Unit 3: Migration and Urbanization (Lessons 5-7)

Introduction
Have you ever moved to a new place? If you have, there was probably a very strong
reason that motivated your family to pack up everything you own and move.
Sociologists characterize the reasons people leave a particular location as push
factors. Push factors propel people away from their current residence. They are
the reasons people have for leaving such as war, crime, loss of a job, or a poor
school district. When people relocate, however, they have to decide where they will
go. Sociologists call the reasons people choose a particular place to settle pull
factors. Pull factors include such reasons as peace, job opportunities, or an
exemplary school district that motivate people to select the particular location of their
new home.
Early Migration
Humans have been migrating, or moving, since their earliest times. Archaeological
evidence has placed the earliest humans in East Africa. The map below shows
historians hypotheses of the earliest migration routes based on available evidence.

Figure 1
Source: http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/eras/era2.php

What factors may have caused the migration of early humans out of Africa? Many
historians and anthropologists believe that as the population grew, people
6
experienced shortages of food and land. This led groups of people
to migrate to new
places in search of food and more space. In addition, climate may have played a
role. For example, climate change may have affect food supplies, causing people to
migrate in search of food.
The Land Bridge Theory

Historians and others have wondered who the first people to live in the Americas
were and where they came from. To figure this out, historians work with another
type of social scientist called archaeologists. Archaeologists study ancient cultures
through the examination of artifacts, buildings, and other remaining material
evidence. By working together to investigate who the first Americans were,
historians, archaeologists and anthropologists use the evidence to construct an idea
about what probably happened.
Since we cannot know for sure, social scientists call their ideas theories. A theory is
an idea or a set of ideas based on evidence that explain facts or events. Theories
are ideas that are presented as possibly true based on the available evidence, but
have not been proven to be true.
One theory about how people migrated
the Americas is called the land bridge
theory. Social scientists believe that
about 12,000 years ago, climate
change resulted in the creation of a
bridge between Asia and North
America. Using this bridge, people from
migrated into North America following
large animals that were their main food
source. Evidence has been uncovered
support the land bridge theory.

to

land
Asia
the
to
Figure 2
Source: http://chinese-unicorn.com/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/image063.jpg

Use the link below to see an animation of the land bridge theory:
<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/parcs/atlas/beringia/lbridge.html>

New

discoveries and new technologies are now causing some historians to question the
land bridge theory. Historians have uncovered new evidence including artifacts that
date back further than 12,000 years ago, which may support the idea of additional
routes to the Americas. Although there are disputes about when and how the first
people came to the Americas, there are certain points upon which social scientists
agree:

Figure 3: MC3 Project. Graphic

Organizer. SS060306.

 These original
were able to
or to fit the
environment.

settlers
adapt

Without wheeled
vehicles or riding
animals, they
able to spread
South and North
America.

were
across

As conditions
changed, these
early
Americans began to hunt smaller animals and gather food like berries and food
plants. They developed nets and hooks for fishing.
Eventually, they began to farm. This allowed them to live in
more permanent settlements.
As they spread across the Americas, these people developed hundreds of
separate cultures with different languages, types of shelters, art forms, and
traditions. We have come to know these people as Native Americans.

Remember, these migrations took thousands and thousands of years to occur.

Migrations today are vastly different.
Global Migration
Earlier,
we
learned
that
population growth is related to
birth rates and death rates.
However, the movement of
people also plays a role in
population
increase
or
decrease.
Migration is the
movement of people to a new
area or country. People who
migrate into a region are called

Figure 4: MC3 Project. Graphic Organizer. SS060302.

immigrants, but to the people and places they leave behind, they are called
emigrants. So, immigrants want to come into a new place, whereas emigrants want
to exit their current residence.
Thus, immigration is the process of non-native people into a country in order to settle
there. Emigration is the process of leaving one country to take up permanent or
semi-permanent residence. Most people in the world do not want to emigrate from
the country of their birth. However, a person can be motivated to permanently move
to a new country due to push factors, pull factors, and/or networks. A network
includes the people who have paved the way during the migration process. Family
members who already live in another country, potential employers in the new
country, or even smugglers who are paid to help a person cross a border can
provide a network for newcomers.
One important way that social scientists examine a countrys migration information is
by calculating its net migration. Net migration is the total effect of immigration and
emigration on an areas population in a given period. It is calculated by taking the
number if immigrants per 1000 and subtracting out the number of emigrants per
1000. If a country gains more immigrants than the emigrants it loses, it will have a
positive net migration. However, if more emigrants leave a country than the
immigrants who move in, there will be a negative net migration. A summary of the
net effect of migration on countries around the world can be seen in the map below.
2008 Net
Migration

Figure 4:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_migration_rate#mediaviewer/File:Net_migration_rate_world.PNG

Net migration numbers can vary greatly across the world. If a country is
experiencing a civil war, it might have a high negative net migration as people flee
from violence. When people are forced to leave their country to escape war,
persecution, or because a natural disaster has made their home uninhabitable, they
are called refugees. A neighboring nation experiencing peace may then have a very
high net migration as refugees flood across the border into their country.
One apparent pattern seen in the map above is the general tendency for more
developed countries to have higher net migrations. Conversely, less developed
countries will often have negative net migrations. This makes sense because people
in less developed countries are often pushed to emigrate because of economic
factors. Also, more-developed countries often pull immigrants across their borders
with pull factors such as job opportunities.
Migration can be a very divisive issue. Some people feel that migration is a positive
event and that people should not be restricted to their country of birth. Sometimes,
however, people do not welcome migrants. This type of reaction is seen more
commonly in industrialized countries. Immigration restrictions are often sought to
prevent resulting economic, political, environmental or cultural effects.
Regardless of how people feel about it,
international migration is at an all-time high
and is likely to continue. As long as some
countries
offer
better
economic
opportunities, there will be people who want
immigrate to those places. Also, advances
communication and transportation have
made mobility easier and more affordable
migrants.

to
in
for
Figure 5: MC3 Project. Graphic Organizer.
SS060305