Despite the efforts of historians and ethnographers, the history of these peoples still keeps its mysteries.

1. Russians

Yes, Russians are one of the most mysterious peoples. Scientists still cannot come to a conclusion unanimous opinion neither about when the Russians became “Russians”, nor about where, in fact, this word came from. The question of the origin of the people remains controversial. The ancestors of the Russians included the Normans, the Scythians, the Sarmatians, the Wends, and even the South Siberian Usun people.

We do not know the origins of the Maya people, nor where they disappeared to. Some scientists trace the roots of the Mayans to the legendary Atlanteans, others believe that their ancestors were the Egyptians. The Mayans created effective system agriculture, had deep knowledge in the field of astronomy. The calendar developed by the Mayans was also used by other peoples Central America. They used a hieroglyphic writing system, partially deciphered. The Mayan civilization was very developed, but by the time the conquistadors arrived it was in deep decline, and the Mayans themselves seemed to have disappeared into history.

3. Laplanders

Laplanders are also called Sami and Lapps. The age of this ethnic group is at least 5000 years. Scientists are still arguing about who the Laplanders are and where they came from. Some consider this people to be Mongoloid, others argue that the Laplanders are Paleo-Europeans. The Sami language is classified as a Finno-Ugric language, but the Laplanders have 10 dialects of the Sami language, which are so different from each other that they can be called independent. This even makes it difficult for some Laplanders to communicate with others.

4. Prussians

The very origin of the Prussian name is shrouded in mystery. The first time it is found only in the 9th century in the form Brusi in a draft by an anonymous merchant, and later in Polish and German chronicles. Linguists find analogies to it in many Indo-European languages and they believe that it goes back to the Sanskrit purusa - “man”. There is also no sufficient information preserved about the language of the Prussians. Its last bearer died in 1677, and the plague of 1709-1711 exterminated the last Prussians in Prussia itself. Already in the 17th century, instead of Prussian history, the history of “Prussianism” and the kingdom of Prussia began, the local population of which had little in common with the Baltic name of the Prussians.

5. Cossacks

The question of where the Cossacks came from still remains unresolved. Their homeland is found in the North Caucasus, the Azov region, and Western Turkestan. The ancestry of the Cossacks is traced back to the Scythians, to the Alans, to the Circassians, to the Khazars, to the Goths, to the Brodniks. Supporters of all versions have their own arguments. Today the Cossacks are a multi-ethnic community, but they themselves like to insist that the Cossacks are a separate people.

6. Parsis

Parsis are an ethno-religious group of followers of Zoroastrianism in South Asia, of Iranian origin. Its number now amounts to less than 130 thousand people. Parsis have their own temples and so-called “towers of silence”, where, in order not to desecrate the sacred elements (earth, fire, water), they bury the dead (the corpses are pecked by vultures). Parsis are often compared to Jews; they were also forced to leave their homeland and are meticulous in matters of religious observance. The Iran League in India at the beginning of the 20th century promoted the return of Parsis to their homeland, reminiscent of the Zionism of the Jews.

7. Hutsuls

There is still debate about the meaning of the word “hutsul”. Some scientists believe that the etymology of the word goes back to the Moldavian “gots” or “guts”, which means “robber”, others - to the word “kochul”, which means “shepherd”. The Hutsuls are also called “Ukrainian highlanders.” Among them, the traditions of witchcraft are still strong. Hutsul sorcerers are called molfars. They can be white or black. Molfars enjoy unquestioned authority.

8. Hittites

The Hittite power was one of the most influential forces on the geopolitical map of the Ancient World. The first constitution appeared here, the Hittites were the first to use war chariots and revered the double-headed eagle, but information about the Hittites is still fragmentary. In their “tables of the courageous deeds” of the kings there are many notes “for the next year,” but the year of the report is unknown. We know the chronology of the Hittite state from the sources of its neighbors. The question remains open: where did the Hittites disappear? Johann Lehmann in his book “Hittites. People of a Thousand Gods” gives a version that the Hittites went north, where they assimilated with the Germanic tribes. But this is just a version.

9. Sumerians

The Sumerians are the most interesting and still one of the most mysterious peoples of the Ancient World. We don't know where they came from or what language family their language belonged to. A large number of homonyms suggests that it was tonal (like, for example, modern Chinese), which means that the meaning of what was said often depended on intonation. The Sumerians were one of the most advanced peoples of their time, they were the first in the entire Middle East to use the wheel, create an irrigation system, invent a unique writing system, and the Sumerians’ knowledge of mathematics and astronomy is still amazing.

10. Etruscans

The ancient Etruscan people suddenly arose in human history, but also suddenly dissolved in it. According to archaeologists, the Etruscans inhabited the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula and created a fairly developed civilization there. It was the Etruscans who founded the first cities in Italy. Historians also believe that Roman numerals can also be called Etruscan. It is unknown where the Etruscans disappeared to. According to one version, they moved to the east and became the founders of the Slavic ethnic group. Some scientists argue that the Etruscan language is very close in structure to the Slavic ones.

11. Armenians

The origin of the Armenians remains a mystery. There are many versions. Some scholars correlate Armenians with the people ancient state Urartu, but the Urartu genetic component is present in genetic code Armenians as well as the genetic component of the same Hurrians and Luwians, not to mention the proto-Armenians. There are Greek versions of the origin of the Armenians, as well as the so-called “Hayasian hypotheses”, in which Hayas, the territory east of the Hittite kingdom, becomes the original homeland of the Armenians. Scientists have never given a final answer to the question of the origin of the Armenians and most often adhere to the migration-mixed hypothesis of Armenian ethnogenesis.

