseness, as in a lack of refinement or "civility".
Before Benveniste's inquiries, the New English Dictionary quoted James Boswell's conversation with Samuel Johnson concerning the inclusion of Civilization in Johnson's dictionary:
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On Monday, March 23 (1772), I found him busy, preparing a fourth edition of his folio Dictionary... He would not admit civilization, but only civility. With great deference to him I thought civilization, from to civilize, better in the sense opposed to barbarity than civility, as it is better to have a distinct word for each sense, than one word with two senses, which civility is, in his way of using it.
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Benveniste demonstrated that previous occurrences could be found, which explained the quick adoption of Johnson's definition. In 1775 the dictionary of Ast defined civilization as "the state of being civilized; the act of civilizing, and the term was frequently used by Adam Smith in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Beside Smith and Ferguson, John Millar also used it in 1771 in his Observations concerning the distinction of ranks in society.
As the first occurrence of civilization in French was found by Benveniste in the Marquis de Mirabeau's L'Ami des hommes ou traité de la population (written in 1756 but published in 1757), Benveniste's query was to know if the English word derived from the French, or if both evolved independently — a question which needed more research. According to him, the word civilization may in fact have been used by Ferguson as soon as 1759.
Furthermore, Benveniste notes that, contrasted to civility, a static term, civilization conveys a sense of dynamism. He thus writes that...
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It was not only a historical view of society; it was also an optimist and resolutely non theological interpretation of its evolution which asserted itself, sometimes at the insu of those who proclaimed it, and even if some of them, and first of all Mirabeau, still counted religion as the first factor of 'civilization.[5]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-5"[6]
"
Another source of the word may relate to chivalry: a set of rules of engagement, originally for knights in warfare, but later expanded to cover conduct of knighthood or nobility. The English 'chivalry' comes from the French 'chevalier': a horseman. England and France would therefore have given rise to the terms at similar times.
Civilizations have distinctly different settlement patterns from other societies. The word civilization is sometimes defined as "a word that simply means 'living in cities'". Non-farmers gather in cities to work and to trade.
Compared with other societies, civilizations have a more complex political structure, namely the state. State societies are more stratified than other societies; there is a greater difference among the social classes. The ruling class, normally concentrated in the cities, has control over much of the surplus and exercises its will through the actions of a government or bureaucracy. Morton Fried, a conflict theorist, and Elman Service, an integration theorist, have classified human cultures based on political systems and social inequality. This system of classification contains four categories:
Highly stratified structuresCivilizations,
with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments. or chiefdoms, with several inherited social classes: king, noble, freemen, serf and slave. Horticultural/pastoral societies in which there are generally two inherited social classes; chief and commoner. Hunter-gatherer bands, which are generally egalitarian.
Economically, civilizations display more complex patterns of ownership and exchange than less organized societies. Living in one place allows people to accumulate more personal possessions than nomadic people. Some people also acquire landed property, or private ownership of the land. Because a percentage of people in civilizations do not grow their own food, they must trade their goods and services for food in a market system, or be receive food through the levy of tribute, redistributive taxation, tarrifs or tithes from the food producing segment of the population. Early civilizations developed money as a medium of exchange for these increasingly complex transactions. To oversimplify, in a village the potter makes a pot for the brewer and the brewer compensates the potter by giving him a certain amount of beer. In a city, the potter may need a new roof, the roofer may need new shoes, the cobbler may need new horseshoes, the blacksmith may need a new coat, and the tanner may need a new pot. These people may not be personally acquainted with one another and their needs may not occur all at the same time. A monetary system is a way of organizing these obligations to ensure that they are fulfilled fairly.
Cultural identity
"Civilization" can also describe the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have even more intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Civilization is such in nature that it seeks to spread, to have more, to expand, and the means by which to do this.
Nevertheless, some tribes or people remained uncivilized even to this day (2009). These cultures are called by some "primitive," a term that is regarded by others as pejorative. "Primitive" implies in some way that a culture is "first" (Latin = primus), and as all cultures are contemporaries today's so called primitive cultures are in no way antecedent to those we consider civilized. Many anthropologists use the term "non-literate" to describe these peoples. In the USA and Canada, where people of such cultures were the original inhabitants before being displaced by European settlers, they use the term "First Nations." Generally, the First Nations of North America had hierarchical governments, religion, and a barter system, and oral transmission of their traditions, cultures, laws, etc. Respect for the wisdom of elders and for their natural environment (7th Generation decision-making) sustained these cultures for over 10,000 years.
The civilized world has been spread by invasion, religious conversion the extension of bureaucratis control and trade, and by introducing agriculture, and writing to non-literate peoples. Some non-civilized people may willingly adapt to civilized behaviour. But civilization is also spread by force: if a non-literate group does not wish to use agriculture or accept a certain religion it is often forced to do so by the civilized people, and they usually succeed due to their more advanced technology, and higher population densities. Civilizations often use religion to justify its actions, claiming for example that the uncivilized are "primitive," savages, barbarians or the like, which should be subjugated by civilization.
The intricate culture associated with civilization has a tendency to spread to and influence other cultures, sometimes assimilating them into the civilization (a classic example being Chinese civilization and its influence on Korea, Japan, Vietnam and so forth, all of them sharing the fact that they belong to an East Asian civilization, sharing Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, a "Mandarin" class an educated understanding of Chinese ideograms and much else). Many civilizations are actually large cultural spheres containing many nations and regions. The civilization in which someone lives is that person's broadest cultural identity.
Whereas the etiology of civilization is Latin or Roman, defined above as the application of justice by "civil" means, one may also examine and reflect upon Jewish or Hebrew civilization. A Hebrew "civilization" is defined not as an expression or extension of the subjective trappings of culture and society, but rather as a human society and/or culture being an expression of objective moral and ethical moorings as they are known, understood and applied in accordance with the Mosaic Covenant.[citation needed] A "human" civilization, in Hebrew terms for instance, may contrast sharply with conventional notions about "civilization." A "human" civilization, therein, would be an expression and extension of the two most basic pillars of human "civilization." These two pillars are, honest standardized weights and measures and a moral and healthy constitution. Everything else, whether technology, science, art, music, etc., is by this definition considered as commentary. Indeed, to the degree the surface terrain of a human society, i.e., culture is "civilized," is to the degree the internal terrain (characteristics, personality or substance) of the people and leadership must also have been inoculated by, and inculcated with a moral foundation. The Biblically described Sodom, for instance, while being a society of people with a culture, would by Jewish or Biblical standards of "civility" have been uncivilized. And while the Roman sentiment is largely focused upon how justice must "appear" to be done in a "civil" manner, the Hebrew or Biblical approach to justice, in principle, is never limited to subjective pretenses or appearance, but more importantly, justice must be predicated upon objective principles. Ultimately, there is no true or lasting "civility" for any man in the absence of moral composure.[citation needed]
Many historians have focused on these broad cultural spheres and have treated civilizations as single units. One example is early twentieth-century philosopher Oswald Spengler,even though he uses the German word "Kultur," "culture," for what we here call a "civilization." He said that a civilization's coherence is based around a single primary cultural symbol. Civilizations experience cycles of birth, life, decline and death, often supplanted by a new civilization with a potent new culture, formed around a compelling new cultural symbol.
This "unified culture" concept of civilization also influenced the theories of historian Arnold J. Toynbee in the mid-twentieth century. Toynbee explored civilization processes in his multi-volume A Study of History, which traced the rise and, in most cases, the decline of 21 civilizations and five "arrested civilizations." Civilizations generally declined and fell, according to Toynbee, because of the failure of a "creative minority", through moral or religious decline, to meet some important challenge, rather than mere economic or environmental causes.
Samuel P. Huntington similarly defines a civilization as "the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species." Besides giving a definition of a civilization, Huntington has also proposed several theories about civilizations, discussed below.
Complex systems
Another group of theorists, making use of systems theory, looks at a civilization as a complex system, i.e., a framework by which a group of objects can be analyzed that work in concert to produce some result. Civilizations can be seen as networks of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, and cultural interactions among them. Any organization is a complex social system, and a civilization is a large organization. Systems theory helps guard against superficial but misleading analogies in the study and description of civilizations.
For example, urbanist Jane Jacobs defines cities as the economic engines that work to create large networks of people. The main process that creates these city networks, she says, is "import replacement". Import replacement is the process by which peripheral cities begin to replace goods and services that were formerly imported from more advanced cities. Successful import replacement creates economic growth in these peripheral cities, and allows these cities to then export their goods to less developed cities in their own hinterlands, creating new economic networks. So Jacobs explores economic development across wide networks instead of treating each society as an isolated cultural sphere.
Systems theorists look at many types of relations between cities, including economic relations, cultural exchanges, and political/diplomatic/military relations. These spheres often occur on different scales. For example, trade networks were, until the nineteenth century, much larger than either cultural spheres or political spheres. Extensive trade routes, including the Silk Road through Central Asia and Indian Ocean sea routes linking the Roman Empire, Persian Empire, India, and China, were well established 2000 years ago, when these civilizations scarcely shared any political, diplomatic, military, or cultural relations. The first evidence of such long distance trade is in the ancient world. During the Uruk phase Guillermo Algaze has argued that trade relations connected Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran and Afghanistan. Resin found later in the Royal Tombs of Ur it is suggested was traded northwards from Mozambique.
Many theorists argue that the entire world has already become integrated into a single "world system", a process known as globalization. Different civilizations and societies all over the globe are economically, politically, and even culturally interdependent in many ways. There is debate over when this integration began, and what sort of integration – cultural, technological, economic, political, or military-diplomatic – is the key indicator in determining the extent of a civilization. David Wilkinson has proposed that economic and military-diplomatic integration of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations resulted in the creation of what he calls the "Central Civilization" around 1500 BC. Central Civilization later expanded to include the entire Middle East and Europe, and then expanded to a global scale with European colonization, integrating the Americas, Australia, China and Japan by the nineteenth century. According to Wilkinson, civilizations can be culturally heterogeneous, like the Central Civilization, or relatively homogeneous, like the Japanese civilization. What Huntington calls the "clash of civilizations" might be characterized by Wilkinson as a clash of cultural spheres within a single global civilization. Others point to the Crusades as the first step in globalization. The more conventional viewpoint is that networks of societies have expanded and shrunk since ancient times, and that the current globalized economy and culture is a product of recent European colonialism.
Future
Political scientist Samuel HuntingtonHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-13"[14] has argued that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be a clash of civilizations. According to Huntington, conflicts between civilizations will supplant the conflicts between nation-states and ideologies that characterized the 19th and 20th centuries. These views have been strongly challenged by others like Edward Said and Mohammed Asudi. Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris have argued that the "true clash of civilizations" between the Muslim world and the West is caused by the Muslim rejection of the West's more liberal sexual values, rather than a difference in political ideology.
Currently, world civilization is in a stage that has created what may be characterized as an industrial society, superseding the agrarian society that preceded it. Some futurists believe that civilization is undergoing another transformation, and that world society will become a so-called informational society.
Some environmental scientists see the world entering a Planetary Phase of Civilization, characterized by a shift away from independent, disconnected nation-states to a world of increased global connectivity with worldwide institutions, environmental challenges, economic systems, and consciousness.[17]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-17" In an attempt to better understand what a Planetary Phase of Civilization might look like in the current context of declining natural resources and increasing consumption, the Global scenario group used scenario analysis to arrive at three archetypal futures: Barbarization, in which increasing conflicts result in either a fortress world or complete societal breakdown; Conventional Worlds, in which market forces or Policy reform slowly precipitate more sustainable practices; and a Great Transition, in which either the sum of fragmented Eco-Communalism movements add up to a sustainable world or globally coordinated efforts and initiatives result in a new sustainability paradigm.
The fall of civilizations
There have been many explanations put forward for the collapse of civilization. "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the cause of the destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and, as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight. The story of the ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of inquiring why the Roman Empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it has subsisted for so long."Jeffrey A. McNeely has recently suggested that "A review of historical evidence shows that past civilizations have tended to over-exploit their forests, and that such abuse of important resources has been a significant factor in the decline of the over-exploiting society."Peter Heather argues in his book The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the BarbariansHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-20"[21] that this civilization did not end for moral or economic reasons, but because centuries of contact with barbarians across the frontier generated its own nemesis by making them a much more sophisticated and dangerous adversary. The fact that Rome needed to generate ever greater revenues to equip and re-equip armies that were for the first time repeatedly defeated in the field, led to the dismemberment of the Empire. Although this argument is specific to Rome, it can also be applied to the Asiatic Empire of the Egyptians, to the Han and Tang dynasties of China, to the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate, and others. Bryan Ward-Perkins, in his book The Fall of Rome and the End of CivilizationHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-21" shows the real horrors associated with the collapse of a civilization for the people who suffer its effects, unlike many revisionist historians who downplay this. The collapse of complex society meant that even basic plumbing disappeared from the continent for 1,000 years. Similar Dark Age collapses are seen with the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean, the collapse of the Maya, on Easter Island and elsewhere. Arthur Demarest argues in Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest CivilizationHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-22" using a holistic perspective to the most recent evidence from archaeology, paleoecology, and epigraphy, that no one explanation is sufficient but that a series of erratic, complex events, including loss of soil fertility, drought and rising levels of internal and external violence led to the disintegration of the courts of Mayan kingdoms which began a spiral of decline and decay. He argues that the collapse of the Maya has lessons for civilization today. Thomas Homer-Dixon in "The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization", considers that the fall in the energy return on investments; the energy expended to energy yield ratio, is central to limiting the survival of civilizations. The degree of social complexity is associated strongly, he suggests, with the amount of disposable energy environmental, economic and technological systems allow. When this amount decreases civilizations either have to access new energy sources or they will collapse. Peter Turchin in his Historical Dynamics and Andrey Korotayev et al. in their Introduction to Social Macrodynamics, Secular Cycles, and Millennial Trends suggest a number of mathematical models describing collapse of agrarian civilizations. For example, the basic logic of Turchin's "fiscal-demographic" model can be outlined as follows: during the initial phase of a sociodemographic cycle we observe relatively high levels of per capita production and consumption, which leads not only to relatively high population growth rates, but also to relatively high rates of surplus production. As a result, during this phase the population can afford to pay taxes without great problems, the taxes are quite easily collectible, and the population growth is accompanied by the growth of state revenues. During the intermediate phase, the increasing overpopulation leads to the decrease of per capita production and consumption levels, it becomes more and more difficult to collect taxes, and state revenues stop growing, whereas the state expenditures grow due to the growth of the population controlled by the state. As a result, during this phase the state starts experiencing considerable fiscal problems. During the final pre-collapse phases the overpopulation leads to further decrease of per capita production, the surplus production further decreases, state revenues shrink, but the state needs more and more resources to control the growing (though with lower and lower rates) population. Eventually this leads to famines, epidemics, state breakdown, and demographic and civilization collapse (Peter Turchin.
