Preface Questions: (9-11) GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL Jared Diamond 1. What is the prime question motivating 2. According to Diamond, the roots of Diamond s book? What is the obvious western Eurasian dominance in the modern Reason for asking such a question? world lie in the preliterate past before 3,000 B.C. What is Diamond s basic point here about attempting to understand the modern world? 3. Diamond claims that it is impossible to understand even just western Eurasian societies themselves, if one focuses on them. Why? Prologue: Yali s Question (13-32) 1. What are the historic inequalities -the 2. What IS Yali s question, and why was basic split between peoples in World he asking it? How did it inspire Diamond? History that Diamond is analyzing? 3.Explain the significance of the world historical developments in the following time periods: (What are the HUGE changes which are taking place?) a. 1500 A.D. b. 11,000 B.C.
4. On p. 16 Diamond says that the history of INTERACTIONS among disparate peoples is what shaped the modern world through conquest, epidemics, and genocide. a) (the easy part) What s the b) (A bit harder) What might be the NEGATIVE side of interactions? POSITIVE side of interactions? c) Given the significance of interactions, why would World Historians tend to be critical of a course (or book) that focuses upon one country? d) Why would other historians such as historians who focus on America-or historians who focus on China-tend to be critical of World Historians? 5. On p. 18 Diamond says that the most basic elements of their (Western European) civilization were developed by other peoples living elsewhere and were then imported to western Europe. a) What would a guy like Adolph Hitler b) Do you accept the above statement? think of the above? Is it information that you consider useful-or not? c) Do you agree that Westerners continue to accept racist explanations privately or subconsciously. (p. 19) Is Diamond going too far here? Is he too defensive of peoples-or civilizations -that are under-developed? Explain. 6. Do you agree with Diamond when he states that New Guineans (are) on average more intelligent, more alert, more expressive, and more interested in things and people around them than the average European or American is. (p. 20) Explain.
7. None of the crucial developments preceding political centralization were associated with river valleys or with complex irrigation systems. (p. 23) What does this (perhaps) suggest about government, and what did it permit? 8. Yet the roots of inequality in the modern world lie far back in prehistory. (p. 24). a) Why? (according to Diamond) b) What kind of inequalities is Diamond speaking of here? 9. History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among people s environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves. (p. 25) a) Here Diamond is privileging the environment as a causal agent. What does this mean? b) What else might one focus upon as a causal agent other than the environment?
Chapter 1: Up to the Starting Line 1.a)According to the map on p. 37, where and when did human beings begin? b)where were the last 3 regions that human beings migrated to and when? c)given the regions where the rich and poor live in the world today, what might be paradoxical about where the richest regions on the planet ended up developing? d)why does Diamond refer to Eurasia as a continent, as opposed to Europe and Asia as two separate continents? (p. 37) e) According to Diamond, Neanderthals still rank as less than fully human. (p. 39). Why? f) Diamond speaks of the Great Leap Forward of the Cro-Magnon. Give as many specific examples of this leap that you can find on pages 39-41. 2.a) Why was it so difficult-throughout World History-to reach Australia/New Guinea? (p. 41) Why will this be significant? b)what happened to Australia s large animals? Why will this be significant? (p. 44)
c)what seems to have been responsible for the near-simultaneous disappearance of so many large animal species on the planet? (p. 42) d)why did so many big animals of Africa and Eurasia seem to survive into modern times? (p. 43) 3. a) What were the last two continents b) What is meant by Clovis Settled by humans and why? (p. 44) sites, and where are they? (p. 45) c)what happened to most large wild mammal species in the Americas? (p. 47) Why will this be significant in World History? 4. Diamond poses this question on p. 50: What significance, if any, do the continents differing dates of settlement have for subsequent history? (in other words, would any advantage go to the places that had a head start?) a)do you think that an observer, transported back in time to 11,000 B.C. have predicted on which continent human societies would develop most quickly? Why/Why not? b)which continent WOULD, in fact, develop the most quickly in World History?