12. Gypsies

According to linguistic and genetic studies, the ancestors of the Roma left Indian territory in numbers not exceeding 1,000 people. Today there are about 10 million Roma in the world. In the Middle Ages, Gypsies in Europe were considered Egyptians. The word Gitanes itself is a derivative of the Egyptian. Tarot cards, considered the last surviving remnant of the cult of the Egyptian god Thoth, were brought to Europe by the gypsies. It was not for nothing that they were called “Pharaoh’s tribe.” It was also amazing for Europeans that the gypsies embalmed their dead and buried them in crypts, where they placed everything necessary for life after death. These funeral traditions are still alive among the Roma today.

13. Jews

Jews are one of the most mysterious living peoples. For a long time it was believed that the very concept of “Jews” was cultural rather than ethnic. That is, that “Jews” were created by Judaism, and not vice versa. There are still fierce discussions in science about what the Jews originally were - a people social layer or religious denomination.

There are many mysteries in the history of the Jewish people. At the end of the 8th century BC, five-sixths of Jews disappeared completely - 10 out of 12 ethnic groups. Where they disappeared to is the big question. There is a version that from the Scythians and Cimmerians, as descendants of 10 tribes, come the Finns, Swiss, Swedes, Norwegians, Irish, Welsh, French, Belgians, Dutch, Danes, Irish and Welsh, that is, almost everyone European peoples. The question of the origin of the Ashkenazim and their closeness to Middle Eastern Jews also remains debatable.

14. Guanches

Guanches are the natives of Tenerife. The mystery of how they ended up in the Canary Islands has not yet been solved, since they did not have a fleet and did not have seafaring skills. Their anthropological type did not correspond to the latitudes where they lived. The rectangular pyramids on the island of Tenerife, similar to the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico, are also controversial. Neither the time of their construction nor the purpose for which they were erected is known.

15. Khazars

Much has been written about the Khazars neighboring peoples, but they themselves left practically no information about themselves. Just as suddenly the Khazars appeared on the historical stage, just as suddenly they left it. Historians still do not have sufficient archaeological data about what Khazaria was like, nor an understanding of what language the Khazars spoke. It is also unknown where they eventually disappeared. There are many versions. There is no clarity.

16. Basque

The age, origin and language of the Basques are one of the main mysteries modern history. The Basque language, Euskara, is considered the only relict pre-Indo-European language that does not belong to any currently existing language family. When it comes to genetics, according to a 2012 study by the National Geographic Society, all Basques contain a set of genes that significantly distinguishes them from other peoples around them.

17. Chaldeans

The Chaldeans are a Semitic-Aramaic people who lived at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. in the territory of Southern and Central Mesopotamia. In 626-538 BC. Babylon was ruled by the Chaldean dynasty, which founded the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. The Chaldeans were a people who are still associated with magic and astrology. IN Ancient Greece And Ancient Rome Chaldeans were the name given to priests and fortune-tellers of Babylonian origin. The Chaldeans made predictions to Alexander the Great and his successors Antigonus and Seleucus.

18. Sarmatians

Sarmatians are one of the most mysterious peoples in world history. Herodotus called them “lizard-headed,” Lomonosov believed that the Slavs descended from the Sarmatians, and the Polish gentry called themselves their direct descendants. The Sarmatians left a lot of mysteries. They probably had a matriarchy. Some scientists trace the roots of the Russian kokoshnik to the Sarmatians. Among them, the custom of artificially deforming the skull was widespread, thanks to which a person’s head took on the shape of an elongated egg.

19. Kalash

The Kalash are a small people living in the north of Pakistan in the Hindu Kush mountains. They are probably the most famous "white" people in Asia. Disputes about the origins of the Kalash continue today. The Kalash themselves are sure that they are the descendants of Macedonian himself. The Kalash language is called phonologically atypical; it has retained the basic composition of Sanskrit. Despite attempts at Islamization, many Kalash retain polytheism.

20. Philistines

The modern name "Palestine" comes from "Philistia". The Philistines are the most mysterious people of those mentioned in the Bible. In the Middle East, only they and the Hittites mastered the technology of steel smelting, marking the beginning of the Iron Age. The Bible says that these people originate from the island of Caphtor (Crete), although some historians correlate the Philistines with the Pelasgians. Both Egyptian manuscripts and archaeological finds testify to the Cretan origins of the Philistines. It is still not clear where the Philistines disappeared to. Most likely, they were assimilated by the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The concept of “ethnicity” includes a historically established stable group of people who have a certain number of common subjective or objective characteristics. Ethnographic scientists include these characteristics as origin, language, cultural and economic characteristics, mentality and self-awareness, phenotypic and genotypic data, as well as the territory of long-term residence.

The word "ethnicity" has Greek roots and is literally translated as “people”. The word “nationality” can be considered a synonym for this definition in Russian. The term “ethnos” was introduced into scientific terminology in 1923 by the Russian scientist S.M. Shirokogorov. He gave the first definition of this word.

How does the formation of an ethnic group occur?

The ancient Greeks adopted the word “ethnos” designate other peoples who were not Greeks. For a long time, the word “people” was used in the Russian language as an analogue. Definition of S.M. Shirokogorova made it possible to emphasize the commonality of culture, relationships, traditions, way of life and language.

Modern science allows us to interpret this concept from 2 points of view:

The origin and formation of any ethnic group implies great length of time. Most often, such formation occurs around a certain language or religious beliefs. Based on this, we often pronounce phrases such as “ Christian culture", "Islamic world", "Romance group of languages".

The main conditions for the emergence of an ethnic group are the presence common territory and language. These same factors subsequently become supporting factors and the main distinguishing features of a particular ethnic group.

From additional factors that influence the formation of an ethnic group can be noted:

1. General religious beliefs.
2. Intimacy from a racial perspective.
3. The presence of transitional interracial groups (mestizo).