Criticism
Civilization has been criticized from a variety of viewpoints and for a variety of reasons. Some critics have objected to all aspects of civilization; others have argued that civilization brings a mixture of good and bad effects.
Some environmentalists like Derrick JensenHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-24" criticize civilizations for their exploitation of the environment. Richard Hienberg argues that through intensive agriculture and urban growth, civilizations tend to destroy natural settings and habitats, and deplete the resources on which it depends. This is sometimes referred to as "dominator culture". Proponents of this view believe that traditional societies live in greater harmony with nature than civilizations; people work with nature rather than try to subdue it. The sustainable living movement is a push from some members of civilization to regain that harmony with nature.
Primitivism is a modern philosophy totally opposed to civilization. Primitivists accuse civilizations of restricting human potential, oppressing the weak, and damaging the environment. They wish to return to a more primitive way of life which they consider to be in the best interests of both nature and human beings. Leading proponents are John Zerzan and Derrick Jensen, whereas a critic is Roger Sandall.
However, not all critics of past and present civilization believe that a primitive way of life is better. Some have argued that many negative aspects of current 'civilized' nations can be overcome. Karl Marx, for instance, argued that the beginning of civilization was the beginning of oppression and exploitation, but also believed that these things would eventually be overcome and communism would be established throughout the world. He envisioned communism not as a return to any sort of idyllic past, but as a new stage of civilization. Conflict theory in the social sciences also views the present form of civilization as being based on the domination of some people by others, but does not judge the issue morally.
Given the current problems with the sustainability of industrial civilization, some, like Derrick Jensen, who posits civilization to be inherently unsustainable, argue that we need to develop a social form of "post-civilization" as different from civilization as the latter was with pre-civilized peoples.
Civilization is often used as a synonym for the broader term "culture" in both popular and academic circles. Every human being participates in a culture, defined as "the arts, customs, habits... beliefs, values, behavior and material habits that constitute a people's way of life".However, in its most widely used definition, civilization is a descriptive term for a relatively complex agricultural and urban culture. Civilizations can be distinguished from other cultures by their high level of social complexity and organization, and by their diverse economic and cultural activities.
In an older but still frequently used sense, the term "civilization" can be used in a normative manner as well: in societal contexts where complex and urban cultures are assumed to be superior to other "savage" or "barbarian" cultures, the concept of "civilization" is used as a synonym for "cultural (and often ethical) superiority of certain groups." In a similar sense, civilization can mean "refinement of thought, manners, or taste".
In his book The Philosophy of Civilization, Albert Schweitzer one of the main philosophers on the concept of civilization, outlined the idea that there are dual opinions within society; one regarding civilization as purely material and another regarding civilization as both ethical and material. He stated that the current world crisis was, then in 1923, due to a humanity having lost the ethical conception of civilization. In this same work, he defined civilization, saying:
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It is the sum total of all progress made by man in every sphere of action and from every point of view in so far as the progress helps towards the spiritual perfecting of individuals as the progress of all progress.
In the sixth century, the Roman Emperor Justinian oversaw the consolidation of Roman civil law. The resulting collection is called the Corpus Juris Civilis. In the 11th century, professors at the University of Bologna, Western Europe's first university, rediscovered Corpus Juris Civilis, and its influence began to be felt across Western Europe. In 1388, the word civil appeared in English meaning "of or related to citizens". In 1704, civilization began to mean "a law which makes a criminal process into a civil case." Civilization was not used in its modern sense to mean "the opposite of barbarism" — as contrasted to civility, meaning politeness or civil virtue — until the 18th century.
According to Emile Benveniste (1954), the earlist written occurrence in English of civilization in its modern sense may be found in Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society (Edinburgh, 1767 - p.2):
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Not only the individual advances from infancy to manhood, but the species itself from rudeness to civilization.
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It should be noted that this usage incorporates the concept of superiority and maturity of "civilized" existence, as contrasted to "rudeness", which is used to denote coarseness, as in a lack of refinement or "civility".
Before Benveniste's inquiries, the New English Dictionary quoted James Boswell's conversation with Samuel Johnson concerning the inclusion of Civilization in Johnson's dictionary:
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On Monday, March 23 (1772), I found him busy, preparing a fourth edition of his folio Dictionary... He would not admit civilization, but only civility. With great deference to him I thought civilization, from to civilize, better in the sense opposed to barbarity than civility, as it is better to have a distinct word for each sense, than one word with two senses, which civility is, in his way of using it.
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Benveniste demonstrated that previous occurrences could be found, which explained the quick adoption of Johnson's definition. In 1775 the dictionary of Ast defined civilization as "the state of being civilized; the act of civilizing, and the term was frequently used by Adam Smith in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). Beside Smith and Ferguson, John Millar also used it in 1771 in his Observations concerning the distinction of ranks in society.
As the first occurrence of civilization in French was found by Benveniste in the Marquis de Mirabeau's L'Ami des hommes ou traité de la population (written in 1756 but published in 1757), Benveniste's query was to know if the English word derived from the French, or if both evolved independently — a question which needed more research. According to him, the word civilization may in fact have been used by Ferguson as soon as 1759.
Furthermore, Benveniste notes that, contrasted to civility, a static term, civilization conveys a sense of dynamism. He thus writes that...
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It was not only a historical view of society; it was also an optimist and resolutely non theological interpretation of its evolution which asserted itself, sometimes at the insu of those who proclaimed it, and even if some of them, and first of all Mirabeau, still counted religion as the first factor of 'civilization.[5]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-5"[6]
"
Another source of the word may relate to chivalry: a set of rules of engagement, originally for knights in warfare, but later expanded to cover conduct of knighthood or nobility. The English 'chivalry' comes from the French 'chevalier': a horseman. England and France would therefore have given rise to the terms at similar times.
Civilizations have distinctly different settlement patterns from other societies. The word civilization is sometimes defined as "a word that simply means 'living in cities'". Non-farmers gather in cities to work and to trade.
Compared with other societies, civilizations have a more complex political structure, namely the state. State societies are more stratified than other societies; there is a greater difference among the social classes. The ruling class, normally concentrated in the cities, has control over much of the surplus and exercises its will through the actions of a government or bureaucracy. Morton Fried, a conflict theorist, and Elman Service, an integration theorist, have classified human cultures based on political systems and social inequality. This system of classification contains four categories:
Highly stratified structuresCivilizations,
with complex social hierarchies and organized, institutional governments. or chiefdoms, with several inherited social classes: king, noble, freemen, serf and slave. Horticultural/pastoral societies in which there are generally two inherited social classes; chief and commoner. Hunter-gatherer bands, which are generally egalitarian.
Economically, civilizations display more complex patterns of ownership and exchange than less organized societies. Living in one place allows people to accumulate more personal possessions than nomadic people. Some people also acquire landed property, or private ownership of the land. Because a percentage of people in civilizations do not grow their own food, they must trade their goods and services for food in a market system, or be receive food through the levy of tribute, redistributive taxation, tarrifs or tithes from the food producing segment of the population. Early civilizations developed money as a medium of exchange for these increasingly complex transactions. To oversimplify, in a village the potter makes a pot for the brewer and the brewer compensates the potter by giving him a certain amount of beer. In a city, the potter may need a new roof, the roofer may need new shoes, the cobbler may need new horseshoes, the blacksmith may need a new coat, and the tanner may need a new pot. These people may not be personally acquainted with one another and their needs may not occur all at the same time. A monetary system is a way of organizing these obligations to ensure that they are fulfilled fairly.
Cultural identity
"Civilization" can also describe the culture of a complex society, not just the society itself. Every society, civilization or not, has a specific set of ideas and customs, and a certain set of items and arts, that make it unique. Civilizations have even more intricate cultures, including literature, professional art, architecture, organized religion, and complex customs associated with the elite. Civilization is such in nature that it seeks to spread, to have more, to expand, and the means by which to do this.
Nevertheless, some tribes or people remained uncivilized even to this day (2009). These cultures are called by some "primitive," a term that is regarded by others as pejorative. "Primitive" implies in some way that a culture is "first" (Latin = primus), and as all cultures are contemporaries today's so called primitive cultures are in no way antecedent to those we consider civilized. Many anthropologists use the term "non-literate" to describe these peoples. In the USA and Canada, where people of such cultures were the original inhabitants before being displaced by European settlers, they use the term "First Nations." Generally, the First Nations of North America had hierarchical governments, religion, and a barter system, and oral transmission of their traditions, cultures, laws, etc. Respect for the wisdom of elders and for their natural environment (7th Generation decision-making) sustained these cultures for over 10,000 years.
The civilized world has been spread by invasion, religious conversion the extension of bureaucratis control and trade, and by introducing agriculture, and writing to non-literate peoples. Some non-civilized people may willingly adapt to civilized behaviour. But civilization is also spread by force: if a non-literate group does not wish to use agriculture or accept a certain religion it is often forced to do so by the civilized people, and they usually succeed due to their more advanced technology, and higher population densities. Civilizations often use religion to justify its actions, claiming for example that the uncivilized are "primitive," savages, barbarians or the like, which should be subjugated by civilization.
The intricate culture associated with civilization has a tendency to spread to and influence other cultures, sometimes assimilating them into the civilization (a classic example being Chinese civilization and its influence on Korea, Japan, Vietnam and so forth, all of them sharing the fact that they belong to an East Asian civilization, sharing Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, a "Mandarin" class an educated understanding of Chinese ideograms and much else). Many civilizations are actually large cultural spheres containing many nations and regions. The civilization in which someone lives is that person's broadest cultural identity.
Whereas the etiology of civilization is Latin or Roman, defined above as the application of justice by "civil" means, one may also examine and reflect upon Jewish or Hebrew civilization. A Hebrew "civilization" is defined not as an expression or extension of the subjective trappings of culture and society, but rather as a human society and/or culture being an expression of objective moral and ethical moorings as they are known, understood and applied in accordance with the Mosaic Covenant.[citation needed] A "human" civilization, in Hebrew terms for instance, may contrast sharply with conventional notions about "civilization." A "human" civilization, therein, would be an expression and extension of the two most basic pillars of human "civilization." These two pillars are, honest standardized weights and measures and a moral and healthy constitution. Everything else, whether technology, science, art, music, etc., is by this definition considered as commentary. Indeed, to the degree the surface terrain of a human society, i.e., culture is "civilized," is to the degree the internal terrain (characteristics, personality or substance) of the people and leadership must also have been inoculated by, and inculcated with a moral foundation. The Biblically described Sodom, for instance, while being a society of people with a culture, would by Jewish or Biblical standards of "civility" have been uncivilized. And while the Roman sentiment is largely focused upon how justice must "appear" to be done in a "civil" manner, the Hebrew or Biblical approach to justice, in principle, is never limited to subjective pretenses or appearance, but more importantly, justice must be predicated upon objective principles. Ultimately, there is no true or lasting "civility" for any man in the absence of moral composure.[citation needed]
Many historians have focused on these broad cultural spheres and have treated civilizations as single units. One example is early twentieth-century philosopher Oswald Spengler,even though he uses the German word "Kultur," "culture," for what we here call a "civilization." He said that a civilization's coherence is based around a single primary cultural symbol. Civilizations experience cycles of birth, life, decline and death, often supplanted by a new civilization with a potent new culture, formed around a compelling new cultural symbol.
This "unified culture" concept of civilization also influenced the theories of historian Arnold J. Toynbee in the mid-twentieth century. Toynbee explored civilization processes in his multi-volume A Study of History, which traced the rise and, in most cases, the decline of 21 civilizations and five "arrested civilizations." Civilizations generally declined and fell, according to Toynbee, because of the failure of a "creative minority", through moral or religious decline, to meet some important challenge, rather than mere economic or environmental causes.
Samuel P. Huntington similarly defines a civilization as "the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity people have short of that which distinguishes humans from other species." Besides giving a definition of a civilization, Huntington has also proposed several theories about civilizations, discussed below.
Complex systems
Another group of theorists, making use of systems theory, looks at a civilization as a complex system, i.e., a framework by which a group of objects can be analyzed that work in concert to produce some result. Civilizations can be seen as networks of cities that emerge from pre-urban cultures, and are defined by the economic, political, military, diplomatic, and cultural interactions among them. Any organization is a complex social system, and a civilization is a large organization. Systems theory helps guard against superficial but misleading analogies in the study and description of civilizations.
For example, urbanist Jane Jacobs defines cities as the economic engines that work to create large networks of people. The main process that creates these city networks, she says, is "import replacement". Import replacement is the process by which peripheral cities begin to replace goods and services that were formerly imported from more advanced cities. Successful import replacement creates economic growth in these peripheral cities, and allows these cities to then export their goods to less developed cities in their own hinterlands, creating new economic networks. So Jacobs explores economic development across wide networks instead of treating each society as an isolated cultural sphere.
Systems theorists look at many types of relations between cities, including economic relations, cultural exchanges, and political/diplomatic/military relations. These spheres often occur on different scales. For example, trade networks were, until the nineteenth century, much larger than either cultural spheres or political spheres. Extensive trade routes, including the Silk Road through Central Asia and Indian Ocean sea routes linking the Roman Empire, Persian Empire, India, and China, were well established 2000 years ago, when these civilizations scarcely shared any political, diplomatic, military, or cultural relations. The first evidence of such long distance trade is in the ancient world. During the Uruk phase Guillermo Algaze has argued that trade relations connected Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran and Afghanistan. Resin found later in the Royal Tombs of Ur it is suggested was traded northwards from Mozambique.
Many theorists argue that the entire world has already become integrated into a single "world system", a process known as globalization. Different civilizations and societies all over the globe are economically, politically, and even culturally interdependent in many ways. There is debate over when this integration began, and what sort of integration – cultural, technological, economic, political, or military-diplomatic – is the key indicator in determining the extent of a civilization. David Wilkinson has proposed that economic and military-diplomatic integration of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations resulted in the creation of what he calls the "Central Civilization" around 1500 BC. Central Civilization later expanded to include the entire Middle East and Europe, and then expanded to a global scale with European colonization, integrating the Americas, Australia, China and Japan by the nineteenth century. According to Wilkinson, civilizations can be culturally heterogeneous, like the Central Civilization, or relatively homogeneous, like the Japanese civilization. What Huntington calls the "clash of civilizations" might be characterized by Wilkinson as a clash of cultural spheres within a single global civilization. Others point to the Crusades as the first step in globalization. The more conventional viewpoint is that networks of societies have expanded and shrunk since ancient times, and that the current globalized economy and culture is a product of recent European colonialism.
Future
Political scientist Samuel HuntingtonHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-13"[14] has argued that the defining characteristic of the 21st century will be a clash of civilizations. According to Huntington, conflicts between civilizations will supplant the conflicts between nation-states and ideologies that characterized the 19th and 20th centuries. These views have been strongly challenged by others like Edward Said and Mohammed Asudi. Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris have argued that the "true clash of civilizations" between the Muslim world and the West is caused by the Muslim rejection of the West's more liberal sexual values, rather than a difference in political ideology.
