In chapter 10 of Guns, Germs, and Steel, author Jared Diamond discusses the reasons for the rise of civilizations in different parts of the world. He argues that the development of agriculture, the presence of domesticable animals, and the availability of suitable plants and animals for domestication were key factors in the rise of civilizations.
One of the main points Diamond makes in this chapter is that the rise of agriculture was a crucial factor in the development of civilizations. Agriculture allowed people to produce a surplus of food, which led to the development of cities and civilizations. The availability of suitable crops and domesticable animals also played a role in the rise of agriculture, as these resources allowed people to produce food more efficiently and in greater quantities.
Another factor that contributed to the rise of civilizations was the presence of domesticable animals. These animals could be used for transportation, food production, and as a source of power for farming and other tasks. The availability of these animals also allowed people to expand their territory and trade with other groups.
Diamond also discusses the role of geography in the rise of civilizations. He argues that certain areas of the world, such as the Fertile Crescent and the Andes, were more conducive to the development of civilizations due to their climate and the availability of suitable plants and animals for domestication. In contrast, other areas, such as Australia and the Arctic, had fewer suitable domesticable species and were less suitable for the development of agriculture and civilizations.
Overall, Diamond's main argument in chapter 10 of Guns, Germs, and Steel is that the rise of civilizations was influenced by a combination of factors, including the development of agriculture, the presence of domesticable animals, and the availability of suitable plants and animals for domestication. These factors, combined with the influence of geography, shaped the course of human history and led to the development of civilizations in different parts of the world.
Guns, Germs, and Steel Chapter 10 Summary
Sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago, not long after human fossils began to resemble modern homo sapiens, our race created an explosion of new technological and artistic innovations that far surpassed anything previously created. Instead, he supported the notion that some civilizations developed at a quicker pace than others because of the environmental differences that were present in the continents where they resided. Diamond will study the diffusion of other things—not just literal crops, but ideas and inventions—later on in the book. The reason that agriculture, which is dependent on climate, diffuses east and west faster than it diffuses north and south, is that regions with a similar latitude i. The earliest humanoid species, such as Homo habilis and then Homo erectus, emerged about seven million years ago in Africa. Agriculture arose in those areas for a few reasons.
Guns, Germs, and Steel Chapter 1: Up to the Starting Line Summary & Analysis
Innovations such as written language and wheels spread similarity quickly as well. Many are dispersed by animals either in feces or because animals carry them. Diamond is a biologist by profession, but his real interest lies in bird watching. But, somewhat more subtly, agriculture rarely spreads through such a region and moves on to others. Part 3, Chapter 11 Chapter 11 asks why the exchange of deadly diseases was virtually unidirectional between Europeans and peoples in the Am.
Guns, Germs and Steel Chapter #10 Study Guide: Flashcards
Mesopotamian agriculturalists spread their techniques and their literal crops, diffusing spreading wheat and barley to Europe. Plants spread their seeds by any means necessary. In the Fertile Crescent, plants and animals spread quickly into Europe and North Africa. People used domesticated crops rather than those that grew naturally. For example, agriculture spread from Mesopotamia to the Indus Valley at a rate of almost a mile a year but in the Americas, it spread north from Mexico at a rate of only 0. .
By the time European expansion reached the Bantu areas, however, it slowed considerably. Text Preview Extensive Skies and Tilted Tomahawks Alluding to a guide of the world, Precious stone calls attention to that the significant tomahawks of the Americas and Africa is north-south while the significant hub of Eurasia is east-west. Evidence suggests that they developed iron smelting techniques independently around 1000 BCE. European guns, germs, and steel quickly decimated the sparse Khoisan population. On New Guinea, however, they must have found a society that was more equally matched to theirs. Human ancestors began walking straight up around 4 million years ago.
When people selected the plants they liked and unconsciously helped these seeds grow, the plants in their environments naturally evolved qualities that made them bigger, better, or easier to harvest. For this reason, only societies like those in Eurasia, which had developed food production early and thus become more dense, could establish such diseases. Geographical isolation, on the other hand, could stop a country from adapting new inventions, and even those that did end up in those countries had a higher chance of being abandoned in a shorter period of time. Human ancestors began walking upright around four million years ago, and they moved to Eurasia around one or two million years ago. . Artifacts show that these new Taiwanese had ocean-going watercraft suitable for an outward expansion.
Guns, Germs, and Steel Chapter 10: Spacious Skies and Tilted Axes Summary & Analysis
. The differences in the shapes of the continents result in some big differences between civilizations. The Austronesians seem to have had substantial advantages over the hunting and gathering people they encountered on most of the islands they occupied. Humans learned slowly what plants were good to eat, and were able to domesticate some plant species over time. The last date is today's date — the date you are citing the material.
By the 16th century—not coincidentally, the time when Europe was beginning its conquest of the New World—the state had become the dominant mode of society. On a 1972 trip to New Guinea, Diamond was talking with a frie. Part 1, Chapter 2 Chapter 2 looks at the expansion of humans throughout the Polynesian islands. In the Americas only a few crops, such as Mexican corn, spread to other regions; llamas, sunflower seeds, and other crops and animals were not brought out of their local origination sites. Leonard 1973: 7 People could choose the most valuable vegetable foods available togrow near their villages, and certain animals were domesticated and bred to human's advantage. Part 2, Chapter 4 Chapter 4 begins with an anecdote about Diamond's time as a teenager working on a midwestern farm.
Taken together, the Americas were also larger than any continent except Eurasia. Also in Africa after the ice age, the lands became grasslands where people settled and domesticated cattle. It would have been impossible, in such a short amount of time, for the conquerors to subdue millions of people with only hundreds of soldiers, even with their horses and guns, unless natives were somehow weakened. Additionally, agricultural societies were denser than hunter-gatherer societies, increasing the velocity with which people exchanged ideas. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Farmers managed to grow some plants much earlier than others, and even today a few prized food plants have never been successfully farmed.