Factors that unite an ethnic group include:

1. Specific features material and spiritual culture.
2. Community of life.
3. Group psychological characteristics.
4. General awareness of oneself and the idea of ​​a common origin.
5. The presence of an ethnonym - a self-name.

Ethnicity is essentially a complex dynamic system that is constantly undergoing processes of transformation and at the same time maintains its stability.

The culture of each ethnic group maintains a certain constancy and at the same time changes over time from one era to another. Peculiarities national culture and self-knowledge, religious and spiritual-moral values ​​leave an imprint on the nature of the biological self-reproduction of the ethnic group.

Features of the existence of ethnic groups and their patterns

The historically formed ethnos acts as an integral social organism and has the following ethnic relations:

1. Self-reproduction occurs through repeated homogeneous marriages and the transmission from generation to generation of traditions, identity, cultural values, language and religious characteristics.
2. In the course of their existence, all ethnic groups undergo a number of processes within themselves - assimilation, consolidation, etc.
3. In order to strengthen their existence, most ethnic groups strive to create their own state, which will allow them to regulate relations both within themselves and with other groups of peoples.

The laws of peoples can be considered behavioral models of relationships, which are typical for individual representatives. This also includes behavioral models that characterize individual social groups, emerging within the nation.

Ethnicity can simultaneously be considered as a natural-territorial and sociocultural phenomenon. Some researchers suggest considering the hereditary factor and endogamy as a kind of connecting link that supports the existence of a particular ethnic group. However, it cannot be denied that the quality of a nation’s gene pool is significantly influenced by conquests, living standards, and historical and cultural traditions.

The hereditary factor is tracked primarily in anthropometric and phenotypic data. However, anthropometric indicators do not always completely coincide with ethnicity. According to another group of researchers, the constancy of an ethnic group is due to national identity. However, such self-awareness can simultaneously act as an indicator of collective activity.

The unique self-awareness and perception of the world of a particular ethnic group may directly depend on what its activities in developing environment. The same type of activity can be perceived and evaluated differently in the minds of different ethnic groups.

The most stable mechanism that allows preserving the uniqueness, integrity and stability of an ethnic group is its culture and common historical destiny.

Ethnicity and its types

Traditionally, ethnicity is considered primarily as a generic concept. Based on this idea, it is customary to distinguish three types of ethnic groups:

1. Clan-tribe (species characteristic of primitive society).
2. Nationality (a characteristic type in the slave and feudal centuries).
3. Capitalist society is characterized by the concept of nation.

There are basic factors that unite representatives of one people:

Clans and tribes historically were the very first types of ethnic groups. Their existence lasted several tens of thousands of years. As the way of life and the structure of mankind developed and became more complex, the concept of nationality appeared. Their appearance is associated with the formation of tribal unions in the common territory of residence.

Factors in the development of nations

Today in the world there are several thousand ethnic groups. They all differ in level of development, mentality, numbers, culture and language. There may be significant differences based on race and physical appearance.

For example, the number of ethnic groups such as Chinese, Russians, and Brazilians exceeds 100 million people. Along with such gigantic peoples, there are varieties in the world whose number does not always reach ten people. State of the art different groups can also vary from the most highly developed to those living according to primitive communal principles. Every nation has own language However, there are also ethnic groups that simultaneously use several languages.

In the process of interethnic interactions, processes of assimilation and consolidation are launched, as a result of which a new ethnic group can gradually form. The socialization of an ethnic group occurs thanks to the development of such social institutions like family, religion, school, etc.

The unfavorable factors for the development of a nation include the following:

1. High level mortality among the population, especially in childhood.
2. High prevalence of respiratory infections.
3. Alcohol and drug addiction.
4. Destruction of the family institution - a high number of single-parent families, divorces, abortions, and parental abandonment of children.
5. Low quality of life.
6. High unemployment rate.
7. High crime rate.
8. Social passivity of the population.

Classification and examples of ethnicity

Classification is carried out according to a variety of parameters, the simplest of which is number. This indicator not only characterizes the state of the ethnic group at the current moment, but also reflects the nature of its historical development. Usually, formation of large and small ethnic groups proceeds along completely different paths. The level and nature of interethnic interactions depends on the size of a particular ethnic group.

Examples of the largest ethnic groups include the following (according to 1993 data):

The total number of these peoples is 40% of the total population of the globe. There is also a group of ethnic groups with a population of 1 to 5 million people. They make up about 8% of the total population.

Most small ethnic groups may number several hundred people. As an example, we can cite the Yukaghir, an ethnic group living in Yakutia, and the Izhorians, a Finnish ethnic group inhabiting territories in Leningrad region.

Another classification criterion is the population dynamics in ethnic groups. Minimal population growth is observed in Western European ethnic groups. The maximum growth is observed in the countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

2. Factors influencing the location of productive forces and their changes in the era of science and technology.

3. Determination of the type of reproduction of the country's population using the age-sex pyramid.

1. Environmental management. Examples of rational and irrational environmental management.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of Western European countries.

3. Determine and compare the average population density of two countries (as chosen by the teacher) and explain the reasons for the differences.

1. Types of natural resources. Resource availability. Assessment of the country's resource availability.

2. The importance of transport in the world economy of the country, types of transport and their features. Transport and environment.

3. Determination and comparison of population growth rates in different countries (teacher's choice).

1. Patterns of distribution of mineral resources and countries distinguished by their reserves. Problems of rational use of resources.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the countries of Western Europe (at the student’s choice).

3. Comparative characteristics of the transport systems of the two countries (at the teacher’s choice).

1. Land resources. Geographical differences in land availability. Problems of their rational use.

2. Fuel and energy industry. Composition, importance in the economy, placement features. The energy problem of humanity and ways to solve it. Problems of environmental protection.

3. Characteristics based on maps of the EGP (economic-geographical location) of the country (at the choice of the teacher).