Currently, world civilization is in a stage that has created what may be characterized as an industrial society, superseding the agrarian society that preceded it. Some futurists believe that civilization is undergoing another transformation, and that world society will become a so-called informational society.
Some environmental scientists see the world entering a Planetary Phase of Civilization, characterized by a shift away from independent, disconnected nation-states to a world of increased global connectivity with worldwide institutions, environmental challenges, economic systems, and consciousness.[17]HYPERLINK \l "cite_note-17" In an attempt to better understand what a Planetary Phase of Civilization might look like in the current context of declining natural resources and increasing consumption, the Global scenario group used scenario analysis to arrive at three archetypal futures: Barbarization, in which increasing conflicts result in either a fortress world or complete societal breakdown; Conventional Worlds, in which market forces or Policy reform slowly precipitate more sustainable practices; and a Great Transition, in which either the sum of fragmented Eco-Communalism movements add up to a sustainable world or globally coordinated efforts and initiatives result in a new sustainability paradigm.
The fall of civilizations
There have been many explanations put forward for the collapse of civilization. "The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the cause of the destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and, as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight. The story of the ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of inquiring why the Roman Empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it has subsisted for so long."Jeffrey A. McNeely has recently suggested that "A review of historical evidence shows that past civilizations have tended to over-exploit their forests, and that such abuse of important resources has been a significant factor in the decline of the over-exploiting society."Peter Heather argues in his book The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the BarbariansHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-20"[21] that this civilization did not end for moral or economic reasons, but because centuries of contact with barbarians across the frontier generated its own nemesis by making them a much more sophisticated and dangerous adversary. The fact that Rome needed to generate ever greater revenues to equip and re-equip armies that were for the first time repeatedly defeated in the field, led to the dismemberment of the Empire. Although this argument is specific to Rome, it can also be applied to the Asiatic Empire of the Egyptians, to the Han and Tang dynasties of China, to the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate, and others. Bryan Ward-Perkins, in his book The Fall of Rome and the End of CivilizationHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-21" shows the real horrors associated with the collapse of a civilization for the people who suffer its effects, unlike many revisionist historians who downplay this. The collapse of complex society meant that even basic plumbing disappeared from the continent for 1,000 years. Similar Dark Age collapses are seen with the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean, the collapse of the Maya, on Easter Island and elsewhere. Arthur Demarest argues in Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest CivilizationHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-22" using a holistic perspective to the most recent evidence from archaeology, paleoecology, and epigraphy, that no one explanation is sufficient but that a series of erratic, complex events, including loss of soil fertility, drought and rising levels of internal and external violence led to the disintegration of the courts of Mayan kingdoms which began a spiral of decline and decay. He argues that the collapse of the Maya has lessons for civilization today. Thomas Homer-Dixon in "The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization", considers that the fall in the energy return on investments; the energy expended to energy yield ratio, is central to limiting the survival of civilizations. The degree of social complexity is associated strongly, he suggests, with the amount of disposable energy environmental, economic and technological systems allow. When this amount decreases civilizations either have to access new energy sources or they will collapse. Peter Turchin in his Historical Dynamics and Andrey Korotayev et al. in their Introduction to Social Macrodynamics, Secular Cycles, and Millennial Trends suggest a number of mathematical models describing collapse of agrarian civilizations. For example, the basic logic of Turchin's "fiscal-demographic" model can be outlined as follows: during the initial phase of a sociodemographic cycle we observe relatively high levels of per capita production and consumption, which leads not only to relatively high population growth rates, but also to relatively high rates of surplus production. As a result, during this phase the population can afford to pay taxes without great problems, the taxes are quite easily collectible, and the population growth is accompanied by the growth of state revenues. During the intermediate phase, the increasing overpopulation leads to the decrease of per capita production and consumption levels, it becomes more and more difficult to collect taxes, and state revenues stop growing, whereas the state expenditures grow due to the growth of the population controlled by the state. As a result, during this phase the state starts experiencing considerable fiscal problems. During the final pre-collapse phases the overpopulation leads to further decrease of per capita production, the surplus production further decreases, state revenues shrink, but the state needs more and more resources to control the growing (though with lower and lower rates) population. Eventually this leads to famines, epidemics, state breakdown, and demographic and civilization collapse (Peter Turchin.
Criticism
Civilization has been criticized from a variety of viewpoints and for a variety of reasons. Some critics have objected to all aspects of civilization; others have argued that civilization brings a mixture of good and bad effects.
Some environmentalists like Derrick JensenHYPERLINK \l "cite_note-24" criticize civilizations for their exploitation of the environment. Richard Hienberg argues that through intensive agriculture and urban growth, civilizations tend to destroy natural settings and habitats, and deplete the resources on which it depends. This is sometimes referred to as "dominator culture". Proponents of this view believe that traditional societies live in greater harmony with nature than civilizations; people work with nature rather than try to subdue it. The sustainable living movement is a push from some members of civilization to regain that harmony with nature.
Primitivism is a modern philosophy totally opposed to civilization. Primitivists accuse civilizations of restricting human potential, oppressing the weak, and damaging the environment. They wish to return to a more primitive way of life which they consider to be in the best interests of both nature and human beings. Leading proponents are John Zerzan and Derrick Jensen, whereas a critic is Roger Sandall.
However, not all critics of past and present civilization believe that a primitive way of life is better. Some have argued that many negative aspects of current 'civilized' nations can be overcome. Karl Marx, for instance, argued that the beginning of civilization was the beginning of oppression and exploitation, but also believed that these things would eventually be overcome and communism would be established throughout the world. He envisioned communism not as a return to any sort of idyllic past, but as a new stage of civilization. Conflict theory in the social sciences also views the present form of civilization as being based on the domination of some people by others, but does not judge the issue morally.
Given the current problems with the sustainability of industrial civilization, some, like Derrick Jensen, who posits civilization to be inherently unsustainable, argue that we need to develop a social form of "post-civilization" as different from civilization as the latter was with pre-civilized peoples.
ABOUT PAKISTAN
I INTRODUCTION
Pakistan, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic in South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with Southwest Asia and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan is Islāmābād; Karāchi is the country’s largest city.
The area of present-day Pakistan was the cradle of the earliest known civilization of South Asia, the Indus Valley civilization (2500?-1700 bc). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until the 1700s, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially comprised two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of territory within India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent republic of Bangladesh.
II LAND AND RESOURCES
Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. A panhandle of Afghanistan territory in the northwest, the Wakhan Corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq mi), not including the section of Jammu and Kashmīr under its control. Jammu and Kashmīr is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashmīr and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), while India controls a portion as the state of Jammu and Kashmīr.
A Natural Regions
Pakistan has great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point at the Himalayan peak of K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen) in the north and the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows the length of Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide river valley with fertile plains in Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent, and occasionally severe, in the northern and western areas.
Much of Pakistan is a dry, sun-scorched region. To the west of the Indus are the rugged dry mountains of the Sulaimān Range, which merge with the treeless Kīrthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid regions of the Baluchistan Plateau and the Khārān Basin. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills predominate in the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the southeast.
The country also possesses a variety of wetlands, with the glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the Indus Valley plains, and the extensive coastal mangroves of the Indus River delta. The wetland areas cover an estimated area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres).
B Rivers
The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Beās, Chenāb, Rāvi, and Jhelum rivers. In southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta is the seaport of Karāchi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes known as the Rann of Kutch.
C Coastline
The coastline of Pakistan extends 1,046 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi). These steep mountains rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Most of the coast is underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages.
D Mountain Peaks and Passes
Hindu Kush Mountains, Pakistan The Hindu Kush mountain system in central Asia extends for 1,000 km (600 mi) in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. With about two dozen peaks surpassing 7,000 m (23,000 ft), the range reaches its highest point in Pakistan’s highlands, where the peak known as Tirich Mīr rises 7,690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level.Photo Researchers, Inc./Emil Muench
Pakistan has within its borders some of the world’s highest and most spectacular mountains. In the northern part of the country, the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. Thirteen of the world’s 30 tallest peaks are in Pakistan. The tallest include K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), in the Karakoram Range; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Himalayas; and Tirich Mīr (7,690 m/25,230 ft) in the Hindu Kush.
Many mountain passes cross Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China. Passes crossing over the mountains bordering Afghanistan include the Khyber, Bolān, Khojak, Kurram, Tochi, and Gomal passes. The most well-known and well-traveled is the Khyber Pass in the northwest. It links Peshāwar in Pakistan with Jalālābād in Afghanistan, where it connects to a route leading to the Afghan capital of Kābul. It is the widest and lowest of all the mountain passes, reaching a maximum elevation of 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The route of the Bolān Pass links Quetta in Baluchistan Province with Kandahār in Afghanistan; it also serves as a vital link within Pakistan between Sind and Baluchistan provinces. Historically, the Khyber and Bolān passes were used as the primary routes for invaders to enter India from Central Asia, including the armies of Alexander the Great. Also historically significant is Karakoram Pass, on the border with China. For centuries it was part of the trading routes known as the Silk Road, which linked China and other parts of Asia with Europe.
E Plants and Animals
The vegetation of Pakistan varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. Forests are largely confined to the mountain ranges in the north, where coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar grow. The southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow trees. The more arid Sulaimān and Salt mountain ranges are sparsely forested with a type of mulberry called shisham, a broad-leaved, deciduous tree. Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses, scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Plateau. The arid western hills are dotted with juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees. The area of Ziārat, Baluchistan, has juniper forests that are believed to be 5,000 years old; however, they are dwindling due to deforestation. Dry-tropical scrub and thorn trees are the predominant vegetation in the Indus River plain. Known as rakh, this vegetation is native to the region and can survive temperatures higher than 45°C (113°F). Riverine forests, found in the Indus floodplain, require six weeks of monsoon flooding to sustain them during the dry months. Irrigated tree plantations are found in Punjab and Sind. Mangrove forests in the coastal wetlands are an integral part of the marine food chain.
Animal life in Pakistan includes deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. The wetlands provide an essential habitat for a number of important mammal species, including coated otter, Indus dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar. During the migration season, at least 1 million waterfowl representing more than 100 species visit the extensive deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. Pakistan’s rivers and coastal waters contain many types of freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.
Threatened or endangered species include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and ibex (a type of wild goat). These animals can still be found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas. The houbara bustard has been overhunted as a game bird in Pakistan and is officially protected.
F Climate
The climate of Pakistan varies widely, with sharp differences between the high mountains and low plains. The country experiences four seasons. In the mountainous regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter and are mild during summer. In the Indus plains, temperatures range between about 32° and 49°C (about 90° and 120°F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13°C (about 55°F).
Mountainous areas receive most precipitation as heavy snowfall in winter. In other areas of Pakistan, most precipitation comes with the summer monsoons during July and August. The summer monsoons are seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall, breaking the hot, dry spell and providing much-needed relief. The rainfall is so heavy that it causes rivers in Punjab and Sind provinces to flood the lowland areas. Rainfall is scarce the rest of the year. Punjab Province has the most precipitation in the country, receiving more than 500 mm (20 in) per year. In contrast, the arid regions of the southeast (the Thar Desert in Sind) and southwest (Baluchistan) receive less than 125 mm (5 in) annually.
G Natural Resources
More than 20 different types of minerals have been identified in Pakistan, but few are of sufficient quality or quantity to be commercially exploited. Most mineral deposits are found in the mountainous regions. Pakistan’s exploited natural resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, chromite, iron ore, rock salt, and silica sand. Pakistan has extensive natural gas reserves, notably in the vicinity of Sui, Baluchistan, from where it is piped to most of the large cities of Pakistan. Petroleum is limited, but exploration for additional reserves holds promise. Most of the country’s coal is of poor quality. The Salt Range in Punjab Province has large deposits of pure salt. Only about 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is forested, and timber is in short supply.
H Environmental Issues
The wetlands in Pakistan are a precious resource. In an arid to semiarid environment, these ecosystems have tremendous value. People, domestic livestock, and wildlife depend on them for livelihood and survival. The wetlands are also a major source of food staples, livestock grazing and fodder, fuel wood, and irrigation water. However, the fragile wetland ecologies are threatened by poor conservation, over-exploitation, and urban and industrial pollution.
Pakistan’s forests also are in urgent need of protection and conservation. The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The primary causes of deforestation are population growth and settlement, lack of fuelwood alternatives, insect damage and diseases, forest fires, and lack of awareness about the importance of preservation.
In the 1970s the government of Pakistan began making efforts to protect the country’s forests. It has created 14 national parks, covering a total area of 2,753,375 hectares (6,803,738 acres). The protected forests of the parks help prevent soil erosion. The parks are also wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Khunjerab National Park, established in 1975, is an important habitat sanctuary for a number of threatened or endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is one of the country’s most important alpine biodiversity regions. Located in the Himalayas, it is also one of the highest-altitude parks in the world at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Most of the parks generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals.
Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.
III THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN
The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects.
Pakistan has a population of 153,705,278 (2004 estimate), yielding an average population density of 197 persons per sq km (511 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2004 at a rate of 2 percent a year. Only 34 percent of the people live in urban areas.
A Cultural Groups
Pakistan is a multilingual and multiethnic nation. Most of the people belong to one of the country’s five major ethnolinguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns (Pakhtuns), Mohajirs (Muslims who migrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan after 1947), and Baluchis. Ethnically distinct subgroups exist within each of these five categories. Overall, ethnic identity is multilayered and complex and may be based on a combination of religion, language, ethnicity, and tribe.
Not all of the ethnolinguistic groups are equally represented in the power structure of Pakistan. Mohajirs, Punjabis, and Pashtuns are the dominant groups, while Sindhis and Baluchis struggle to advance and protect their interests.
Punjabis constitute 58 percent of the population. They have diverse origins, but over the centuries they coalesced into a coherent ethnic group in the historic Punjab region and developed a common language, Punjabi. Today most Punjabis prefer to read and write in Pakistan’s official language, Urdu, and their language-based ethnic identity is relatively weak. Many Punjabis are farmers in the fertile valley of Punjab Province. Punjabis also predominate in the military and the federal government.
Sindhis constitute 13 percent of the population of Pakistan. Their traditional homeland is the province of Sind, where they maintain the country’s largest concentration of large landholdings. Sindhis are a predominantly rural people. They have a strong sense of linguistic and cultural pride and identity. They have a rich literary and folk tradition and prefer to read and write in their own language, Sindhi.
