Factors Responsible For Human Settlements in a

Particular Region
 Factors affecting location of settlements
•
A settlement is a collection of buildings where people live.  They vary in size from
small hamlets to large cities.
There are many factors that can influence where settlements locate within a
region.  The site of a settlement is the actual land that the settlements is built
upon.  The situation is the location of a settlement in relation  to the things that
are around it.
 Physical factors that influence the location of a settlement include;

1. Water supply – settlements need water, they often locate on wet point
sites for this. Settlements built on higher grounds and plains away from
rivers and water supplies to avoid flooding are located at dry point sites.

2. Defence – building on high ground allowed people the chance to look

out for enemies (e.g. Edinburgh castle) while surrounding a settlement
with water also helped with deed defence e.g.

3. Aspect and shelter – In the northern hemisphere south facing slopes

receive more sunlight and are protected from cold Northerly
winds.  More settlements and agricultural land is therefore located on
South facing slopes.
• The economic factors include;

• Communications – settlements often located next to rivers that

could be easily crossed.  These are called bridging points. Other
favorable places included where at the junctions of valleys or
in  gaps through hills.  These locations allowed maximum
communication between different settlements and increased
trade. E.g. Newcastle is built on the Tyne at a bridging point and
could benefit with trade from the North and the South.

• Resources - Early settlers relied upon wood for fuel and

building.  A site close to woodland was therefore an
advantage.  Later, resources such as Iron ore, coal and bauxite
encouraged the growth of settlements.
• Linear settlements grow in a line, often along roads, river valleys or the coast.

• Nucleated settlements have buildings grouped close together and are found

at cross roads or are used for defence purposes.

• Dispersed settlements have individual buildings spread out, and are often

found in rural areas.
• After food, shelter is the most important need of
man. Men construct houses and develop settlements
to protect themselves against the vagaries of
weather and to enjoy social life. In fact, settlement is
man’s important step towards adapting himself to his
physical environment.

• Most people of the world reside in some form of

settlement—a permanent collection of houses,
buildings and inhabitants.
Settlements occupy a very small percentage of the earth’s surface but exert a far
greater influence on the world’s culture.

Settlements are both the storage centers of the world’s cultural heritage and the
point of origin for the dissemination of innovative economic, social and political
patterns.

It is because of cultural functions that the study of settlement is most basic to

human geography.

settlement in any particular region reflects man’s relationship with his natural
environment.
Origin of Settlements:

Before the domestication of plants and establishment of settlements, the human

beings were nomads, wandering in tribes across the landscape in search of food
and water. Food was obtained through the gathering of wild berries and roots or
the killing of wild animals.

The historians and cultural anthropologists have given several expla­nations for the
development of human settlements.

The main reasons for the establishments have been religious, cultural, military,
political and economic.
Religion:
The first permanent settlement may have served religious purposes, specif­ically
as places to bury the dead.

The nomadic tribes may have had rituals honoring the dead, perhaps memorial
services on the anniversary of a death.

Having established a permanent resting place for the dead, the tribe would have
installed priests at the site to perform the appropriate rituals. Subse­quently, the
place of worship (temple) became a centre of attraction and helped in the
development of settlements.
 Stonehenge

The world's most famous prehistoric monument may have begun life earlier than
thought as a giant burial ground.
Archaeologists revealed that more than 50,000 cremated bone fragments
buried at Stonehenge have been excavated.

Experts suggest people gathered at the site each year to build the monument
and celebrate with massive communal feasts.

The findings overturn the belief that Stonehenge was built as an astronomical
calendar or observatory.

Dating the bones has pushed back the date of the earliest stone circle at the
site from 2500BC to 3000BC. Scientists now believe the earliest burials long
predate the monument in its current form.

the dead could have been religious and political leaders and their immediate
families.