1. Land water resources and their distribution on the planet. The problem of water supply and possible ways to solve it.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of the countries of Eastern Europe.

3. Determination, based on statistical materials, of trends in changes in the country’s sectoral structure (at the teacher’s choice).

1. Forest resources of the world and their importance for the life and activities of mankind. Problems of rational use.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the countries of Eastern Europe (at the student’s choice).

3. Determination and comparison of the ratio of urban and rural populations in different regions of the world (at the choice of the teacher).

1. Resources of the World Ocean: water, mineral, energy and biological. Problems of rational use of the resources of the World Ocean.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of the USA.

3. Explanation on the map of the directions of the main cargo flows of iron ore.

1. Recreational resources and their distribution on the planet. Problems of rational use.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of Japan.

3. Explanation of the directions of the main oil flows using maps.

1. Environmental pollution and environmental problems of humanity. Types of pollution and their distribution. Ways to solve environmental problems of humanity.

2. Agriculture. Composition, features of development in developed and developing countries. Agriculture and the environment.

3. Drawing up a comparative description of two industrial regions (at the teacher’s choice).

1. World population and its changes. Natural population growth and factors influencing its change. Two types of population reproduction and their distribution in different countries.

2. Crop production: boundaries of location, main crops and areas of their cultivation, exporting countries.

3. Comparison of international specialization of one of the developed and one of the developing countries, explanation of the differences.

1. “Population explosion.” The problem of population size and its characteristics in different countries. Demographic policy.

2. Chemical industry: composition, significance, placement features. Chemical industry and environmental problems.

3. Assessment using maps and statistical materials of the resource availability of one of the countries (at the teacher’s choice).

1. Age and sex composition of the world population. Geographical differences. Sex and age pyramids.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of Latin American countries.

3. Comparative characteristics based on the map of the provision of individual regions and countries with arable land.

1. National composition of the world population. Its changes and geographical differences. The largest nations of the world.

2. Mechanical engineering is the leading branch of modern industry. Composition, placement features. Countries that stand out in terms of the level of development of mechanical engineering.

3. Determination of the main export and import items of one of the countries of the world (at the choice of the teacher).

1. Distribution of the population across the Earth's territory. Factors influencing population distribution. The most densely populated areas of the world.

2. Electric power industry: significance, countries that stand out in terms of absolute and per capita indicators of electricity production.

3. Determination based on statistical materials of the main grain exporters.

1. Population migrations and their causes. The influence of migration on population changes, examples of internal and external migrations.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of the People's Republic of China.

3. Explanation on the map of the directions of the main coal cargo flows.

1. Urban and rural populations of the world. Urbanization. Largest cities and urban agglomerations. Problems and consequences of urbanization in the modern world.

2. Livestock: distribution, main industries, location features, exporting countries.

3. Explanation on the map of the directions of the main gas flows.

1. World economy: essence and main stages of formation. International geographical division of labor and its examples.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the Latin American countries (at the student’s choice).

3. Comparative characteristics of the provision of individual regions and countries with water resources.

1. International economic integration. Economic groupings of countries of the modern world.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of African countries.

3. Identification based on statistical materials of the main cotton exporters.

1. Fuel industry: composition, location of the main fuel production areas. The most important producing and exporting countries. Main international fuel flows.

2. International economic relations: forms and geographical features.

3. Determination based on statistical materials of the main exporters of sugar.

1. Metallurgical industry: composition, placement features. Main producing and exporting countries. Metallurgy and the problem of environmental protection.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the African countries (at the student’s choice).

3. Drawing up a comparative description of two agricultural regions (at the teacher’s choice).

1. Forestry and woodworking industry: composition, placement. Geographical differences.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of Asian countries.

3. Determination based on statistical materials of the main coffee exporters.

1. Light industry: composition, placement features. Problems and development prospects.

2. General economic and geographical characteristics of one of the Asian countries (at the student’s choice).

3. Designation on the contour map of geographical objects, the knowledge of which is provided by the program (at the choice of the teacher).

1. National composition world population. Its changes and geographical differences. The largest nations of the world.

2. Mechanical engineering is the leading branch of modern industry. Composition, placement features. Countries that stand out in terms of the level of development of mechanical engineering.

3. Determination of the main export and import items of one of the countries of the world (at the choice of the teacher).

1. National composition of the world population. Its changes and geographical differences. The largest nations of the world.

There are about 3-4 thousand peoples or ethnic groups in the world, some of which have formed into nations, while others are nationalities and tribes.

For your information: an ethnic group is a historically established, stable community of people that has a set of characteristics such as a common language, territory, features of life and culture, and ethnic identity.

The peoples of the world are classified:

I. By number:

In total, there are more than 300 peoples in the world, each numbering over 1 million people, which account for 96% of the total population of the Earth. Including about 130 peoples have a population of more than 5 million people, 76 peoples have more than 10 million people, 35 peoples have more than 25 million people, 7 peoples have more than 100 million people.

For your information: 7 most numerous nations:

1) Chinese (Han) - 1048 million people (in the PRC - 97% of the total number of people in the country);

2) Hindustani - 223 million people (in India - 99.7%);

3) US Americans - 187 million people. (in the USA - 99.4%);

4) Bengalis - 176 million people. (in Bangladesh - 59%, in India - 40%);

5) Russians - 146 million people. (in Russia - 79.5%);

6) Brazilians - 137 million people. (in Brazil - 99.7%);

7) Japanese - 123 million people. (in Japan - 99%).

But there are nations of less than 1 thousand people.

II. By linguistic proximity:

Related languages ​​are grouped together, which in turn form language families.

1) The Indo-European language family is the largest, its languages ​​are spoken by 150 peoples of Europe, Asia, America and Australia; the total number is more than 2.5 billion people.