Pashtuns constitute 12.5 percent of the population. Pashtuns are divided into many tribes, and their tribal structure is egalitarian. Pashtuns follow a strict code of conduct known as Pashtunwali (“Pashtun Way”). Pashtun identity, including their interpretation of Islamic law, is formulated and guided by Pashtunwali. The code is based on the absolute obligations of providing hospitality and sanctuary, even to one’s enemies, and exacting revenge at all costs in the defense of one’s honor. The code also requires Pashtuns to abide by the decisions of the jirga (council of tribal leaders) in matters of dispute. Many Pashtuns have blue eyes and claim to be descendants of the European soldiers who fought for Alexander the Great in the region 2,000 years ago. They have a rich oral tradition in their ethnic language, Pashto, but many Pashtuns prefer to read and write in Urdu. Pashtuns are primarily farmers, livestock herders, traders, and soldiers in the Pakistan military.
Baluchis constitute 4 percent of the population. Most Baluchis are nomadic, migrating wherever the desert-like conditions of their homeland, the Baluchistan Plateau, provide enough vegetation to raise their animals. Raising livestock, mainly sheep and goats, and selling their hides and wool is a way of life for the Baluchis. They also have apple, almond, and apricot orchards, and some grow wheat. Baluchi tribal organization is strictly hierarchical, and each tribe is headed by a sardar (tribal chief). Most Baluchis speak Baluchi (Balochi), a language that is similar to Persian. About one-fifth of Baluchis also speak Brahui, a Dravidian-derived language. Baluchis are the least educated and poorest segment of the population and are inadequately represented in government.
Mohajirs constitute about 8 percent of the population. They are Muslims who settled in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. Unlike other cultural groups of Pakistan, they do not have a tribe-based cultural identity. They are the only people in the country for whom Urdu, the official language, is their native tongue. Mohajirs were the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the partition of British India in order to create the independent nation of Pakistan for Indian Muslims. After the partition, a large number of Muslims migrated from various urban centers of India to live in the new nation of Pakistan. These migrants later identified themselves as mohajirs, meaning “refugees” in both Urdu and Arabic. A large number of Mohajirs settled in the cities of Sind Province, particularly Karāchi and Hyderābād. They were better educated than most indigenous Pakistanis and assumed positions of leadership in business, finance, and administration. Today they remain mostly urban.
Sindhis felt dispossessed by the preponderance of Mohajirs in the urban centers of Sind. With the emergence of a Sindhi middle class in the 1970s and adoption of Sindhi as a provincial language in 1972, tensions between Mohajirs and Sindhis began to mount. The 1973 constitution of Pakistan divided Sind into rural and urban districts, with the implication that the more numerous Sindhis would be better represented in government. Many Mohajirs felt that they were being denied opportunities and launched a movement to represent their interests. The movement, which evolved into the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the mid-1980s, called for official recognition of Mohajirs as a separate cultural group and advocated improved rights for Mohajirs. Although factional rivalries and violence within the MQM tarnished its image and shrunk its power base, the movement continues to be a potent force in urban centers of the province, particularly Karāchi. The MQM has contributed to a more defined Mohajir identity within the country.
B Political Regions
The ethnic groups of Pakistan are distributed according to their historical settlement in the region. The current political regions of Pakistan roughly correspond to the settlement patterns established long before the partition of British India in 1947, when Pakistan was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims. The four provinces are Punjab, the Muslim portion of the historic Punjab region; Sind, the traditional homeland of the Sindhis; the North-West Frontier Province, a small portion of the Pashtun tribal lands; and Baluchistan, a portion of the Baluchi tribal lands. The traditional homelands of the Pashtuns and Baluchis extend beyond the modern political borders, both provincial and national.
Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan, with 72.6 million people (1998). Most of the people are Punjabis. The province contains most of the country’s largest cities, but the rural agricultural areas are also densely settled. The province is the second largest in area.
Sind is the second most populated province in Pakistan, with about 30 million people (1998). Its population is the most urbanized in Pakistan. Sindhis make up about 60 percent of the population of Sind, living mostly in rural areas. Mohajirs constitute the remaining 40 percent and live mostly in the province’s large cities. Sind is the third largest province in area.
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) has a population of 17.6 million (1998). The majority of the people are Pashtuns. The province is part of the historic Pashtun tribal lands, which extend throughout southern and southeastern Afghanistan and well into western Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Baluchistan. The NWFP is Pakistan’s smallest province in area. In the 1980s refugees from war-torn Afghanistan began to settle in the province. Refugee camps and rudimentary villages were set up in the border areas. A large number of refugees also established communities in cities such as Peshāwar. Many became semipermanent residents of Pakistan because Afghanistan remained in a state of war through the mid-1990s. The majority of refugees were Pashtuns, facilitating their assimilation into the province’s population, in many cases through intermarriage.
Baluchistan is the most sparsely populated and least developed province of Pakistan. A majority of the 6.5 million (1998) people who live in Baluchistan are Baluchis. Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in the province. In recent years a large number of Afghan refugees have settled in Baluchistan. In area, Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering nearly 40 percent of the country’s total territory. However, the province is an arid and inhospitable hinterland.
C Principal Cities
Pakistan’s largest city is Karāchi, the capital of Sind Province. It is the country’s only seaport and a major financial, industrial, and commercial center. It is also known as the ethnic melting pot of Pakistan. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is Pakistan’s second largest city and a cultural and educational center. Faisalābād, in central Punjab, is the center of textile and fertilizer industries. Multān, the largest city in southern Punjab, has many ancient Muslim shrines, a huge fertilizer factory, and small cottage industries such as carpet weaving and pottery. Hyderābād, in Sind Province, is a manufacturing center with textile and glass factories, as well as a cultural center with museums, historic mosques, and a medical school. Peshāwar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, is a busy, overcrowded frontier outpost and a hub of trade with Afghanistan. For centuries it served as a gateway and trading post between Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.
Islāmābād is the capital of Pakistan and the seat of the federal government; it forms its own administrative unit, the Islāmābād Capital Territory. Just to the south, in bordering Punjab Province, is Rāwalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army and an industrial center.
D Religion
Sunni Muslim A Sunni Muslim prays outside the entrance of his home in Quetta, in northwestern Pakistan. About 97 percent of the people in the country are Muslims, of which about 80 percent are Sunni Muslims.Arvind Garg
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Faisal Mosque, Islāmābād A planned city, Islāmābād replaced Karāchi as Pakistan’s capital in 1967. The city contains many examples of modern architecture, including Faisal Mosque, designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay.Liaison Agency/Arvind Garg
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Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan. About three-quarters of the country’s Muslims are Sunni, and about one-quarter are Shia. Some small Muslim fringe sects, such as the Ahmedis and Zikris, also exist. Hindus and Christians form the largest religious minorities, accounting for about 3 percent of the population. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state but guarantees freedom of religion.
E Languages
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu replaced English as the official language in 1978.
Most Pakistanis speak at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual, speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity. However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility, national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in Urdu and proficient in English.
Several factors contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of instruction.
For all practical purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated and those who want to move ahead in life.
F Education
Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. From 1976 to 2001 the number of primary schools doubled, but so did the population. High levels of population growth continue to hamper educational development in the country. The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.
According to the constitution, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance, but attendance is not compulsory. While the enrollment rate in primary school is high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. In the 2000–2001 school year 75 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 25 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In 1996, 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population attended institutions of higher education. The wealthiest and best students seek education in British and American universities.
At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 20 public universities. Among Pakistan’s leading public institutions of higher education are Quaid-e-Azam University (1965), in Islāmābād, the University of Karāchi (1951), the University of Peshāwar (1950), and the University of Sindh (1947), near Hyderābād.
Since 1978 the government has encouraged the privatization of education at all levels. This led to the creation of three major private universities: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University Medical College (in Karāchi), and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (in Topi, North-West Frontier Province). The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), in Rāwalpindi, conducts research in the fields of science and technology for both the public and private sectors.
Pakistan, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic in South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with Southwest Asia and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan is Islāmābād; Karāchi is the country’s largest city.
The area of present-day Pakistan was the cradle of the earliest known civilization of South Asia, the Indus Valley civilization (2500?-1700 bc). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until the 1700s, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially comprised two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of territory within India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent republic of Bangladesh.
II LAND AND RESOURCES
Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. A panhandle of Afghanistan territory in the northwest, the Wakhan Corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq mi), not including the section of Jammu and Kashmīr under its control. Jammu and Kashmīr is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashmīr and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), while India controls a portion as the state of Jammu and Kashmīr.
A Natural Regions
Pakistan has great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point at the Himalayan peak of K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen) in the north and the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows the length of Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide river valley with fertile plains in Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent, and occasionally severe, in the northern and western areas.
Much of Pakistan is a dry, sun-scorched region. To the west of the Indus are the rugged dry mountains of the Sulaimān Range, which merge with the treeless Kīrthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid regions of the Baluchistan Plateau and the Khārān Basin. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills predominate in the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the southeast.
The country also possesses a variety of wetlands, with the glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the Indus Valley plains, and the extensive coastal mangroves of the Indus River delta. The wetland areas cover an estimated area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres).
B Rivers
The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Beās, Chenāb, Rāvi, and Jhelum rivers. In southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta is the seaport of Karāchi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes known as the Rann of Kutch.
C Coastline
The coastline of Pakistan extends 1,046 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi). These steep mountains rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Most of the coast is underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages.
D Mountain Peaks and Passes
Hindu Kush Mountains, Pakistan The Hindu Kush mountain system in central Asia extends for 1,000 km (600 mi) in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. With about two dozen peaks surpassing 7,000 m (23,000 ft), the range reaches its highest point in Pakistan’s highlands, where the peak known as Tirich Mīr rises 7,690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level.Photo Researchers, Inc./Emil Muench
Pakistan has within its borders some of the world’s highest and most spectacular mountains. In the northern part of the country, the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. Thirteen of the world’s 30 tallest peaks are in Pakistan. The tallest include K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), in the Karakoram Range; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Himalayas; and Tirich Mīr (7,690 m/25,230 ft) in the Hindu Kush.
Many mountain passes cross Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China. Passes crossing over the mountains bordering Afghanistan include the Khyber, Bolān, Khojak, Kurram, Tochi, and Gomal passes. The most well-known and well-traveled is the Khyber Pass in the northwest. It links Peshāwar in Pakistan with Jalālābād in Afghanistan, where it connects to a route leading to the Afghan capital of Kābul. It is the widest and lowest of all the mountain passes, reaching a maximum elevation of 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The route of the Bolān Pass links Quetta in Baluchistan Province with Kandahār in Afghanistan; it also serves as a vital link within Pakistan between Sind and Baluchistan provinces. Historically, the Khyber and Bolān passes were used as the primary routes for invaders to enter India from Central Asia, including the armies of Alexander the Great. Also historically significant is Karakoram Pass, on the border with China. For centuries it was part of the trading routes known as the Silk Road, which linked China and other parts of Asia with Europe.
E Plants and Animals
The vegetation of Pakistan varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. Forests are largely confined to the mountain ranges in the north, where coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar grow. The southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow trees. The more arid Sulaimān and Salt mountain ranges are sparsely forested with a type of mulberry called shisham, a broad-leaved, deciduous tree. Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses, scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Plateau. The arid western hills are dotted with juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees. The area of Ziārat, Baluchistan, has juniper forests that are believed to be 5,000 years old; however, they are dwindling due to deforestation. Dry-tropical scrub and thorn trees are the predominant vegetation in the Indus River plain. Known as rakh, this vegetation is native to the region and can survive temperatures higher than 45°C (113°F). Riverine forests, found in the Indus floodplain, require six weeks of monsoon flooding to sustain them during the dry months. Irrigated tree plantations are found in Punjab and Sind. Mangrove forests in the coastal wetlands are an integral part of the marine food chain.
Animal life in Pakistan includes deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. The wetlands provide an essential habitat for a number of important mammal species, including coated otter, Indus dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar. During the migration season, at least 1 million waterfowl representing more than 100 species visit the extensive deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. Pakistan’s rivers and coastal waters contain many types of freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.
Threatened or endangered species include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and ibex (a type of wild goat). These animals can still be found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas. The houbara bustard has been overhunted as a game bird in Pakistan and is officially protected.
F Climate
The climate of Pakistan varies widely, with sharp differences between the high mountains and low plains. The country experiences four seasons. In the mountainous regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter and are mild during summer. In the Indus plains, temperatures range between about 32° and 49°C (about 90° and 120°F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13°C (about 55°F).
Mountainous areas receive most precipitation as heavy snowfall in winter. In other areas of Pakistan, most precipitation comes with the summer monsoons during July and August. The summer monsoons are seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall, breaking the hot, dry spell and providing much-needed relief. The rainfall is so heavy that it causes rivers in Punjab and Sind provinces to flood the lowland areas. Rainfall is scarce the rest of the year. Punjab Province has the most precipitation in the country, receiving more than 500 mm (20 in) per year. In contrast, the arid regions of the southeast (the Thar Desert in Sind) and southwest (Baluchistan) receive less than 125 mm (5 in) annually.
G Natural Resources
More than 20 different types of minerals have been identified in Pakistan, but few are of sufficient quality or quantity to be commercially exploited. Most mineral deposits are found in the mountainous regions. Pakistan’s exploited natural resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, chromite, iron ore, rock salt, and silica sand. Pakistan has extensive natural gas reserves, notably in the vicinity of Sui, Baluchistan, from where it is piped to most of the large cities of Pakistan. Petroleum is limited, but exploration for additional reserves holds promise. Most of the country’s coal is of poor quality. The Salt Range in Punjab Province has large deposits of pure salt. Only about 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is forested, and timber is in short supply.
H Environmental Issues
The wetlands in Pakistan are a precious resource. In an arid to semiarid environment, these ecosystems have tremendous value. People, domestic livestock, and wildlife depend on them for livelihood and survival. The wetlands are also a major source of food staples, livestock grazing and fodder, fuel wood, and irrigation water. However, the fragile wetland ecologies are threatened by poor conservation, over-exploitation, and urban and industrial pollution.
Pakistan’s forests also are in urgent need of protection and conservation. The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The primary causes of deforestation are population growth and settlement, lack of fuelwood alternatives, insect damage and diseases, forest fires, and lack of awareness about the importance of preservation.
In the 1970s the government of Pakistan began making efforts to protect the country’s forests. It has created 14 national parks, covering a total area of 2,753,375 hectares (6,803,738 acres). The protected forests of the parks help prevent soil erosion. The parks are also wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Khunjerab National Park, established in 1975, is an important habitat sanctuary for a number of threatened or endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is one of the country’s most important alpine biodiversity regions. Located in the Himalayas, it is also one of the highest-altitude parks in the world at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Most of the parks generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals.
Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.
III THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN
The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects.
Pakistan has a population of 153,705,278 (2004 estimate), yielding an average population density of 197 persons per sq km (511 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2004 at a rate of 2 percent a year. Only 34 percent of the people live in urban areas.
