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