This language family includes a number of groups:

· Romanesque (French, Italians, Spaniards, Latin Americans);

· Germanic (Germans, English, Americans);

· Slavic (Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats);

· Celtic (Irish);

· Baltic (Lithuanians);

· Greek (Greeks);

Albanian

· Armenian;

Iranian (Persians, Kurds).

2) Sino-Tibetan language group: its languages ​​are spoken by over 1 billion people.

Slightly less numerous language families:

3) Afro-Asian.

4) Altai.

5) Niger-Kordofanian.

6) Dravidian.

7) Austronesian.

8) Ural.

9) Caucasian.

National criteria underlie the division of humanity into states.

If the main nationality on their territory is over 90%, then these are single-national states (Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Japan, etc.).

If two nations predominate - binational (Belgium, Canada, etc.).

If dozens and even hundreds of peoples live in countries and make up a significant proportion - multinational states (India, Russia, USA, Spain, Great Britain, Nigeria, Indonesia, etc.).

2. Mechanical engineering is the leading branch of modern industry. Composition, placement features. Countries that stand out in terms of the level of development of mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineering is one of the oldest sectors of the economy. As an industry, it emerged 200 years ago during the Industrial Revolution in England.

Mechanical engineering provides equipment and machinery to other sectors of the economy and produces many household and cultural items.

In terms of the number of employees (more than 80 million people) and the value of products, it ranks first among all sectors of world industry.

The level of development of mechanical engineering is used to judge the level of economic development of any country.

The following main branches (there are more than 70 in total) of mechanical engineering are distinguished:

1) machine tool industry;

2) instrument making;

3) electrical and electronics industry;

4) computer technology;

5) railway engineering;

6) automotive industry;

7) shipbuilding;

8) aviation and rocket industry;

9) tractor and agricultural engineering, etc.

The location of mechanical engineering enterprises is influenced by many factors.

The main ones should be noted: transport; availability of qualified labor resources; consumer; and for some (metal-intensive) industries - and raw materials.

IN Lately the dependence of mechanical engineering on metal sources is decreasing, but its focus on labor resources is increasing, scientific centers etc.

There are four engineering regions in the world:

1) North America: where almost all types of engineering products are produced, from the highest to medium and low complexity.

Largest corporations:

· automobile (USA): General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler;

· computer technology (USA): “International Business Machines”;

· electronics (USA): General Electric, American Telephone and Telegraph, etc.

2) Foreign Europe (in relation to the CIS): produces mainly mass engineering products, but also maintains its position in some of the newest industries.

Largest corporations:

· automobile (Germany): “Daimler-Benz”; "Volkswagenwerk";

· electronics: Germany - Siemens, the Netherlands - Philips, etc.

3) East and Southeast Asia: Japan leads here.

The region combines the products of mass engineering with products of the highest technology - science centers.

Large corporations:

· cars (Japan): “Toyota Motor”, “Nisan Motor”;

· electronics (Japan): Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Samsung, etc.

4) Commonwealth of Independent States: the leaders in it are Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Recently, the pace of development of mechanical engineering in the region has decreased, although it produces a wide range of engineering products.

Developing countries produce less than 1/10 of the world's engineering products. In most of these countries, there is not mechanical engineering, but rather metalworking, and in addition there are many assembly plants that receive machine parts from the USA, Western Europe and Japan.

But recently in some of them - Brazil, India, Argentina, Mexico - mechanical engineering has already reached a fairly high level.

3. Determination of the main export and import items of one of the countries of the world (at the choice of the teacher).

Using the answer plan below, you can characterize any state in the world.

Take for example, Japan is one of the 7 economically developed countries in the world.

To answer we used: statistical materials; maps of world economic sectors; Atlas maps of Japan (economics).

Import to Japan (import of products):

1) raw materials: fuel - 49%, ore, for the textile industry (textile fiber), etc.;

2) chemical industry products (acids, alkalis, fertilizers, petroleum products);

3) food products (grain, etc.).

Export to Japan: products, products of the following industries:

1) mechanical engineering (cars, ships, electronics, machine tools, watches);

2) ferrous metallurgy (steel, rolled products);

3) non-ferrous metallurgy;

4) chemical industry (synthetic fibers, rubber);

5) light industry (fabrics, clothing).

From the above we can conclude: in Japan, as one of the developed countries, the following trend is observed: the import of mainly raw materials and food products (preferably from developing countries) due to the lack of their own natural resources; and export of finished expensive products, both to developing countries in Asia and to developed countries - Europe and America.

Ticket number 17

The concept “people” has several meanings. It is understood as the population of a country (for example, the people of India, the people of Switzerland, the people of France, etc.), workers, just a group, a crowd of people (in the expression: there are a lot of people on the street, etc.) and, finally , what scientists call the term “ethnos”, “ethnic community”. An ethnos (people) is defined as a historically established stable collection of people in a certain territory who have common relatively stable characteristics of language, culture and psyche, as well as an awareness of their unity and difference from all other similar entities.

There are several thousand peoples living in the world. They differ from each other in their numbers, level of social development, language and culture, and racial appearance.

The tribal leader dances. New Guinea.



Swazi woman in festive clothes. Swaziland.



The art of Tunisian carpet weavers is known all over the world.



Children's holiday in Hanoi.



thumb|Mongolian woman in national costume.



Norwegian schoolchildren.



Girls from the island of Nauru.



Large Indian market in the city of Toluca. Mexico.



frame|right|Belarusian folk holiday.



frame|right|Sugar cane harvesting in Cuba.



Modern races peace.



frame|center|Representatives of the main races.



Tajik girl harvesting cotton.



Residents of Yakutia are accustomed to severe frosts.