A Cultural Groups
Pakistan is a multilingual and multiethnic nation. Most of the people belong to one of the country’s five major ethnolinguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns (Pakhtuns), Mohajirs (Muslims who migrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan after 1947), and Baluchis. Ethnically distinct subgroups exist within each of these five categories. Overall, ethnic identity is multilayered and complex and may be based on a combination of religion, language, ethnicity, and tribe.
Not all of the ethnolinguistic groups are equally represented in the power structure of Pakistan. Mohajirs, Punjabis, and Pashtuns are the dominant groups, while Sindhis and Baluchis struggle to advance and protect their interests.
Punjabis constitute 58 percent of the population. They have diverse origins, but over the centuries they coalesced into a coherent ethnic group in the historic Punjab region and developed a common language, Punjabi. Today most Punjabis prefer to read and write in Pakistan’s official language, Urdu, and their language-based ethnic identity is relatively weak. Many Punjabis are farmers in the fertile valley of Punjab Province. Punjabis also predominate in the military and the federal government.
Sindhis constitute 13 percent of the population of Pakistan. Their traditional homeland is the province of Sind, where they maintain the country’s largest concentration of large landholdings. Sindhis are a predominantly rural people. They have a strong sense of linguistic and cultural pride and identity. They have a rich literary and folk tradition and prefer to read and write in their own language, Sindhi.
Pashtuns constitute 12.5 percent of the population. Pashtuns are divided into many tribes, and their tribal structure is egalitarian. Pashtuns follow a strict code of conduct known as Pashtunwali (“Pashtun Way”). Pashtun identity, including their interpretation of Islamic law, is formulated and guided by Pashtunwali. The code is based on the absolute obligations of providing hospitality and sanctuary, even to one’s enemies, and exacting revenge at all costs in the defense of one’s honor. The code also requires Pashtuns to abide by the decisions of the jirga (council of tribal leaders) in matters of dispute. Many Pashtuns have blue eyes and claim to be descendants of the European soldiers who fought for Alexander the Great in the region 2,000 years ago. They have a rich oral tradition in their ethnic language, Pashto, but many Pashtuns prefer to read and write in Urdu. Pashtuns are primarily farmers, livestock herders, traders, and soldiers in the Pakistan military.
Baluchis constitute 4 percent of the population. Most Baluchis are nomadic, migrating wherever the desert-like conditions of their homeland, the Baluchistan Plateau, provide enough vegetation to raise their animals. Raising livestock, mainly sheep and goats, and selling their hides and wool is a way of life for the Baluchis. They also have apple, almond, and apricot orchards, and some grow wheat. Baluchi tribal organization is strictly hierarchical, and each tribe is headed by a sardar (tribal chief). Most Baluchis speak Baluchi (Balochi), a language that is similar to Persian. About one-fifth of Baluchis also speak Brahui, a Dravidian-derived language. Baluchis are the least educated and poorest segment of the population and are inadequately represented in government.
Mohajirs constitute about 8 percent of the population. They are Muslims who settled in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. Unlike other cultural groups of Pakistan, they do not have a tribe-based cultural identity. They are the only people in the country for whom Urdu, the official language, is their native tongue. Mohajirs were the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the partition of British India in order to create the independent nation of Pakistan for Indian Muslims. After the partition, a large number of Muslims migrated from various urban centers of India to live in the new nation of Pakistan. These migrants later identified themselves as mohajirs, meaning “refugees” in both Urdu and Arabic. A large number of Mohajirs settled in the cities of Sind Province, particularly Karāchi and Hyderābād. They were better educated than most indigenous Pakistanis and assumed positions of leadership in business, finance, and administration. Today they remain mostly urban.
Sindhis felt dispossessed by the preponderance of Mohajirs in the urban centers of Sind. With the emergence of a Sindhi middle class in the 1970s and adoption of Sindhi as a provincial language in 1972, tensions between Mohajirs and Sindhis began to mount. The 1973 constitution of Pakistan divided Sind into rural and urban districts, with the implication that the more numerous Sindhis would be better represented in government. Many Mohajirs felt that they were being denied opportunities and launched a movement to represent their interests. The movement, which evolved into the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the mid-1980s, called for official recognition of Mohajirs as a separate cultural group and advocated improved rights for Mohajirs. Although factional rivalries and violence within the MQM tarnished its image and shrunk its power base, the movement continues to be a potent force in urban centers of the province, particularly Karāchi. The MQM has contributed to a more defined Mohajir identity within the country.
B Political Regions
The ethnic groups of Pakistan are distributed according to their historical settlement in the region. The current political regions of Pakistan roughly correspond to the settlement patterns established long before the partition of British India in 1947, when Pakistan was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims. The four provinces are Punjab, the Muslim portion of the historic Punjab region; Sind, the traditional homeland of the Sindhis; the North-West Frontier Province, a small portion of the Pashtun tribal lands; and Baluchistan, a portion of the Baluchi tribal lands. The traditional homelands of the Pashtuns and Baluchis extend beyond the modern political borders, both provincial and national.
Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan, with 72.6 million people (1998). Most of the people are Punjabis. The province contains most of the country’s largest cities, but the rural agricultural areas are also densely settled. The province is the second largest in area.
Sind is the second most populated province in Pakistan, with about 30 million people (1998). Its population is the most urbanized in Pakistan. Sindhis make up about 60 percent of the population of Sind, living mostly in rural areas. Mohajirs constitute the remaining 40 percent and live mostly in the province’s large cities. Sind is the third largest province in area.
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) has a population of 17.6 million (1998). The majority of the people are Pashtuns. The province is part of the historic Pashtun tribal lands, which extend throughout southern and southeastern Afghanistan and well into western Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Baluchistan. The NWFP is Pakistan’s smallest province in area. In the 1980s refugees from war-torn Afghanistan began to settle in the province. Refugee camps and rudimentary villages were set up in the border areas. A large number of refugees also established communities in cities such as Peshāwar. Many became semipermanent residents of Pakistan because Afghanistan remained in a state of war through the mid-1990s. The majority of refugees were Pashtuns, facilitating their assimilation into the province’s population, in many cases through intermarriage.
Baluchistan is the most sparsely populated and least developed province of Pakistan. A majority of the 6.5 million (1998) people who live in Baluchistan are Baluchis. Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in the province. In recent years a large number of Afghan refugees have settled in Baluchistan. In area, Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering nearly 40 percent of the country’s total territory. However, the province is an arid and inhospitable hinterland.
C Principal Cities
Pakistan’s largest city is Karāchi, the capital of Sind Province. It is the country’s only seaport and a major financial, industrial, and commercial center. It is also known as the ethnic melting pot of Pakistan. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is Pakistan’s second largest city and a cultural and educational center. Faisalābād, in central Punjab, is the center of textile and fertilizer industries. Multān, the largest city in southern Punjab, has many ancient Muslim shrines, a huge fertilizer factory, and small cottage industries such as carpet weaving and pottery. Hyderābād, in Sind Province, is a manufacturing center with textile and glass factories, as well as a cultural center with museums, historic mosques, and a medical school. Peshāwar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, is a busy, overcrowded frontier outpost and a hub of trade with Afghanistan. For centuries it served as a gateway and trading post between Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.
Islāmābād is the capital of Pakistan and the seat of the federal government; it forms its own administrative unit, the Islāmābād Capital Territory. Just to the south, in bordering Punjab Province, is Rāwalpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army and an industrial center.
D Religion
Sunni Muslim A Sunni Muslim prays outside the entrance of his home in Quetta, in northwestern Pakistan. About 97 percent of the people in the country are Muslims, of which about 80 percent are Sunni Muslims.Arvind Garg
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Faisal Mosque, Islāmābād A planned city, Islāmābād replaced Karāchi as Pakistan’s capital in 1967. The city contains many examples of modern architecture, including Faisal Mosque, designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay.Liaison Agency/Arvind Garg
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Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan. About three-quarters of the country’s Muslims are Sunni, and about one-quarter are Shia. Some small Muslim fringe sects, such as the Ahmedis and Zikris, also exist. Hindus and Christians form the largest religious minorities, accounting for about 3 percent of the population. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state but guarantees freedom of religion.
E Languages
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu replaced English as the official language in 1978.
Most Pakistanis speak at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual, speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity. However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility, national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in Urdu and proficient in English.
Several factors contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of instruction.
For all practical purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated and those who want to move ahead in life.
F Education
Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. From 1976 to 2001 the number of primary schools doubled, but so did the population. High levels of population growth continue to hamper educational development in the country. The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.
According to the constitution, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance, but attendance is not compulsory. While the enrollment rate in primary school is high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. In the 2000–2001 school year 75 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 25 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In 1996, 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population attended institutions of higher education. The wealthiest and best students seek education in British and American universities.
At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 20 public universities. Among Pakistan’s leading public institutions of higher education are Quaid-e-Azam University (1965), in Islāmābād, the University of Karāchi (1951), the University of Peshāwar (1950), and the University of Sindh (1947), near Hyderābād.
Since 1978 the government has encouraged the privatization of education at all levels. This led to the creation of three major private universities: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University Medical College (in Karāchi), and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (in Topi, North-West Frontier Province). The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), in Rāwalpindi, conducts research in the fields of science and technology for both the public and private sectors.
ABOUT HUMEN BEINGS
I INTRODUCTION
Human, common name given to any individual of the species Homo sapiens and, by extension, to the entire species. The term is also applied to certain species that were the evolutionary forerunners of Homo sapiens (see Human Evolution). Scientists consider all living people members of a single species.
II CLASSIFICATION
Homo sapiens is identified, for purposes of classification, as an animal (kingdom Animalia) with a backbone (phylum Chordata) and segmented spinal cord (subphylum Vertebrata) that suckles its young (class Mammalia); that gestates its young with the aid of a placenta (subclass Eutheria); that is equipped with five-digited extremities, a collarbone, and a single pair of mammary glands on the chest (order Primates); and that has eyes at the front of the head, stereoscopic vision, and a proportionately large brain (suborder Anthropoidea). The species belongs to the family Hominidae, the general characteristics of which are discussed below.
III STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY
Human Spine Although individual vertebrae move little from one to the next, the human spinal column as a whole is a chain flexible enough to allow us to touch our toes. Its unique S-shape centers the weight of our long bodies over our feet, keeping us from toppling. Animals that walk on all four legs have straighter spines that provide even support for their horizontal bodies.Dorling Kindersley
The details of skeletal structure distinguishing Homo sapiens from the nearest primate relatives—the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan—stem largely from a very early adaptation to a completely erect posture and a two-footed striding walk (bipedalism). The uniquely S-shaped spinal column places the center of gravity of the human body directly over the area of support provided by the feet, thus giving stability and balance in the upright position. Other mechanical modifications for bipedalism include a broad pelvis, a locking knee joint, an elongated heel bone, and a lengthened and aligned big toe. Although varying degrees of bipedalism are seen in other anthropoids, all have straight or bowed spines, bent knees, and grasping (prehensile) feet, and all use the hands to bear part of the body weight when moving about.
Complete bipedalism in the human freed the hand to become a supremely sensitive instrument for precise manipulation and grasping. The most important structural detail in this refinement is the elongated human thumb, which can rotate freely and is fully opposable to the other fingers. The physiological requirements for speech were secondarily established by erect posture, which positions the vocal cords for controlled breathing, and by the skilled use of the hands. The latter development occurs in association with the enlargement and specialization of a brain area (Broca's convolution) that is a prerequisite for refined control of the lips and tongue.
The large (averaging 1400 cc/85.4 cu in) brain of Homo sapiens is approximately double that of early human toolmakers. This great increase in size in only 2 million years was achieved by a process called neoteny, which is the prolongation of retention of immature characteristics. The juvenile stage of brain and skull development is prolonged so that they grow for a longer period of time in relation to the time required to reach sexual maturity. Unlike the early human adult skull, with its sloping forehead and prominent jaw, the modern human skull—with biologically insignificant variations—retains into maturity a proportionately large size, in relation to the rest of the body, a high-rounded dome, straight-planed face, and reduced jaw size, all closely resembling the characteristics of the skull in the juvenile chimpanzee. Its enlarged dimensions required adaptations for passage through the birth canal; consequently, the human female pelvis widens at maturity (with some sacrifice in swiftness of locomotion), and the human infant is born prematurely. Chimpanzees are born with 65 percent of their adult brain capacity; Australopithecine, an erect, tool-using near-human of 3 million years ago, was born with about 50 percent; modern human newborns have only 25 percent of adult brain capacity, resulting in an extended period of helplessness. The many neurological pathways to the rapidly growing brain must be organized and coordinated during a prolonged period of dependency on and stimulation by adults; lacking this close external bond in the early years of life, development of the modern brain remains incomplete.
IV BEHAVIOR
Human Brain The human brain has three major structural components: the large dome-shaped cerebrum (top), the smaller somewhat spherical cerebellum (lower right), and the brainstem (center). Prominent in the brainstem are the medulla oblongata (the egg-shaped enlargement at center) and the thalamus (between the medulla and the cerebrum). The cerebrum is responsible for intelligence and reasoning. The cerebellum helps to maintain balance and posture. The medulla is involved in maintaining involuntary functions such as respiration, and the thalamus acts as a relay center for electrical impulses traveling to and from the cerebral cortex.Oxford Scientific Films/London Scientific Films
The physiological adaptations that made humans more flexible than other primates allowed for the development of a wide range of abilities and an unparalleled versatility in behavior. The brain's great size, complexity, and slow maturation, with neural connections being added through at least the first 12 years of life, meant that learned behavior could largely modify stereotyped, instinctive responses. New environmental demands could be met by rapid adjustments rather than by slow genetic selection; thus, survival in a wide range of habitats and under extreme conditions eventually became possible without further species differentiation. Each new infant, however, with relatively few innate traits yet with a vast number of potential behaviors, must be taught to achieve its biological potential as a human.
V CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES
Flint Tools Humans have been toolmakers for at least 2.5 million years. The earliest technology was a tool kit of haphazardly shaped chopping, cutting, and scraping implements fashioned from pebbles. From the later stone ages, archaeologists have identified some 60 or 70 standard kinds of intricate tools with very specific purposes. While the ax-head, arrowhead, scrapers, borers, and flakes in this picture were all made of stone, materials such as bone and ivory were also used. Tools like these can be made by direct percussion (using a hammerstone or other implement to knock flakes from the raw material) or indirect percussion (using the hammerstone to strike a chisel-like tool that is precisely positioned on the raw material).Oxford Scientific Films/G.A. Maclean
The human species has a unique capability for culture in the sense of conscious thinking and planning, transmission of skills and systems of social relationships, and creative modification of the environment. The integrated patterns of behavior required for planning and fashioning tools were accomplished at least 2.5 million years ago, and some form of advanced code for vocal communication may also have existed at this time. By 350,000 years ago planned hunting, firemaking, and the wearing of clothing were well established, as was possibly ritualized disposal of the dead. Evidence of religion, recorded events, and art date from 30,000 to 40,000 years ago and imply advanced language and ethics for the complex ordering of social groups required for such activities. From about that time the genus Homo began to stabilize into the one generalized species of Homo sapiens.
