bob saunders said:
Below is a summary
FROM OUR EDITORS
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Jared Diamond argues that both geography and the environment played major roles in determining the shape of the modern world. This argument runs counter to the usual theories that cite biology as the crucial factor. Diamond claims that the cultures that were first able to domesticate plants and animals were then able to develop writing skills, as well as make advances in the creation of government, technology, weaponry, and immunity to disease.
ANNOTATION
Domesticated grass(wheat,barley...etc) were first farmed and developed by Ethiopians, and well as domesticated goats,sheep and cattle before Europeans crawled out of caves. They also had a written language, forged metal(gold,copper and iron) but they never got much farther than that.so this must be an exception to Mr Diamonds theory, and that's all it is; a theory.
A more likely theory would be the effect climate has on countries. One could observe that the hotter the climate, the less advanced the civilization(if you count sucess in term of technology and wealth.
WRONG Again and I would definitely take a theory from a politzer prize winner than an emotional theory from yourself to satisfy whatever agenda you have.
Look them up, if you don't believe me without reading the book: Its not just his theory but reality of how the earth developed. People just had to migrate to find it, or die.
-wheat was first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent area of the Middle East
-barley first domesticated in the Fertil Crescent
-Maize is a cereal that was domesticated in Mesoamerica
-rice first domesticated in asia
-Oats are native to Eurasia and appear to have been domesticated relatively late
-The first possible use of domestic
rye comes from the site of Tell Abu Hureyra in northern Syria
The
common bean was domesticated independently in Eurasia and in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes.
Alfalfa is native to Europe being found worldwide and most likely originated in the middle east,
In africa
-Teff, or Tef is a species of lovegrass native to northern Africa. It is similar to millet in nutrition and in cooking, but the seed is much smaller.
-Millet is the collective name of a group of genera of the grass family(Gramineae/Paniceae) widely grown around the world for food or animal feed.
I don't know too many people eating teff around the world
Thats it in Africa.
Along with that, there was no domesticated large animals to work the land.
Although it is not an excuse, it clearly put that region of the world at a disadvantage and forced the migration to areas like the fertil Crecent, Asia and Europe where those sources was.
If you read, you will be enlighten. There no agenda here, just understanding mans developement.
Please read it, because its obvious you have not. I know we are use to "sound bits" and your making a conclusion based on a 500 page book.
It is also known that out of 2 million known animal species, only 14 large animals could be used to cultivate the land. Even today in New Guinea, the people plant by hand because they were never introduced to large animals. All they had there and still have are pigs.
Ancient egypt did not have horses until people from the fertile crecent, introduced them horses.
13 of them were from the fertile crecent (EuropeAsia) and the 14th was the llama in South America. That was it. Sinse early man did not completly understand the land as we do today, there was overuse, and as a result you have more of a desert type environment in regions like the middle east and subsahara. This forced migration to more fertile regions. Again over time, Europe became overused and people stricken with disease hince you got the need for colonizing.
If you believe in the concept, "from one comes many" its just a basic understanding of human migration and that everyone is tied to each other. Its not an issue of superiority but an issue of how humans developed given the resources available.
So basically people moved the Europe because the earth was kind to the soil in that region which forced people to migrate there because thats were all the food was.
Approximate dates and locations of first domestication
hmmm. Dont see a single one in Africa except a donkey and of these
who could work large amounts of land. It is clear, that based on your geographical location, people were at a disadvantage.
And you know human nature, when you have control of something others don't have, you monopolize it and your able to discover more advances using them.
Species Date Location
Dog 10000 BC to 150000 BC Asia
Sheep 8000 BC Middle East
Goat 8000 BC Middle East
Pig 8000 BC China
Cow 6000 BC Middle East
Horse 4000 BC Ukraine
Donkey 4000 BC Egypt
Water buffalo 4000 BC China
Honeybee 4000 BC Southern Asia
Chicken 3500 BC Southeast Asia ?
Cat 3500 BC to 7500 BC Egypt or Cyprus
Llama 3500 BC Peru
Silkworm 3000 BC China
Bactrian camel 2500 BC Central Asia
Dromedary (Arabian camel) 2500 BC Arabia
Turkey 100 Mexico
Guinea pig 900 Peru
Rabbit 1500 Europe
Fox 1800s Europe
Mink 1800s Europe
Hamster 1930s United States
Deer 1970s New Zealand
Humans have tamed many thousands of animals that have never been truly domesticated. These include the elephant, giraffes, and bears.
They also had to have:
Flexible diet
Reasonably fast growth rate (thats why the elephant didn't succeed)
Ability to be bred in captivity (most african animals could not)
Pleasant disposition (thats why the buffalo was never used)
Temperament which makes it unlikely to panic(thats why people failed with the zebra)
Modifiable social hierarchy (many animals are individuals)