Fluctuations in the numbers of different ethnic groups are quite significant. Thus, the number of the largest nations exceeds 100 million people. These are Chinese, Hindustani, US Americans, Bengalis, Russians, Brazilians, Japanese. Tiny endangered ethnic groups (more precisely, fragments of ethnic groups) today do not number even 10 people. These include ouma, eba, bina in Papua New Guinea and others. No less significant are the differences between ethnic groups in terms of the level of socio-economic development: with peoples who are actually still at the primitive stage, coexist peoples who are highly developed in public relations. Linguistic and cultural differences are also very large. Each nation speaks a special language, although it happens that several ethnic groups use the same language or, conversely, one ethnic group speaks several languages. At the same time, many languages ​​are related to each other, and the degree of this relationship varies. The range of similarities and differences in the culture of different peoples is also significant.

The principles for classifying the peoples of the world are different. In ethnography, the ethnolinguistic classification is most often used, grouping all peoples based on linguistic kinship. This classification also helps with historical research, as it gives a genetic interpretation existing similarities between peoples. According to the ethnolinguistic classification, the peoples of the world are divided into the following families: Indo-European, Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic), Kartvelian, Ural (Ural-Yukaghir), Dravidian, Altai, Eskimo-Aleutian, Chukchi-Kamchatka, North Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Miao-Yao, Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Paratai, Na-Dene, North Amerindian, Central Amerindian, Chibcha-Paes, Zhe-Pano-Caribbean, Andean, Equatorial-Tucanoan, Australian, Andamanese, Niger-Kordofanian, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, and also several Papuan. Along with the peoples united by the listed families, there are also ethnic groups that occupy an isolated position linguistically. These are the Basques, Burishi, Kets, Nivkhs, Ainu, etc.

The largest of the families is Indo-European, uniting 45% of the world's population. The peoples of this family live in most of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, overseas Europe, Iran and Afghanistan, in the northern and central regions of South Asia. They also predominate today in America and Australia. (All peoples included in one or another family are named in the appendix to the article.

The Kartvelian family is small (0.1% of the world population). This includes Georgians living in Transcaucasia and ethnic communities close to them. The peoples of the Ural (Ural-Yukaghir) family (0.5% of the world's population) live in the Trans-Urals, in the far north of Siberia, in the Volga region, in the north of the European part of Russia, in the Baltic states, Finland, and the north of Scandinavia and Hungary. The Dravidian family (4% of the world's population) is concentrated mainly in South Asia. The peoples of the Altai family (6% of the world's population) form a number of geographically unconnected areas from Balkan Peninsula to Russian Far East. Many scientists consider its groups to be genetically unrelated and place them in several different families.

A small Eskimo-Aleut family whose range mainly covers the far north North America and Greenland, unites, as the name suggests, Eskimos and Aleuts. The small peoples of the Chukchi-Kamchatka family (Chukchi, Koryaks, Itelmens) live in the extreme northeast of our country.

The peoples of the Afroasiatic family (5% of the world's population) are settled in South-West Asia and North Africa. The Afroasiatic family includes the Semitic, Berber, Cushitic and Chadian groups.

The North Caucasian family is relatively small in number (0.1% of the world population). It includes two groups - Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan.

The Sino-Tibetan family (23% of the world's population) is second in number only to the Indo-European (it includes the Chinese, the largest numerous people on the ground).

The peoples of the Miao-Yao family (0.2% of the world's population) live in China, as well as in Vietnam and some other countries in Southeast Asia. The two most significant ethnic communities are the Miao and Yao, which is where the family's name comes from. Some researchers consider the Miao-Yao a group within the Sino-Tibetan family, others as a group within the Austroasiatic family.

The peoples of the Austroasiatic family (2% of the world's population) live mostly in Southeast Asia, as well as in the adjacent regions of South and East Asia.

The Austronesian family (5% of the world's population) unites peoples living over a vast area from Madagascar to the Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean.

The Paratai family (1.5% of the world's population belongs to it) is concentrated in the countries of Southeast Asia and neighboring areas of China. It does not always stand out as an independent unit. Some scholars consider it a group of the Sino-Tibetan family, while others combine the Para-Tai and Austronesian families.

The Indian peoples of America are linguistically divided into families Na-Dene, North Amerindian, Central Amerindian, Chibcha-Paes (South Central and North South America), also Pano-Caribbean, Andean, Equatorial-Tucanoan. Of these families, the most significant is the Andean family (0.4% of the world's population), which includes the largest Indian people, the Quechua.

The Australian family, as its name suggests, is centered in Australia. It unites the very small indigenous peoples of this continent.

The Andaman family consists of several very small ethnic groups of the Adaman Islands (Ongyo and others).

In New Guinea and the adjacent islands (the New Guinea region surpasses any other region of the globe in terms of the complexity of its ethnic structure), Papuan peoples live, linguistically united into ten families: Trans-New Guinea, West Papuan, Sepik Rama, Torricelli, East Papuan, East Chendrawasih Chendravasih Bay, kvomtari, arai, amto-musian. Only the first five families are significant, of which the Trans-New Guinea family stands out (the peoples included in its composition form 0.1% of the world's population).

The peoples of sub-Saharan Africa form three families: Niger-Kordofanian (6% of the world's population), Nilo-Saharan (0.6%) and Khoisan. The Nilo-Saharan family is generally localized north of the Niger-Kordofanian family; they live on the southern periphery of Africa and in Tanzania small peoples Khoisan family (Hottentots, Bushmen, etc.).

A number of peoples of the world occupy a linguistically isolated position. Two linguistically distinct peoples - the Nivkhs and the Kets (both very small in number) - live in the Asian part of our country. In the far north of South Asia, in the Karakoram Mountains, live a small Burishi people, whose language also occupies an isolated position. In Europe, the isolated language is spoken by Basques living in the Pyrenees, on either side of the border between Spain and France. Isolated languages ​​are also spoken by the Ainu (Hokkaido Island, Japan). Finally, a large group of peoples speaking isolated languages ​​lives in New Guinea (Borumeso, Varenbori, Pauwi, etc.), but perhaps the classification of the languages ​​of the New Guinean peoples as isolated is not the result of true genetic isolation, but a consequence of their still poor study.

