Jared Diamond – Guns, Germs, and Steel

  1. Where did Diamond’s search for the causes of human inequality begin?
  1. What was “Yali’s Question”?
  1. What was meant by “cargo”?
  1. What has made Diamond think that race does not cause inequality?
  1. What specific civilizations developed at faster rates than most of their global counterparts?
  1. What have most advanced civilizations had in common?
  1. What specifically did Diamond set out to explore because of Yali’s Question?
  1. Why did Diamond have to turn back the clock to pre-history to begin his study?
  1. How did most of the world live 13,000 years ago?
  1. What is the most significant problem with hunting and gathering?
  1. What catastrophic change occurred around 12,000 years ago that changed the face of the earth?
  1. What specifically happened in the Middle East to change the course of human history?
  1. What made this change possible in the face of incredible drought conditions?
  1. What effect did farmers have on the plants around them?
  1. Why were hunters and gatherers at a disadvantage to farmers?
  1. Where else, other than the Middle East, did farming emerge?
  1. Why was agriculture in New Guinea less prosperous than in other areas of the world?
  1. Ultimately, the success of some agricultural civilizations more than others came down to what?
  1. The inequalities of the world are born from what factor?
  1. Why have Americans had an advantage over New Guineans?
  1. What additional change around 9,000 years ago allowed humans to advance even further?
  1. What advantage did domesticated animals give humans?
  1. Why was New Guinea at a huge disadvantage in animal domestication?
  1. What are the best animals to farm? Why?
  1. Why were Africans unable to domesticate zebras despite some ideal characteristics?
  1. How many species of large mammals have been domesticated in 10,000 years of human history?
  1. What region was home to the most species of useful domesticable animals?
  1. What made it possible for some civilizations to begin developing advanced technologies like steel?
  1. How did the Fertile Crescent lose its head start?
  1. Where did the people of the Fertile Crescent go when their environment collapsed? Why?
  1. What civilizations benefited most from the spread of Fertile Crescent technologies?
  1. Why have Diamond’s theories been criticized?
  1. In what ways are humans similar around the world?
  1. What is far more important in shaping human history than humans themselves?
  1. Why then, to answer Yali’s Questions, did white men develop more cargo than New Guineans?