Human, common name given to any individual of the species Homo sapiens and, by extension, to the entire species. The term is also applied to certain species that were the evolutionary forerunners of Homo sapiens (see Human Evolution). Scientists consider all living people members of a single species.
II CLASSIFICATION
Homo sapiens is identified, for purposes of classification, as an animal (kingdom Animalia) with a backbone (phylum Chordata) and segmented spinal cord (subphylum Vertebrata) that suckles its young (class Mammalia); that gestates its young with the aid of a placenta (subclass Eutheria); that is equipped with five-digited extremities, a collarbone, and a single pair of mammary glands on the chest (order Primates); and that has eyes at the front of the head, stereoscopic vision, and a proportionately large brain (suborder Anthropoidea). The species belongs to the family Hominidae, the general characteristics of which are discussed below.
III STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY
Human Spine Although individual vertebrae move little from one to the next, the human spinal column as a whole is a chain flexible enough to allow us to touch our toes. Its unique S-shape centers the weight of our long bodies over our feet, keeping us from toppling. Animals that walk on all four legs have straighter spines that provide even support for their horizontal bodies.Dorling Kindersley
The details of skeletal structure distinguishing Homo sapiens from the nearest primate relatives—the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan—stem largely from a very early adaptation to a completely erect posture and a two-footed striding walk (bipedalism). The uniquely S-shaped spinal column places the center of gravity of the human body directly over the area of support provided by the feet, thus giving stability and balance in the upright position. Other mechanical modifications for bipedalism include a broad pelvis, a locking knee joint, an elongated heel bone, and a lengthened and aligned big toe. Although varying degrees of bipedalism are seen in other anthropoids, all have straight or bowed spines, bent knees, and grasping (prehensile) feet, and all use the hands to bear part of the body weight when moving about.
Complete bipedalism in the human freed the hand to become a supremely sensitive instrument for precise manipulation and grasping. The most important structural detail in this refinement is the elongated human thumb, which can rotate freely and is fully opposable to the other fingers. The physiological requirements for speech were secondarily established by erect posture, which positions the vocal cords for controlled breathing, and by the skilled use of the hands. The latter development occurs in association with the enlargement and specialization of a brain area (Broca's convolution) that is a prerequisite for refined control of the lips and tongue.
The large (averaging 1400 cc/85.4 cu in) brain of Homo sapiens is approximately double that of early human toolmakers. This great increase in size in only 2 million years was achieved by a process called neoteny, which is the prolongation of retention of immature characteristics. The juvenile stage of brain and skull development is prolonged so that they grow for a longer period of time in relation to the time required to reach sexual maturity. Unlike the early human adult skull, with its sloping forehead and prominent jaw, the modern human skull—with biologically insignificant variations—retains into maturity a proportionately large size, in relation to the rest of the body, a high-rounded dome, straight-planed face, and reduced jaw size, all closely resembling the characteristics of the skull in the juvenile chimpanzee. Its enlarged dimensions required adaptations for passage through the birth canal; consequently, the human female pelvis widens at maturity (with some sacrifice in swiftness of locomotion), and the human infant is born prematurely. Chimpanzees are born with 65 percent of their adult brain capacity; Australopithecine, an erect, tool-using near-human of 3 million years ago, was born with about 50 percent; modern human newborns have only 25 percent of adult brain capacity, resulting in an extended period of helplessness. The many neurological pathways to the rapidly growing brain must be organized and coordinated during a prolonged period of dependency on and stimulation by adults; lacking this close external bond in the early years of life, development of the modern brain remains incomplete.
IV BEHAVIOR
Human Brain The human brain has three major structural components: the large dome-shaped cerebrum (top), the smaller somewhat spherical cerebellum (lower right), and the brainstem (center). Prominent in the brainstem are the medulla oblongata (the egg-shaped enlargement at center) and the thalamus (between the medulla and the cerebrum). The cerebrum is responsible for intelligence and reasoning. The cerebellum helps to maintain balance and posture. The medulla is involved in maintaining involuntary functions such as respiration, and the thalamus acts as a relay center for electrical impulses traveling to and from the cerebral cortex.Oxford Scientific Films/London Scientific Films
The physiological adaptations that made humans more flexible than other primates allowed for the development of a wide range of abilities and an unparalleled versatility in behavior. The brain's great size, complexity, and slow maturation, with neural connections being added through at least the first 12 years of life, meant that learned behavior could largely modify stereotyped, instinctive responses. New environmental demands could be met by rapid adjustments rather than by slow genetic selection; thus, survival in a wide range of habitats and under extreme conditions eventually became possible without further species differentiation. Each new infant, however, with relatively few innate traits yet with a vast number of potential behaviors, must be taught to achieve its biological potential as a human.
V CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES
Flint Tools Humans have been toolmakers for at least 2.5 million years. The earliest technology was a tool kit of haphazardly shaped chopping, cutting, and scraping implements fashioned from pebbles. From the later stone ages, archaeologists have identified some 60 or 70 standard kinds of intricate tools with very specific purposes. While the ax-head, arrowhead, scrapers, borers, and flakes in this picture were all made of stone, materials such as bone and ivory were also used. Tools like these can be made by direct percussion (using a hammerstone or other implement to knock flakes from the raw material) or indirect percussion (using the hammerstone to strike a chisel-like tool that is precisely positioned on the raw material).Oxford Scientific Films/G.A. Maclean
The human species has a unique capability for culture in the sense of conscious thinking and planning, transmission of skills and systems of social relationships, and creative modification of the environment. The integrated patterns of behavior required for planning and fashioning tools were accomplished at least 2.5 million years ago, and some form of advanced code for vocal communication may also have existed at this time. By 350,000 years ago planned hunting, firemaking, and the wearing of clothing were well established, as was possibly ritualized disposal of the dead. Evidence of religion, recorded events, and art date from 30,000 to 40,000 years ago and imply advanced language and ethics for the complex ordering of social groups required for such activities. From about that time the genus Homo began to stabilize into the one generalized species of Homo sapiens.
EARTH, A PLANET
I INTRODUCTION
Earth (planet), one of nine planets in the solar system, the only planet known to harbor life, and the “home” of human beings. From space Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue oceans. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, which is essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise above the oceans.
Earth An oxygen-rich and protective atmosphere, moderate temperatures, abundant water, and a varied chemical composition enable Earth to support life, the only planet known to harbor life. The planet is composed of rock and metal, which are present in molten form beneath its surface. The Apollo 17 spacecraft took this snapshot in 1972 of the Arabian Peninsula, the African continent, and Antarctica (most of the white area near the bottom).Photo Researchers, Inc./NASA/Science Source
Earth’s surface is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid form.
Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like distant Mars and the even more distant outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and tiny Pluto. Earth’s atmosphere includes just the right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The atmosphere also helps block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earth’s atmosphere distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth. Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor too far from the Sun. But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot—462°C (864°F)—hot enough to melt lead and too hot for life to exist.
Although Earth is the only planet known to have life, scientists do not rule out the possibility that life may once have existed on other planets or their moons, or may exist today in primitive form. Mars, for example, has many features that resemble river channels, indicating that liquid water once flowed on its surface. If so, life may also have evolved there, and evidence for it may one day be found in fossil form. Water still exists on Mars, but it is frozen in polar ice caps, in permafrost, and possibly in rocks below the surface.
For thousands of years, human beings could only wonder about Earth and the other observable planets in the solar system. Many early ideas—for example, that the Earth was a sphere and that it traveled around the Sun—were based on brilliant reasoning. However, it was only with the development of the scientific method and scientific instruments, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, that humans began to gather data that could be used to verify theories about Earth and the rest of the solar system. By studying fossils found in rock layers, for example, scientists realized that the Earth was much older than previously believed. And with the use of telescopes, new planets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered.
Earth from the Moon In the late 1960s, people saw for the first time what Earth looked like from space. This famous photo of Earth was taken by astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission as they orbited the Moon in 1968.NASA
In the second half of the 20th century, more advances in the study of Earth and the solar system occurred due to the development of rockets that could send spacecraft beyond Earth. Human beings were able to study and observe Earth from space with satellites equipped with scientific instruments. Astronauts landed on the Moon and gathered ancient rocks that revealed much about the early solar system. During this remarkable advancement in human history, humans also sent unmanned spacecraft to the other planets and their moons. Spacecraft have now visited all of the planets except Pluto. The study of other planets and moons has provided new insights about Earth, just as the study of the Sun and other stars like it has helped shape new theories about how Earth and the rest of the solar system formed.
As a result of this recent space exploration, we now know that Earth is one of the most geologically active of all the planets and moons in the solar system. Earth is constantly changing. Over long periods of time land is built up and worn away, oceans are formed and re-formed, and continents move around, break up, and merge.
Life itself contributes to changes on Earth, especially in the way living things can alter Earth’s atmosphere. For example, Earth at one time had the same amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere as Venus now has, but early forms of life helped remove this carbon dioxide over millions of years. These life forms also added oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and made it possible for animal life to evolve on land.
A variety of scientific fields have broadened our knowledge about Earth, including biogeography, climatology, geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and zoogeography. Collectively, these fields are known as Earth science. By studying Earth’s atmosphere, its surface, and its interior and by studying the Sun and the rest of the solar system, scientists have learned much about how Earth came into existence, how it changed, and why it continues to change.
II EARTH, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE GALAXY
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, after Mercury and Venus. The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 150 million km (93 million mi). Earth and all the other planets in the solar system revolve, or orbit, around the Sun due to the force of gravitation. The Earth travels at a velocity of about 107,000 km/h (about 67,000 mph) as it orbits the Sun. All but one of the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane—that is, if an imaginary line were extended from the center of the Sun to the outer regions of the solar system, the orbital paths of the planets would intersect that line. The exception is Pluto, which has an eccentric (unusual) orbit.
Earth’s orbital path is not quite a perfect circle but instead is slightly elliptical (oval-shaped). For example, at maximum distance Earth is about 152 million km (about 95 million mi) from the Sun; at minimum distance Earth is about 147 million km (about 91 million mi) from the Sun. If Earth orbited the Sun in a perfect circle, it would always be the same distance from the Sun.
The solar system, in turn, is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, a collection of billions of stars bound together by gravity. The Milky Way has armlike discs of stars that spiral out from its center. The solar system is located in one of these spiral arms, known as the Orion arm, which is about two-thirds of the way from the center of the Galaxy. In most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this disc of stars is visible on a summer night as a dense band of light known as the Milky Way.
Milky Way Galaxy Our own solar system exists within one of the spiral arms of the disk-shaped galaxy called the Milky Way. This false-color image looks toward the center of the Milky Way, located 30,000 light-years away. Bright star clusters are visible along with darker areas of dust and gas.Photo Researchers, Inc./Morton-Milon/Science Source
Earth is the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Its diameter, measured around the equator, is 12,756 km (7,926 mi). Earth is not a perfect sphere but is slightly flattened at the poles. Its polar diameter, measured from the North Pole to the South Pole, is somewhat less than the equatorial diameter because of this flattening. Although Earth is the largest of the four planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—that make up the inner solar system (the planets closest to the Sun), it is small compared with the giant planets of the outer solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. For example, the largest planet, Jupiter, has a diameter at its equator of 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 11 times greater than that of Earth. A famous atmospheric feature on Jupiter, the Great Red Spot, is so large that three Earths would fit inside it.
Earth has one natural satellite, the Moon. The Moon orbits the Earth, completing one revolution in an elliptical path in 27 days 7 hr 43 min 11.5 sec. The Moon orbits the Earth because of the force of Earth’s gravity. However, the Moon also exerts a gravitational force on the Earth. Evidence for the Moon’s gravitational influence can be seen in the ocean tides. A popular theory suggests that the Moon split off from Earth more than 4 billion years ago when a large meteorite or small planet struck the Earth.
As Earth revolves around the Sun, it rotates, or spins, on its axis, an imaginary line that runs between the North and South poles. The period of one complete rotation is defined as a day and takes 23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec. The period of one revolution around the Sun is defined as a year, or 365.2422 solar days, or 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 sec. Earth also moves along with the Milky Way Galaxy as the Galaxy rotates and moves through space. It takes more than 200 million years for the stars in the Milky Way to complete one revolution around the Galaxy’s center.
Earth’s axis of rotation is inclined (tilted) 23.5° relative to its plane of revolution around the Sun. This inclination of the axis creates the seasons and causes the height of the Sun in the sky at noon to increase and decrease as the seasons change. The Northern Hemisphere receives the most energy from the Sun when it is tilted toward the Sun. This orientation corresponds to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere receives maximum energy when it is tilted toward the Sun, corresponding to summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Fall and spring occur in between these orientations.
III EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere is a layer of different gases that extends from Earth’s surface to the exosphere, the outer limit of the atmosphere, about 9,600 km (6,000 mi) above the surface. Near Earth’s surface, the atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent). The remaining 1 percent of atmospheric gases consists of argon (0.9 percent); carbon dioxide (0.03 percent); varying amounts of water vapor; and trace amounts of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon.
A Layers of the Atmosphere
Divisions of the Atmosphere Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth. A relatively thin envelope, the atmosphere consists of layers of gases that support life and provide protection from harmful radiation.© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
The layers of the atmosphere are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. The troposphere is the layer in which weather occurs and extends from the surface to about 16 km (about 10 mi) above sea level at the equator. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, which has an upper boundary of about 50 km (about 30 mi) above sea level. The layer from 50 to 90 km (30 to 60 mi) is called the mesosphere. At an altitude of about 90 km, temperatures begin to rise. The layer that begins at this altitude is called the thermosphere because of the high temperatures that can be reached in this layer (about 1200°C, or about 2200°F). The region beyond the thermosphere is called the exosphere. The thermosphere and the exosphere overlap with another region of the atmosphere known as the ionosphere, a layer or layers of ionized air extending from almost 60 km (about 50 mi) above Earth’s surface to altitudes of 1,000 km (600 mi) and more.
Earth’s atmosphere and the way it interacts with the oceans and radiation from the Sun are responsible for the planet’s climate and weather. The atmosphere plays a key role in supporting life. Almost all life on Earth uses atmospheric oxygen for energy in a process known as cellular respiration, which is essential to life. The atmosphere also helps moderate Earth’s climate by trapping radiation from the Sun that is reflected from Earth’s surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” Like the glass in a greenhouse, they trap infrared, or heat, radiation from the Sun in the lower atmosphere and thereby help warm Earth’s surface. Without this greenhouse effect, heat radiation would escape into space, and Earth would be too cold to support most forms of life.