Chapter 4: FARMER POWER 1. Food production was indirectly a prerequisite for the development of guns, germs, and steel. (p. 86) This statement on p. 86 is really what Diamond means by Farmer Power specifically meaning at the expense of non-farming nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples. Use pages 85-92 to bullet-point very specific ADVANTAGES that farming cultures would have over non-farming cultures: Which of the above do you take to be the MOST SIGNIFICANT advantage and why? EXPLAIN.
Chapter 6: TO FARM OR NOT TO FARM 1. There was often not even a conscious choice between food production and hunting-gathering. (p. 105) food production systems evolved as a result of the accumulation of many separate decisions about allocating time and effort. (p. 107) a) Make use of pages 104-113 to find evidence of Diamond s stipulation (as expressed in the above quotes) that the development of food production was neither a discovery nor an invention. b) If those first farmers could have foreseen the consequences of adopting food production, they might NOT have opted to do so. (p. 105) 1) What WERE the consequences of food production? 2) Why, unable to see the result, DID so many nevertheless make that choice?
Chapter 10: SPACIOUS SKIES AND TILTED AXES 1. Food production s SPREAD proves (to be) crucial to understanding geographic differences in the rise of guns, germs, and steel (p. 176) According to Diamond, why DID food production spread to some places and not to others? How will this be significant? 2. What was it about the Americans and Africans that made the spread of food production more difficult than in Eurasia? (p. 180) How does Diamond answer his own question? (above) 3. Pages 184 and 185 are 2 of the most significant pages in this book. What is Diamond saying here about the significance of a) seasonal changes? b) people who might live close to the equator? c) the West-East axis of Eurasia? d) the Romans? e) globalization the diffusion of stuff, and EXCHANGES back and forth across this axis? (also refer to the bottom of p. 190 and top of 191)
GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL (the movie refer to introductory letter information for accessing the Guns, Germs, and Steel Video) Jared Diamond is wondering: How did the world become so unequal or What separates the haves from the have-nots?...and Why have some societies progressed faster than others?...or What are the roots of inequality? A New Guinean named Yali phrases it this way: (Yali s question) 1.Do you consider yourself to live among the haves or the have-nots? Why? 2.Give 2 reasons why YOU believe that the Western world came to challenge the dominance of the Eastern world? (and even pass it up for a time) Out of Eden 1.Explain each of the following concerning NEW GUINEAU: a) Why was (and is) it a good place to study the roots of humanity? b) What are some of the characteristics of great civilizations which it was missing? c) How had they had a head start on the people living in the Americas? d) What is Diamond s view concerning the intelligence of the peoples of New Guineau?
2. Explain each of the following concerning THE MIDDLE EAST: a) In what ways was the landscape different 13,000 years ago? b) How were the people surviving (or thriving) at that time? 3. Explain each of the following concerning HUNTING AND GATHERING: a) What are some problems associated with hunting? b) How was gathering significant? Who did MOST of the gathering? What are some problems with gathering? 4. Then, about 11 and 1/12 thousand years ago, a new way of life would come into being and that would change the face of the earth. Explain a) in what sense people were putting down roots : b) the purpse of the unique u-shaped structure : c) what people were doing to the crops without realizing it? (accidentally): d) in what ways this was a decisive turning point in World History?
5. Different Places/Different Crops Name the principle crops which were developed in each of the following places: a. The Middle East? b. China? c. The Americas? d. Africa? e. Because of the development of these crops, what followed (or happened) in each of the above regions? 6. A large, advanced civilization did NOT HAPPEN in New Guinea, however, according to Diamond, what was the problem (in New Guinea) with regard to a) tarot roots? b) bananas? c) the kind of animals that they could control (domesticate) 7. Explain in this context what a)were the most powerful machines on the planet? b)the remarkable combination was between plants and animals? c)the muscle power was for New Guineans? d)the disadvantage would be of domesticating animals that would be meat eaters? e)the problem is with domesticating elephants and zebras? f)the spot is in the world where most domesticable animals have lived?