The most fascinating discovery was the scale of the settlement at nearby
Durrington Walls, which is described as the 'largest Neolithic settlement in
the whole of northern Europe', which would have had about 1,000 houses.
 By testing cattle and pig teeth
found among 80,000 animal bones
at Durrington Walls, scientists have
discovered that people travelled
with their livestock from as far
away as the Scottish Highlands to
Stonehenge.

the scientific analysis they have

concluded Stonehenge was built
4,500 years ago .
Cultural:
The settlement may also have served as a place to house women and children,
permitting the men to wander further in their search for food.

Women worked on home crafts, such as pots, baskets, clothes and other
household goods, using materials gathered by men.

Three-quarters of handprints in ancient cave art were left by women

Archaeologists have found hundreds of hand stencils on cave walls across the world.
Because many of these early paintings also showcase game animals—bison,
reindeer, horses, woolly mammoths—many researchers hadproposed earlier that
they were made by male hunters, perhaps to chronicle their kills or as some kind of
"hunting magic" to improve success of an upcoming hunt. The new study suggests
otherwise.
Political/Military:

The priests, teachers, women and children were vulnerable to attack from
the other tribes. To protect them, youths (soldiers) were stationed in the
settlement.

The settlements were also the base for political leaders, who needed a
strategic location from which to protect the tribe’s land claim.

Because the military and religious leaders lived there, the settlement
needed adequate defence. How could the settlement best be protected?

The answer was to build a surrounding wall, strong enough to withstand

the attack. Thus, settlements became citadels centers of military power.
 Fortifications of Xi’an Shibam, Yemen

an ancient capital of China which The first known inscription about the
represents one of the largest, city dates from the 3rd century.
oldest and greatest sealed Chinese
The houses of Shibam are all made
city walls. It was built for the
out of mud brick.
purpose of military defense
system. It keep all citizens protect
form outside forces as weapon
technology.
Economic:

The religious, military, and political leaders and the dependents needed food
which was supplied by the tribe through hunting or gathering.

As long as the tribe was gathering surplus food for the people in the
settlement, someone eventually wondered, why should they not bring a bit
extra in case of hard times, such as drought, floods or war.

The settlement thus acquired an economic role to store extra supply of food.
The people could bring the commodities they have collected in the
settlement.

The settlement could serve as neutral ground for the different people who
could stay together and perform socioeconomic activities.
Site of Settlements:

The site, growth and development of human settlements are closely influ­
enced by the available soil, water, forest and mineral resources.

Depending on the nature and quality of resources, the settlements may be

temporary or permanent and from the rural settlements they may acquire
the status of urban settlements.

Rivers allow for easy movement to trade. They also give water for irrigation and
drinking.
 Istanbul
 is the most populous city
in Turkey and the country's
economic, cultural, and historic
center. 
Lahore
 it has since its creation been ruled
by Hindu, Buddhist,  Muslim, Sikh and 
British rulers to becoming the cultural
capital and the heart of modern-day
Pakistan.
 Unstable Settlements:

About 3.5 per cent of the total population of the world is nomadic, having
temporary settlement. In fact, the permanent rural and urban settlements are,
however, the results of long evolution.

The unstable settlements are, however, confined in the deserts and semi-desert
areas, tundra, equatorial forests and mountainous areas.

When the soil near the village is exhausted they move to new sites for cultivation
and many a times they have to shift their settlements also.

The shifting cultivators, who constantly have to clear new grounds, have to do
arduous work to clear the forests and to develop fields for culti­vation.

In pastures, they have temporary structures and shades. In order to avoid mutual
inconvenience between the various kafilas (groups), they split into small sub-
groups which camp independently.
Stable Rural Settlements:
Any settlement in which most of the people are engaged in agriculture,
forestry, mining and fishery is known as a rural settlement.

A rural settle­ment is often been called an agricultural workshop. It cannot be

separated from the land whose use it ensures.

Its type, shape and pattern are gener­ally in accordance with the kind of work,
the agricultural techniques and the way the soil is used.

Most of the rural settlements of the world are stable and permanent.

The rural areas are dominated by open countryside, extensive land uses,
relatively low population densities and simple mode of life. It is often
supposed to be opposite to urban.

Most of the world’s settlements are rural.