Other gases in the atmosphere are also essential to life. The trace amount of ozone found in Earth’s stratosphere blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without the ozone layer, life as we know it could not survive on land. Earth’s atmosphere is also an important part of a phenomenon known as the water cycle or the hydrologic cycle. See also Atmosphere.
B The Atmosphere and the Water Cycle
The water cycle simply means that Earth’s water is continually recycled between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land. All of the water that exists on Earth today has been used and reused for billions of years. Very little water has been created or lost during this period of time. Water is constantly moving on Earth’s surface and changing back and forth between ice, liquid water, and water vapor.
The water cycle begins when the Sun heats the water in the oceans and causes it to evaporate and enter the atmosphere as water vapor. Some of this water vapor falls as precipitation directly back into the oceans, completing a short cycle. Some of the water vapor, however, reaches land, where it may fall as snow or rain. Melted snow or rain enters rivers or lakes on the land. Due to the force of gravity, the water in the rivers eventually empties back into the oceans. Melted snow or rain also may enter the ground. Groundwater may be stored for hundreds or thousands of years, but it will eventually reach the surface as springs or small pools known as seeps. Even snow that forms glacial ice or becomes part of the polar caps and is kept out of the cycle for thousands of years eventually melts or is warmed by the Sun and turned into water vapor, entering the atmosphere and falling again as precipitation. All water that falls on land eventually returns to the ocean, completing the water cycle.
IV EARTH’S SURFACE
Earth’s surface is the outermost layer of the planet. It includes the hydrosphere, the crust, and the biosphere.
A Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere consists of the bodies of water that cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The largest of these are the oceans, which contain over 97 percent of all water on Earth. Glaciers and the polar ice caps contain just over 2 percent of Earth’s water in the form of solid ice. Only about 0.6 percent is under the surface as groundwater. Nevertheless, groundwater is 36 times more plentiful than water found in lakes, inland seas, rivers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor. Only 0.017 percent of all the water on Earth is found in lakes and rivers. And a mere 0.001 percent is found in the atmosphere as water vapor. Most of the water in glaciers, lakes, inland seas, rivers, and groundwater is fresh and can be used for drinking and agriculture. Dissolved salts compose about 3.5 percent of the water in the oceans, however, making it unsuitable for drinking or agriculture unless it is treated to remove the salts.
B Crust
The crust consists of the continents, other land areas, and the basins, or floors, of the oceans. The dry land of Earth’s surface is called the continental crust. It is about 15 to 75 km (9 to 47 mi) thick. The oceanic crust is thinner than the continental crust. Its average thickness is 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi). The crust has a definite boundary called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or simply the Moho. The boundary separates the crust from the underlying mantle, which is much thicker and is part of Earth’s interior.
Oceanic crust and continental crust differ in the type of rocks they contain. There are three main types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when molten rock, called magma, cools and solidifies. Sedimentary rocks are usually created by the breakdown of igneous rocks. They tend to form in layers as small particles of other rocks or as the mineralized remains of dead animals and plants that have fused together over time. The remains of dead animals and plants occasionally become mineralized in sedimentary rock and are recognizable as fossils. Metamorphic rocks form when sedimentary or igneous rocks are altered by heat and pressure deep underground.
Oceanic crust consists of dark, dense igneous rocks, such as basalt and gabbro. Continental crust consists of lighter-colored, less dense igneous rocks, such as granite and diorite. Continental crust also includes metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks.
C Biosphere
The biosphere includes all the areas of Earth capable of supporting life. The biosphere ranges from about 10 km (about 6 mi) into the atmosphere to the deepest ocean floor. For a long time, scientists believed that all life depended on energy from the Sun and consequently could only exist where sunlight penetrated. In the 1970s, however, scientists discovered various forms of life around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the Pacific Ocean where no sunlight penetrated. They learned that primitive bacteria formed the basis of this living community and that the bacteria derived their energy from a process called chemosynthesis that did not depend on sunlight. Some scientists believe that the biosphere may extend relatively deep into Earth’s crust. They have recovered what they believe are primitive bacteria from deeply drilled holes below the surface.
D Changes to Earth’s Surface
Earth’s surface has been constantly changing ever since the planet formed. Most of these changes have been gradual, taking place over millions of years. Nevertheless, these gradual changes have resulted in radical modifications, involving the formation, erosion, and re-formation of mountain ranges, the movement of continents, the creation of huge supercontinents, and the breakup of supercontinents into smaller continents.
The weathering and erosion that result from the water cycle are among the principal factors responsible for changes to Earth’s surface. Another principal factor is the movement of Earth’s continents and seafloors and the buildup of mountain ranges due to a phenomenon known as plate tectonics. Heat is the basis for all of these changes. Heat in Earth’s interior is believed to be responsible for continental movement, mountain building, and the creation of new seafloor in ocean basins. Heat from the Sun is responsible for the evaporation of ocean water and the resulting precipitation that causes weathering and erosion. In effect, heat in Earth’s interior helps build up Earth’s surface while heat from the Sun helps wear down the surface.
D1 Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rock at and near the surface of Earth. Most rocks originally formed in a hot, high-pressure environment below the surface where there was little exposure to water. Once the rocks reached Earth’s surface, however, they were subjected to temperature changes and exposed to water. When rocks are subjected to these kinds of surface conditions, the minerals they contain tend to change. These changes constitute the process of weathering. There are two types of weathering: physical weathering and chemical weathering.
Physical weathering involves a decrease in the size of rock material. Freezing and thawing of water in rock cavities, for example, splits rock into small pieces because water expands when it freezes.
Chemical weathering involves a chemical change in the composition of rock. For example, feldspar, a common mineral in granite and other rocks, reacts with water to form clay minerals, resulting in a new substance with totally different properties than the parent feldspar. Chemical weathering is of significance to humans because it creates the clay minerals that are important components of soil, the basis of agriculture. Chemical weathering also causes the release of dissolved forms of sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and other chemical elements into surface water and groundwater. These elements are carried by surface water and groundwater to the sea and are the sources of dissolved salts in the sea.
D2 Erosion
Glacial Erosion Glaciers erode the earth’s surface through processes such as abrasion, crushing, and fracturing of the material in the glacier’s path. Glaciers move by growing or shrinking, depending on the climate. Moving glaciers erode and transport large quantities of rocks, sand, and other particles along their path. The icy path shown here is a moraine formed by a glacier in Switzerland.Photo Researchers, Inc./Paolo Koch
Erosion is the process that removes loose and weathered rock and carries it to a new site. Water, wind, and glacial ice combined with the force of gravity can cause erosion.
Erosion by running water is by far the most common process of erosion. It takes place over a longer period of time than other forms of erosion. When water from rain or melted snow moves downhill, it can carry loose rock or soil with it. Erosion by running water forms the familiar gullies and V-shaped valleys that cut into most landscapes. The force of the running water removes loose particles formed by weathering. In the process, gullies and valleys are lengthened, widened, and deepened. Often, water overflows the banks of the gullies or river channels, resulting in floods. Each new flood carries more material away to increase the size of the valley. Meanwhile, weathering loosens more and more material so the process continues.
Erosion by glacial ice is less common, but it can cause the greatest landscape changes in the shortest amount of time. Glacial ice forms in a region where snow fails to melt in the spring and summer and instead builds up as ice. For major glaciers to form, this lack of snowmelt has to occur for a number of years in areas with high precipitation. As ice accumulates and thickens, it flows as a solid mass. As it flows, it has a tremendous capacity to erode soil and even solid rock. Ice is a major factor in shaping some landscapes, especially mountainous regions. Glacial ice provides much of the spectacular scenery in these regions. Features such as horns (sharp mountain peaks), arêtes (sharp ridges), glacially formed lakes, and U-shaped valleys are all the result of glacial erosion.
Wind is an important cause of erosion only in arid (dry) regions. Wind carries sand and dust, which can scour even solid rock.
Many factors determine the rate and kind of erosion that occurs in a given area. The climate of an area determines the distribution, amount, and kind of precipitation that the area receives and thus the type and rate of weathering. An area with an arid climate erodes differently than an area with a humid climate. The elevation of an area also plays a role by determining the potential energy of running water. The higher the elevation the more energetically water will flow due to the force of gravity. The type of bedrock in an area (sandstone, granite, or shale) can determine the shapes of valleys and slopes, and the depth of streams.
A landscape’s geologic age—that is, how long current conditions of weathering and erosion have affected the area—determines its overall appearance. Relatively young landscapes tend to be more rugged and angular in appearance. Older landscapes tend to have more rounded slopes and hills. The oldest landscapes tend to be low-lying with broad, open river valleys and low, rounded hills. The overall effect of the wearing down of an area is to level the land; the tendency is toward the reduction of all land surfaces to sea level.
D3 Plate Tectonics
Opposing this tendency toward leveling is a force responsible for raising mountains and plateaus and for creating new landmasses. These changes to Earth’s surface occur in the outermost solid portion of Earth, known as the lithosphere. The lithosphere consists of the crust and another region known as the upper mantle and is approximately 65 to 100 km (40 to 60 mi) thick. Compared with the interior of the Earth, however, this region is relatively thin. The lithosphere is thinner in proportion to the whole Earth than the skin of an apple is to the whole apple.
Scientists believe that the lithosphere is broken into a series of plates, or segments. According to the theory of plate tectonics, these plates move around on Earth’s surface over long periods of time. Tectonics comes from the Greek word, tektonikos, which means “builder.”
According to the theory, the lithosphere is divided into large and small plates. The largest plates include the Pacific plate, the North American plate, the Eurasian plate, the Antarctic plate, the Indo-Australian plate, and the African plate. Smaller plates include the Cocos plate, the Nazca plate, the Philippine plate, and the Caribbean plate. Plate sizes vary a great deal. The Cocos plate is 2,000 km (1,000 mi) wide, while the Pacific plate is nearly 14,000 km (nearly 9,000 mi) wide.
These plates move in three different ways in relation to each other. They pull apart or move away from each other, they collide or move against each other, or they slide past each other as they move sideways. The movement of these plates helps explain many geological events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as mountain building and the formation of the oceans and continents.
Earth (planet), one of nine planets in the solar system, the only planet known to harbor life, and the “home” of human beings. From space Earth resembles a big blue marble with swirling white clouds floating above blue oceans. About 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, which is essential to life. The rest is land, mostly in the form of continents that rise above the oceans.
Earth An oxygen-rich and protective atmosphere, moderate temperatures, abundant water, and a varied chemical composition enable Earth to support life, the only planet known to harbor life. The planet is composed of rock and metal, which are present in molten form beneath its surface. The Apollo 17 spacecraft took this snapshot in 1972 of the Arabian Peninsula, the African continent, and Antarctica (most of the white area near the bottom).Photo Researchers, Inc./NASA/Science Source
Earth’s surface is surrounded by a layer of gases known as the atmosphere, which extends upward from the surface, slowly thinning out into space. Below the surface is a hot interior of rocky material and two core layers composed of the metals nickel and iron in solid and liquid form.
Unlike the other planets, Earth has a unique set of characteristics ideally suited to supporting life as we know it. It is neither too hot, like Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, nor too cold, like distant Mars and the even more distant outer planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and tiny Pluto. Earth’s atmosphere includes just the right amount of gases that trap heat from the Sun, resulting in a moderate climate suitable for water to exist in liquid form. The atmosphere also helps block radiation from the Sun that would be harmful to life. Earth’s atmosphere distinguishes it from the planet Venus, which is otherwise much like Earth. Venus is about the same size and mass as Earth and is also neither too near nor too far from the Sun. But because Venus has too much heat-trapping carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, its surface is extremely hot—462°C (864°F)—hot enough to melt lead and too hot for life to exist.
Although Earth is the only planet known to have life, scientists do not rule out the possibility that life may once have existed on other planets or their moons, or may exist today in primitive form. Mars, for example, has many features that resemble river channels, indicating that liquid water once flowed on its surface. If so, life may also have evolved there, and evidence for it may one day be found in fossil form. Water still exists on Mars, but it is frozen in polar ice caps, in permafrost, and possibly in rocks below the surface.
For thousands of years, human beings could only wonder about Earth and the other observable planets in the solar system. Many early ideas—for example, that the Earth was a sphere and that it traveled around the Sun—were based on brilliant reasoning. However, it was only with the development of the scientific method and scientific instruments, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, that humans began to gather data that could be used to verify theories about Earth and the rest of the solar system. By studying fossils found in rock layers, for example, scientists realized that the Earth was much older than previously believed. And with the use of telescopes, new planets such as Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered.
Earth from the Moon In the late 1960s, people saw for the first time what Earth looked like from space. This famous photo of Earth was taken by astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission as they orbited the Moon in 1968.NASA
In the second half of the 20th century, more advances in the study of Earth and the solar system occurred due to the development of rockets that could send spacecraft beyond Earth. Human beings were able to study and observe Earth from space with satellites equipped with scientific instruments. Astronauts landed on the Moon and gathered ancient rocks that revealed much about the early solar system. During this remarkable advancement in human history, humans also sent unmanned spacecraft to the other planets and their moons. Spacecraft have now visited all of the planets except Pluto. The study of other planets and moons has provided new insights about Earth, just as the study of the Sun and other stars like it has helped shape new theories about how Earth and the rest of the solar system formed.
As a result of this recent space exploration, we now know that Earth is one of the most geologically active of all the planets and moons in the solar system. Earth is constantly changing. Over long periods of time land is built up and worn away, oceans are formed and re-formed, and continents move around, break up, and merge.
Life itself contributes to changes on Earth, especially in the way living things can alter Earth’s atmosphere. For example, Earth at one time had the same amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere as Venus now has, but early forms of life helped remove this carbon dioxide over millions of years. These life forms also added oxygen to Earth’s atmosphere and made it possible for animal life to evolve on land.
A variety of scientific fields have broadened our knowledge about Earth, including biogeography, climatology, geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and zoogeography. Collectively, these fields are known as Earth science. By studying Earth’s atmosphere, its surface, and its interior and by studying the Sun and the rest of the solar system, scientists have learned much about how Earth came into existence, how it changed, and why it continues to change.
II EARTH, THE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND THE GALAXY
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, after Mercury and Venus. The average distance between Earth and the Sun is 150 million km (93 million mi). Earth and all the other planets in the solar system revolve, or orbit, around the Sun due to the force of gravitation. The Earth travels at a velocity of about 107,000 km/h (about 67,000 mph) as it orbits the Sun. All but one of the planets orbit the Sun in the same plane—that is, if an imaginary line were extended from the center of the Sun to the outer regions of the solar system, the orbital paths of the planets would intersect that line. The exception is Pluto, which has an eccentric (unusual) orbit.
Earth’s orbital path is not quite a perfect circle but instead is slightly elliptical (oval-shaped). For example, at maximum distance Earth is about 152 million km (about 95 million mi) from the Sun; at minimum distance Earth is about 147 million km (about 91 million mi) from the Sun. If Earth orbited the Sun in a perfect circle, it would always be the same distance from the Sun.
