that the physical conditionsa group faced imposed certain limits, Sauer and his
supporters argued that environmental determinism placed too much emphasis
on the inevitability of natural influence. At the same time, the determinists failed
to recognize the enormous capacity of humanbeingstonotonlyadapttoenvi-
ronmental challenges, but also human ability to alter the impact of the environ-
ment through technological advancement. Most of the Berkeley School
scholars were advocates of the theory ofpossibilismto one extent or another, a
movement that also had support in some corners of Europe, especially after
World War II. Possibilism holds that there are many possible responses that a cul-
ture may make to the limitations the natural environment may impose, and that
cultural attributes are not “determined” by physical geography, only shaped by
such forces. In this context, many of theadherents of the Berkeley perspective
stressed the approaches and methodologies ofcultural ecology. Somewhat later,
another theory emerged that represented something of a compromise between
these two perspectives.Probabilismcontends that while the environment does
not determine the qualities of human cultures, it nevertheless makes some out-
comes more likely than others. Although environmental determinism has lost
much of its influence in geography over the last 50 years, and few geographers
today would claim to completely support the theory, the debate continues to rage
in academic geography over the degree that physical conditions may direct the
development of human activity.
Environmental Determinism 117Ellsworth Huntington (1876–1947)
Ellsworth Huntington was a professor at Yale and one of the early giants of the discipline of
geography in the United States. He was a student of William Morris Davis at Yale and
conducted Asian fieldwork in the early 20th century. He was one of the first scholars to rec-
ognize the imprint of climate change in the ruins of ancient societies and became the leading
proponent ofenvironmental determinism. His premise was that climate was the root
cause of the rise and fall of civilizations. Far from being known only in academic circles, Hun-
tington’s engaging writing style and prodigious production made him a popular author. His
seminal books includedThe Pulse of Asia,Civilization and ClimateandMainsprings of Civilization.
In retrospect, they were based on some scholarship and many grand generalizations that are
simplistic and sometimes racist. For instance, he believed that middle latitude storminess
“energized” populations and led to the progress of civilizations in Western Europe and North
America while the lack of such storminess inhibited African development. Huntington’s pop-
ularity instigated a backlash among geographers to the extent that his ideas were castigated
and provided fuel for the development of social and cultural geography, which took a more
complex view of the interrelations between nature and humans.