Discussion In the absence of written historical sources, we often turn to science in the form of genetics and archeology. How reliable do you think that this is? Should historians rely on science when interpreting history? Why or why not? How and why do you think different races originated? How and why do you think different languages originated? How and why do you think different religions originated? Do you think that all people had common ancestry? If so, why do you think we have evolved into such diverse groups.

Watch Selection from “The Real Eve” Consider these questions: 1. Is this type of research valuable to historians? Is it valuable to anyone? 2. Does this challenge beliefs or ideas that many of us might hold? How and why?

Impressions? Discuss response to the film clip: Is this type of research valuable to historians? Is it valuable to anyone? Does this challenge beliefs or ideas that many of us might hold? How and why?

Yali’s Question “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” (Diamond 1999)

The Variables for civilization Crops Animals Germs Technology Geography

Crops How did different crops spread and where were they most effective? Wheat: Cultivated by the earliest Neolithic farmers in the hills and valleys of Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq over 13,000 years ago. Easy to farm from wild form. Corn's wild ancestor, teosinte, is native to southern Mexico. The crop spread up the western coast to northern America, and penetrated the jungles of Panama and Colombia. NOT easy to farm from wild form. Rice is believed to have been domesticated nearly ten thousand years ago in China. Related to wheat and other wild-growing cereal grasses, the plant grows to around four feet and thrives in submerged land in the coastal plains, tidal deltas and river basins of tropical, semitropical, and temperate parts of the world. The need for organized, reliable irrigation in the cultivation of rice may have influenced the political destiny of Asian cultures

Animals Areas with domesticable animals thrived while those with less useful animals lagged behind Cow: Domesticated 8000 years ago. Great impact on Agriculture Horse: Domesticated in Asia 5000 years ago. Used for transportation of people and goods and a huge asset for the military. Sheep and goats: 7domesticated,7000 years Sheep farmed primarily for their thick, versatile wool. Pigs: Domesticated 7000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and in China. The pig is perhaps the easiest farmyard animal to look after. Llamas and Alpacas-5000 years ago. The only large mammals ever domesticated within the Ancient Americas, When aggravated, over-burdened or other-wise annoyed, they tend to hiss, spit, kick, and refuse to move, often lying down in protest. Zebras-Never domesticated. Difficult to catch, aggressive. Rhino- Never domesticated. Over four tons, strong and aggressive. Hippo. Never domesticated. Aggressive, large, and territorial. Wildebeest: Large, difficult to catch, and aggressive.

Germs Why did some people survive outbreaks of germs and not others? Smallpox: 20 million native Americans may have died in the years following the European invasion – up to 95% of the population of the Americas. This was a simple product of the fact that Europeans had an immunity to this disease that the Native Americans lacked. Malaria evolved in tropical climates, and the peoples of these climates evolved ways of living that helped to combat this disease(small communities in high, dry areas). When Europeans came, they altered this evolved way of life, thus causing epidemics of malaria to re-erupt. This disease is a major factor in many modern struggles on the continent of Africa.

Technology Why did some civilizations evolve faster than others? Steel-This required the appropriate natural resources, but also continuous heat(fire) over several days to smelt, forge, and work metal. Writing-Maya, Chinese, and Sumerians are first civilizations that developed writing. In each of these three cases, writing evolved as a useful by-product of a complex, economically specialized, politically- stratified society, built on agricultural surplus.

Geography For some civilizations their location was the key to their success or downfall. Latitude-Species travel well on the same latitude lines, but not crossing into new latitude zones. Continent shape-Because of this latitude barrier, continents that stretch north to south(Africa and South America) have certain disadvantages to those who stretch east to west (Europe and Asia).

Your Turn To Evaluate a Region Based on Diamond’s Variables. In pairs, you will use the evaluation sheet provided by Mr. Reid to assess your region based on the variables outlined in Diamond’s book. In the computer lab, you will access the following website to find information on your region: