There is a strong relationship between cultural geography, anthropology, and archaeology. Cultural geographers often try to reconstruct past environments, and to do so they must be equally skilled in library research, field observation, and the interpretation of cultural artifacts.
Historical geographers are interested in recreating the geography of past times.
In doing this, they work closely with historians and archivists, contributing much to the understanding of present-day geography. Courses in this area include historical geography, cultural geography, cultural ecology, human geography, human use of the earth, and humanity and nature. Many cultural and human geographers are area specialists as well, which means that they focus their attention on a specific region, such as Latin America, Europe, or Asia. Because they often carry out field observation in other countries, they will usually need good foreign-language backgrounds. The United States continues to send volunteers to foreign nations to help them develop their human and natural resources.