The solar system, in turn, is part of the Milky Way Galaxy, a collection of billions of stars bound together by gravity. The Milky Way has armlike discs of stars that spiral out from its center. The solar system is located in one of these spiral arms, known as the Orion arm, which is about two-thirds of the way from the center of the Galaxy. In most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, this disc of stars is visible on a summer night as a dense band of light known as the Milky Way.
Milky Way Galaxy Our own solar system exists within one of the spiral arms of the disk-shaped galaxy called the Milky Way. This false-color image looks toward the center of the Milky Way, located 30,000 light-years away. Bright star clusters are visible along with darker areas of dust and gas.Photo Researchers, Inc./Morton-Milon/Science Source
Earth is the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Its diameter, measured around the equator, is 12,756 km (7,926 mi). Earth is not a perfect sphere but is slightly flattened at the poles. Its polar diameter, measured from the North Pole to the South Pole, is somewhat less than the equatorial diameter because of this flattening. Although Earth is the largest of the four planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars—that make up the inner solar system (the planets closest to the Sun), it is small compared with the giant planets of the outer solar system—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. For example, the largest planet, Jupiter, has a diameter at its equator of 143,000 km (89,000 mi), 11 times greater than that of Earth. A famous atmospheric feature on Jupiter, the Great Red Spot, is so large that three Earths would fit inside it.
Earth has one natural satellite, the Moon. The Moon orbits the Earth, completing one revolution in an elliptical path in 27 days 7 hr 43 min 11.5 sec. The Moon orbits the Earth because of the force of Earth’s gravity. However, the Moon also exerts a gravitational force on the Earth. Evidence for the Moon’s gravitational influence can be seen in the ocean tides. A popular theory suggests that the Moon split off from Earth more than 4 billion years ago when a large meteorite or small planet struck the Earth.
As Earth revolves around the Sun, it rotates, or spins, on its axis, an imaginary line that runs between the North and South poles. The period of one complete rotation is defined as a day and takes 23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec. The period of one revolution around the Sun is defined as a year, or 365.2422 solar days, or 365 days 5 hr 48 min 46 sec. Earth also moves along with the Milky Way Galaxy as the Galaxy rotates and moves through space. It takes more than 200 million years for the stars in the Milky Way to complete one revolution around the Galaxy’s center.
Earth’s axis of rotation is inclined (tilted) 23.5° relative to its plane of revolution around the Sun. This inclination of the axis creates the seasons and causes the height of the Sun in the sky at noon to increase and decrease as the seasons change. The Northern Hemisphere receives the most energy from the Sun when it is tilted toward the Sun. This orientation corresponds to summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The Southern Hemisphere receives maximum energy when it is tilted toward the Sun, corresponding to summer in the Southern Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Fall and spring occur in between these orientations.
III EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere is a layer of different gases that extends from Earth’s surface to the exosphere, the outer limit of the atmosphere, about 9,600 km (6,000 mi) above the surface. Near Earth’s surface, the atmosphere consists almost entirely of nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent). The remaining 1 percent of atmospheric gases consists of argon (0.9 percent); carbon dioxide (0.03 percent); varying amounts of water vapor; and trace amounts of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, helium, neon, krypton, and xenon.
A Layers of the Atmosphere
Divisions of the Atmosphere Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth. A relatively thin envelope, the atmosphere consists of layers of gases that support life and provide protection from harmful radiation.© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
The layers of the atmosphere are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. The troposphere is the layer in which weather occurs and extends from the surface to about 16 km (about 10 mi) above sea level at the equator. Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, which has an upper boundary of about 50 km (about 30 mi) above sea level. The layer from 50 to 90 km (30 to 60 mi) is called the mesosphere. At an altitude of about 90 km, temperatures begin to rise. The layer that begins at this altitude is called the thermosphere because of the high temperatures that can be reached in this layer (about 1200°C, or about 2200°F). The region beyond the thermosphere is called the exosphere. The thermosphere and the exosphere overlap with another region of the atmosphere known as the ionosphere, a layer or layers of ionized air extending from almost 60 km (about 50 mi) above Earth’s surface to altitudes of 1,000 km (600 mi) and more.
Earth’s atmosphere and the way it interacts with the oceans and radiation from the Sun are responsible for the planet’s climate and weather. The atmosphere plays a key role in supporting life. Almost all life on Earth uses atmospheric oxygen for energy in a process known as cellular respiration, which is essential to life. The atmosphere also helps moderate Earth’s climate by trapping radiation from the Sun that is reflected from Earth’s surface. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” Like the glass in a greenhouse, they trap infrared, or heat, radiation from the Sun in the lower atmosphere and thereby help warm Earth’s surface. Without this greenhouse effect, heat radiation would escape into space, and Earth would be too cold to support most forms of life.
Other gases in the atmosphere are also essential to life. The trace amount of ozone found in Earth’s stratosphere blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Without the ozone layer, life as we know it could not survive on land. Earth’s atmosphere is also an important part of a phenomenon known as the water cycle or the hydrologic cycle. See also Atmosphere.
B The Atmosphere and the Water Cycle
The water cycle simply means that Earth’s water is continually recycled between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land. All of the water that exists on Earth today has been used and reused for billions of years. Very little water has been created or lost during this period of time. Water is constantly moving on Earth’s surface and changing back and forth between ice, liquid water, and water vapor.
The water cycle begins when the Sun heats the water in the oceans and causes it to evaporate and enter the atmosphere as water vapor. Some of this water vapor falls as precipitation directly back into the oceans, completing a short cycle. Some of the water vapor, however, reaches land, where it may fall as snow or rain. Melted snow or rain enters rivers or lakes on the land. Due to the force of gravity, the water in the rivers eventually empties back into the oceans. Melted snow or rain also may enter the ground. Groundwater may be stored for hundreds or thousands of years, but it will eventually reach the surface as springs or small pools known as seeps. Even snow that forms glacial ice or becomes part of the polar caps and is kept out of the cycle for thousands of years eventually melts or is warmed by the Sun and turned into water vapor, entering the atmosphere and falling again as precipitation. All water that falls on land eventually returns to the ocean, completing the water cycle.
IV EARTH’S SURFACE
Earth’s surface is the outermost layer of the planet. It includes the hydrosphere, the crust, and the biosphere.
A Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere consists of the bodies of water that cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface. The largest of these are the oceans, which contain over 97 percent of all water on Earth. Glaciers and the polar ice caps contain just over 2 percent of Earth’s water in the form of solid ice. Only about 0.6 percent is under the surface as groundwater. Nevertheless, groundwater is 36 times more plentiful than water found in lakes, inland seas, rivers, and in the atmosphere as water vapor. Only 0.017 percent of all the water on Earth is found in lakes and rivers. And a mere 0.001 percent is found in the atmosphere as water vapor. Most of the water in glaciers, lakes, inland seas, rivers, and groundwater is fresh and can be used for drinking and agriculture. Dissolved salts compose about 3.5 percent of the water in the oceans, however, making it unsuitable for drinking or agriculture unless it is treated to remove the salts.
B Crust
The crust consists of the continents, other land areas, and the basins, or floors, of the oceans. The dry land of Earth’s surface is called the continental crust. It is about 15 to 75 km (9 to 47 mi) thick. The oceanic crust is thinner than the continental crust. Its average thickness is 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi). The crust has a definite boundary called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or simply the Moho. The boundary separates the crust from the underlying mantle, which is much thicker and is part of Earth’s interior.
Oceanic crust and continental crust differ in the type of rocks they contain. There are three main types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when molten rock, called magma, cools and solidifies. Sedimentary rocks are usually created by the breakdown of igneous rocks. They tend to form in layers as small particles of other rocks or as the mineralized remains of dead animals and plants that have fused together over time. The remains of dead animals and plants occasionally become mineralized in sedimentary rock and are recognizable as fossils. Metamorphic rocks form when sedimentary or igneous rocks are altered by heat and pressure deep underground.
Oceanic crust consists of dark, dense igneous rocks, such as basalt and gabbro. Continental crust consists of lighter-colored, less dense igneous rocks, such as granite and diorite. Continental crust also includes metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks.
C Biosphere
The biosphere includes all the areas of Earth capable of supporting life. The biosphere ranges from about 10 km (about 6 mi) into the atmosphere to the deepest ocean floor. For a long time, scientists believed that all life depended on energy from the Sun and consequently could only exist where sunlight penetrated. In the 1970s, however, scientists discovered various forms of life around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the Pacific Ocean where no sunlight penetrated. They learned that primitive bacteria formed the basis of this living community and that the bacteria derived their energy from a process called chemosynthesis that did not depend on sunlight. Some scientists believe that the biosphere may extend relatively deep into Earth’s crust. They have recovered what they believe are primitive bacteria from deeply drilled holes below the surface.
D Changes to Earth’s Surface
Earth’s surface has been constantly changing ever since the planet formed. Most of these changes have been gradual, taking place over millions of years. Nevertheless, these gradual changes have resulted in radical modifications, involving the formation, erosion, and re-formation of mountain ranges, the movement of continents, the creation of huge supercontinents, and the breakup of supercontinents into smaller continents.
The weathering and erosion that result from the water cycle are among the principal factors responsible for changes to Earth’s surface. Another principal factor is the movement of Earth’s continents and seafloors and the buildup of mountain ranges due to a phenomenon known as plate tectonics. Heat is the basis for all of these changes. Heat in Earth’s interior is believed to be responsible for continental movement, mountain building, and the creation of new seafloor in ocean basins. Heat from the Sun is responsible for the evaporation of ocean water and the resulting precipitation that causes weathering and erosion. In effect, heat in Earth’s interior helps build up Earth’s surface while heat from the Sun helps wear down the surface.
D1 Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rock at and near the surface of Earth. Most rocks originally formed in a hot, high-pressure environment below the surface where there was little exposure to water. Once the rocks reached Earth’s surface, however, they were subjected to temperature changes and exposed to water. When rocks are subjected to these kinds of surface conditions, the minerals they contain tend to change. These changes constitute the process of weathering. There are two types of weathering: physical weathering and chemical weathering.
Physical weathering involves a decrease in the size of rock material. Freezing and thawing of water in rock cavities, for example, splits rock into small pieces because water expands when it freezes.
Chemical weathering involves a chemical change in the composition of rock. For example, feldspar, a common mineral in granite and other rocks, reacts with water to form clay minerals, resulting in a new substance with totally different properties than the parent feldspar. Chemical weathering is of significance to humans because it creates the clay minerals that are important components of soil, the basis of agriculture. Chemical weathering also causes the release of dissolved forms of sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and other chemical elements into surface water and groundwater. These elements are carried by surface water and groundwater to the sea and are the sources of dissolved salts in the sea.
D2 Erosion
Glacial Erosion Glaciers erode the earth’s surface through processes such as abrasion, crushing, and fracturing of the material in the glacier’s path. Glaciers move by growing or shrinking, depending on the climate. Moving glaciers erode and transport large quantities of rocks, sand, and other particles along their path. The icy path shown here is a moraine formed by a glacier in Switzerland.Photo Researchers, Inc./Paolo Koch
Erosion is the process that removes loose and weathered rock and carries it to a new site. Water, wind, and glacial ice combined with the force of gravity can cause erosion.
Erosion by running water is by far the most common process of erosion. It takes place over a longer period of time than other forms of erosion. When water from rain or melted snow moves downhill, it can carry loose rock or soil with it. Erosion by running water forms the familiar gullies and V-shaped valleys that cut into most landscapes. The force of the running water removes loose particles formed by weathering. In the process, gullies and valleys are lengthened, widened, and deepened. Often, water overflows the banks of the gullies or river channels, resulting in floods. Each new flood carries more material away to increase the size of the valley. Meanwhile, weathering loosens more and more material so the process continues.
Erosion by glacial ice is less common, but it can cause the greatest landscape changes in the shortest amount of time. Glacial ice forms in a region where snow fails to melt in the spring and summer and instead builds up as ice. For major glaciers to form, this lack of snowmelt has to occur for a number of years in areas with high precipitation. As ice accumulates and thickens, it flows as a solid mass. As it flows, it has a tremendous capacity to erode soil and even solid rock. Ice is a major factor in shaping some landscapes, especially mountainous regions. Glacial ice provides much of the spectacular scenery in these regions. Features such as horns (sharp mountain peaks), arêtes (sharp ridges), glacially formed lakes, and U-shaped valleys are all the result of glacial erosion.
Wind is an important cause of erosion only in arid (dry) regions. Wind carries sand and dust, which can scour even solid rock.
Many factors determine the rate and kind of erosion that occurs in a given area. The climate of an area determines the distribution, amount, and kind of precipitation that the area receives and thus the type and rate of weathering. An area with an arid climate erodes differently than an area with a humid climate. The elevation of an area also plays a role by determining the potential energy of running water. The higher the elevation the more energetically water will flow due to the force of gravity. The type of bedrock in an area (sandstone, granite, or shale) can determine the shapes of valleys and slopes, and the depth of streams.
A landscape’s geologic age—that is, how long current conditions of weathering and erosion have affected the area—determines its overall appearance. Relatively young landscapes tend to be more rugged and angular in appearance. Older landscapes tend to have more rounded slopes and hills. The oldest landscapes tend to be low-lying with broad, open river valleys and low, rounded hills. The overall effect of the wearing down of an area is to level the land; the tendency is toward the reduction of all land surfaces to sea level.
D3 Plate Tectonics
Opposing this tendency toward leveling is a force responsible for raising mountains and plateaus and for creating new landmasses. These changes to Earth’s surface occur in the outermost solid portion of Earth, known as the lithosphere. The lithosphere consists of the crust and another region known as the upper mantle and is approximately 65 to 100 km (40 to 60 mi) thick. Compared with the interior of the Earth, however, this region is relatively thin. The lithosphere is thinner in proportion to the whole Earth than the skin of an apple is to the whole apple.
Scientists believe that the lithosphere is broken into a series of plates, or segments. According to the theory of plate tectonics, these plates move around on Earth’s surface over long periods of time. Tectonics comes from the Greek word, tektonikos, which means “builder.”
According to the theory, the lithosphere is divided into large and small plates. The largest plates include the Pacific plate, the North American plate, the Eurasian plate, the Antarctic plate, the Indo-Australian plate, and the African plate. Smaller plates include the Cocos plate, the Nazca plate, the Philippine plate, and the Caribbean plate. Plate sizes vary a great deal. The Cocos plate is 2,000 km (1,000 mi) wide, while the Pacific plate is nearly 14,000 km (nearly 9,000 mi) wide.
These plates move in three different ways in relation to each other. They pull apart or move away from each other, they collide or move against each other, or they slide past each other as they move sideways. The movement of these plates helps explain many geological events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as well as mountain building and the formation of the oceans and continents.
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