mind on my diamonds, Diamond's on my mind
laid back...
previously on Guns, Germs and Steel,
Jared Diamond had me going on the idea that getting a head start on the domestication of local plants and animals was, for early man, the greatest stepping stone towards acquiring the firepower (used loosely, except when referring to guns) to dominate his fellow man. Was it because men of whiter skin (used fairly loosely. i'm not referring to albinos here people *a few chuckles from out of a huge audience* *the professor continues uneffected*) were so much smarter or more blessed by god that they were first to domesticate?
We heard recently that, no, it was just chance that local domesticables (although i've used it profusely, recently, i wouldn't think it's a word) were where they were. At least that's where I left off, about a month ago. Now (to me) it seems that there were many places that had prime resources but didn't swerve from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle until just recently being swept upon by modern society. So, why didn't they farm and herd?
The next chapter is 'To Farm or Not to Farm'
We can all see where this is going. Hang on to your seats, or loved ones if you're so inclined and so chivalrous, this might get exciting.
spiders are so sensitive.
previously on Guns, Germs and Steel,
Jared Diamond had me going on the idea that getting a head start on the domestication of local plants and animals was, for early man, the greatest stepping stone towards acquiring the firepower (used loosely, except when referring to guns) to dominate his fellow man. Was it because men of whiter skin (used fairly loosely. i'm not referring to albinos here people *a few chuckles from out of a huge audience* *the professor continues uneffected*) were so much smarter or more blessed by god that they were first to domesticate?
We heard recently that, no, it was just chance that local domesticables (although i've used it profusely, recently, i wouldn't think it's a word) were where they were. At least that's where I left off, about a month ago. Now (to me) it seems that there were many places that had prime resources but didn't swerve from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle until just recently being swept upon by modern society. So, why didn't they farm and herd?
The next chapter is 'To Farm or Not to Farm'
We can all see where this is going. Hang on to your seats, or loved ones if you're so inclined and so chivalrous, this might get exciting.
spiders are so sensitive.
on a whim, chad was marco @ 11:12 PM
1 $BlogItemCommentCount$:
At 12:45 PM,
ClickNathan said…
Domestic animals, like cows and sheep and whatnot, originally come from the good ol' Fertile Crescent. So they were migrated outward to northern Africa and Europe, where, with relatively no mountains and a lot of grass and fields for them to graze on, allowed people to use them for food, clothing, tools and, most importantly to you, a source of "horsepower."
So with a couple of horses or an ox carrying around the plow, people could really get down with farming.
If you think about South America or most of Africa, it's just not friendly to farming. Too many mountains or thick jungles, and they wouldn't have been able to clear away a jungle like the Europeans could have.
I'm not sure what the situation is with the Indians of North America. Maybe it was just too easy to use the buffalo for a source of everything that why would you need to learn to farm. Plus, they were migratory so that doesn't do well with farming.
I think it's interesting how the South American Indians, Incas, Mayans, Aztecs, etc, had huge civilizations, big cities and pyramids and everything, whereas the North American ones pretty much lived in huts and teepees. Maybe because of the climate here, the Indians of NA would have had to keep moving around to dodge the extremes of winter and summer, but the South Americans realized that it was always going to be super hot so they just said, "Ah, screw it, let's build a big fucking city right here."
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