Some researchers are trying to identify more distant linguistic relationships, identifying macro-families in addition to families. So, for example, the Indo-European, Kartvelian, Dravidian, Ural-Yukaghir, Altai, Eskimo-Aleutian, and sometimes Afrasian families are combined into the Nostratic macrofamily; all Indian families (except Na-Dene) are included in the Amerindian macrofamily.

In addition to the ethnolinguistic classification, there is also an areal classification, when peoples are grouped into large regions called historical-cultural or historical-ethnographic regions. Within these areas, in the process of long historical development, a certain cultural community has emerged.

The peoples of the world are also divided into three main races: Caucasoid (or Caucasoid), Mongoloid and Negroid. The eastern range of Negroids is often considered as a special Australoid large race. Some foreign scientists highlight larger number main human races, for example, Americanoids, Lapanoids, Malayan race, etc. (see map).

As a result of the mixing of various large races, the so-called contact races were formed, of which there are quite a lot today. Thus, from the mixing of the eastern branch of northern Caucasoids and northern Mongoloids, the Ural (Ural-Laponoid) racial group arose. The mixed group includes those that arose from the first centuries new era in the vast steppe space between the Urals and the Yenisei, the South Siberian group, in which Mongoloid features predominate. In the Middle Ages, in the more southern regions, mixed Central Asian groups were formed, dominated in most cases by the Caucasian element. In the east and southeast of Asia there was a contact zone between Mongoloids and Australoids, where in different time a number of mixed forms arose, for example the South Asian group with a preponderance of Mongoloid features.

APPLICATION

INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY Slavic group Russian Ukrainians Belarusians Poles Czechs, Slovaks Serbs, Montenegrins, Muslim Slavs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians Bulgarians Baltic group Lithuanians Latvians German group Germans Austrians German-Swiss Alsatians, Luxembourgers Dutch, Flemings, Frisians, Afrikaners European and American Jews English Scots Scots and English Irish Anglo-Canadians Anglo-Australians, Anglo-New Zealanders Anglo-Africans Americans of the USA, including African-Americans English-speaking peoples of Central America, the West Indies and South America (Bahamians, Jamaicans, etc.) and the Atlantic Islands (Sectelenians, Tristanians) Swedes Norwegians Icelanders Faroese Danes Celtic group Irish Welsh Bretons Roman group Italians Sardinians Italian-Swiss Corsicans French Walloons French Swiss French Canadians Guadeloupeans, Martinicans, Guianians, Haitians, Reunionians, Mauritians, Seychellois Cubans Dominicans Puerto Ricans Mexicans Guatemalans Hondurans Salvadorans Nicaraguans Costa Ricans Panamanians Venezuelans Colombians Dorets Peruvians Bolivians Chileans Argentines Paraguayans Uruguayans Spaniards Catalans Portuguese, Cape Verdeans Galicians Brazilians Romanians Moldavians Albanian group Albanians Greek group Greeks Armenian group Armenians Iranian group Persians Kurds, Lurs, Bakhtiars Baloch Tajiks, Hazaras Afghans (Pashtuns) Ossetians Nuristan group Nuristanis Indo-Aryan group Bengalis Assamese Oriyas Biharis Hindustanis Rajasthanis Gujaratis Marathas Punjabis Sindhi Nepalese Pahari Sinhalese Maldivians Guyanese-Indo-Pakistanis, Fijian Indians Kashmiris, Shina and other Dardic peoples Gypsies AFRASIAN FAMILY Semitic group Arab peoples(Egyptians, Syrians, Algerians, etc.) Maltese Jews of Israel Amhara, Gurage, Tigrai, Tigre Berber group Kabila, Tamazight, Shilkh, Tuareg and others Cushitic group Oromo Somalia Afar, Beja, Sidamo and others Chadian group Hausa, Angas, Kotoko and others others KARTVEL FAMILY Georgians DRAVIDIAN FAMILY Tamils ​​Malayali Kannaras Telugu Gonds, Oraon, Brahui and other Dravidian peoples URAL-YUKAHIR FAMILY Finno-Ugric group Finns Karelians Estonians Sami (Lapps), Mordovians, Mari, Udmurts, Komi Hungarians Khanty, Mansi Nenets group, Nganasans, Selkups Yukagir group Yukagirs Eskimo-Aleutian family Eskimos, Aleuts ALTAI FAMILY Turkic group Turks Azerbaijanis Various Turkic-speaking peoples of Iran Turkmens Tatars, Crimean Tatars Bashkirs Karachais, Balkars, Kumyks, Nogais Kazakhs Karakalpaks Kir Giza Uzbeks Uighurs Altaians, Shors, Khakass Tuvinians Yakuts, Dolgans Chuvash Mongolian group Khalkha-Mongols Oirats Kalmyks Buryats Mongols of the People's Republic of China Tungus-Manchu group Evenks, Evens, Nanais, Udege and other Manchus Korean group Koreans Japanese group Japanese NIVKHI Nivkh CHUKOTKA-KAMCHATA FAMILY Chukchi Koryak Itelmen NIGERO-KORDOFAN FAMILY Niger-Congo group Western Atlantic subgroup Fulbe, Wolof, Serer, Diola, Temne, Kisi and others Central Niger-Congo subgroup Moi, Grusi, Gurma, pho and others peoples of Gur Bakwe, Bete and other peoples of Kru Akan, Anyi, Baule, Ewe, Fon Ijo Yoruba, Nupe, Bini, Igbo, Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke and others Fang, Mongo, Rwanda, Rundi, Ganda, Luhya, Kikuyu, Kamba, Nyamwezi, Swahili, Congo, Luba, Bemba, Malawi, Makua, Ovimbundu, Shona, Tswana, Pedi, Suto, Xhosa, Zulu, Tsonga and other Bantu peoples Zande, Chamba, Mboom, Banda, Gbaya and other Adamawa-Ubangian peoples Mande group Malinke, Bambara, Soninke, Susu, Mende and others Kordofan group Ebang, Kadugli and others NILO-SAHARAN FAMILY Eastern Sudanese group Nubians, Dinka, Kalenjin, Luo and others Central Sudanese group Bongo, Sara, Bagirmi, Moru, Mangbetu and others Berta group Bertha group Kunama Kunama Saharan group Kanuri, Tubu and others Songhai group Songhai and others Fur group Mabang group Mabang and others Komuz group Koma and others Bushmen, Hottentots BASQUES Basques BURISHI Burishi NORTH CAUCASIAN FAMILY Abkhaz-Adyghe group Abkhazians, Adygeis, Kabardians, esy Nakhsko -Dagestan group Chechens, Ingush, Avars, Dargins, Lezgins and others KETS Kets SINO-TIBETAN FAMILY Chinese, Hui Bai Tibetans, Bhutanese and others Myanmar Izu, Tujia, Hani, Manipur, Naga, Karen, Kachin, Garo, Bodo, Newari, Tamang and others AUSTROASIAN FAMILY Mon-Khmer group Viet, Muong Khmer, mountain Khmer Asli group Semang, Senoi Nicobar group Nicobar people Khasi group Khasi Munda group Munda, Santals and others MIAO-YAO FAMILY Miao, Yao PARATAY FAMILY Siamese Lao Zhuang, Bui, Shan , Thai and others Dun, Li and others Western Austronesian group Malays of Malaysia, Chams Javanese, Sundas, Madures, Malays of Indonesia, Minangkabau and others Tagalog, Bisaya, Iloki and others Chamorro, Belau, Yap Malagasy Central Austronesian group Ende, Atoni, Tetum, Ambonians and others East Austronesian group Southern Halmaherans, Biak-Numforians and others Melanesians (Fijians, Tolai and others) Micronesians (Truk, Marshallese, Kiribati, Nauru and others) Polynesians (Tongan, Samoan, Tuvaluan, Maori, Tahitian, Hawaiian and others) Taiwanese groups Gaoshan ANDAMAN FAMILY Andamanese PAPUA FAMILIES Enga, Huli, Hagen, Chimbu, Kamano, Dani, Abelam, Ternatians and other Papuan peoples AUSTRALIAN FAMILY Aboriginal Australians AIN Ain

