GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL Jered Diamond

Why did Eurasians end up with guns, germs, and steel rather than people of other continents?

The distribution of wild ancestral species across continents played a major role, with Eurasia having the highest number of domesticable species.

Why was Eurasia able to domesticate more large mammals than other regions?

Eurasia is the largest landmass with high ecological diversity, and it had more suitable wild ancestors.

Why did the 'Big Five' (cow, sheep, goat, pig, horse) spread so easily across the world?

Local wild mammals were not as easily available for domestication in many regions.

What are the dates for the domestication of the 'Ancient Nine' mammals?

Dog – 10,000 BC; Sheep, goat, pig – 8,000 BC; Cow – 6,000 BC; Horse, donkey, water buffalo – 4,000 BC; Llama/alpaca – 3,500 BC; Bactrian camel, Arabian camel – 2,500 BC.

By when were all large mammal domestications completed?

By 4,500 years ago (around 2500 BC).

What is the 'Anna Karenina Principle' regarding domestication?

Successful domestication is like a happy marriage—many factors must align, and failure occurs when one or more essential conditions are missing.

What are the six key factors for successful domestication?

Diet, Growth Rate, Problems of Captive Breeding, Nasty Disposition, Tendency to Panic, Social Structure.

What animal kills more people than any other in Africa?

Hippos.

Why did only a small percentage of wild mammals become domesticated?

Only species that met all six conditions could form 'happy marriages' with humans.

How did the geography of different continents impact human history?

It determined the rate at which crops, animals, and technologies spread; Eurasia's large east-west axis facilitated diffusion.

How did geography facilitate the spread of crops and domesticated animals?

Crops spread from regions like Southwest Asia to Europe and Africa, while north-south spread was slower.

What was the difference between the spread of agriculture along east-west vs. north-south axes?

East-west spread was faster, while north-south spread was slower due to geographical barriers.

Why did crops from the Fertile Crescent spread so rapidly?

Shared latitude resulted in similar climates, allowing easy adaptation without major genetic changes.

How did this pattern continue in modern times?

Examples include the Mexico-India wheat transfer during the Green Revolution and successful rice transplantation from the Philippines to India.

What was a major challenge to crop diffusion?

Topographic and ecological barriers such as mountains, deserts, and rainforests.

How did geography affect the spread of technologies?

Technologies like the wheel and writing spread easily across Eurasia but faced barriers in the Americas.

Key Takeaways

Eurasia had the most domesticable species, domestication depended on six key factors, geography shaped agricultural and technological spread, east-west axes accelerated diffusion, and Fertile Crescent crops spread rapidly.