INDIAN FAMILIES

NADEN FAMILY Athabascan (Navajo, Apache and others), Tlingit, Haida NORTH AMERINDIAN FAMILY Maya, Qeqchi, Quiché, Kaqchikel, Algonquin, Sioux and others CENTRAL AMERINDIAN FAMILY Aztec, Shoshone, Otomi, Mixtec, Zapotec and others CHIBCHA-PAES Mi FAMILY hermitage, paes and others ANDEAN FAMILY Quechua, Aymara, Araucanas and others EQUATORIAL-TUCANO FAMILY Arawak, Tupi, Tucano and others JE-PANO-CARIBBEAN FAMILY Caribbean, Pano, zhe and others

Planet Earth is a multinational community inhabited by a large number of various nationalities. How many peoples live in the world? Surely every person has asked a similar question at least once in his life. At the same time, the exact answer is practically unknown, since even historians find it difficult to give exact figures. In Russia alone there are more than 1194 nationalities, and if we take into account how many peoples are in the CIS countries, then the number will be several times larger.

General classification of nationalities

Most people are interested in a quantitative indicator, but if you collect all the data on how many peoples exist, the list can turn out to be almost endless. Most often, the unification of different peoples into groups occurs either according to species characteristics, or according to the language spoken by one or another group, or according to the territory of residence.

Sometimes division into groups can occur in accordance with cultural traditions and foundations

In total, there are 20 language families on the planet, which include different peoples.

In 2016, the largest language families were the following 4 groups:

• Indo-European. In total, this group includes 150 nations, which are located in Asia and Europe. The total population of this group is 2.8 billion people.
• Sino-Tibetan. This group includes the entire population of China and neighboring countries that share common language and culture. In total, there are almost 1.5 billion people in this group.
• Afro-Asian. Language family, which includes the peoples of South-West Asia and North Africa.
• Niger-Kordofanian. The remaining peoples inhabiting the African continent, including the regions of Central and Southern Africa.

The largest nations of the world

Over the entire history of existence on Earth, a large number of nationalities have emerged

Some of the nationalities are small by historical standards and number no more than a million people (there are only 330 peoples). There are numerous ones where the number of people exceeds 100 million. There are only 11 such nationalities:

• Chinese. The top spot is occupied by the Chinese, who number 1 billion 17 million people on the planet.
• Hindustani. In second place are the Indian nationalities, which number 265 million people.
• Bengalis. Their number is 225 million.
• Americans. There are more than 200 million people in the United States.
• Brazilians. There are 175 million indigenous people living in Brazil.
• Russians. If we talk about how much Slavic peoples there are, then we can note the number of Russians, who form a large group and number 140 million.
• Japanese. Despite the limited territory of the islands, their population numbers 125 million people.
• Punjabis. Another Indian nationality, numbering 115 million people.
• Biharis. A people also living in India and numbering 115 million.
• Mexicans. There are 105 million of them worldwide.
• Javanese. The last of 11 large nationalities, which number 105 million people.

Let's sum it up

When talking about the concept of “people”, it is very difficult to achieve a unified interpretation.

Also, do not forget that the planet is home to several endangered peoples, some of which number only 280 people. In any case, each nationality is original and unique.

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