Guns Germs and Steel free essay sample

Guns, Germs, And Steel Author: Jared Diamond 1. Write a short half a page biography of the author; include information about his areas of research, books written, and prizes awarded. Jared Mason Diamond was born on 10 September 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned an A. B degree from Harvard University in 1958 and a Ph. D. in physiology from Cambridge University in 1961. Diamond was a Junior Fellow at Harvard from 1962 to 1966, at which point he became a professor of physiology at the UCLA Medical School. By 1997 he had transferred to the UCLA Department of Geography, where he has centered biogeography and human society. Jared field experiences include twenty-two trips to New Guinea and neighboring islands to study ecology and evolution of birds. He has rediscovered of New Guineas long-lost golden fronted bowerbird; and other field projects in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. As a environmentalist he arranged an absolute plan, almost all of which was forced for Indonesian New Guineas national park system. We will write a custom essay sample on Guns Germs and Steel or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jared was also taking on a lot of projects for the Indonesian government World wildfire fund. He is a founding member of the board of the Society of Conservation Biology and a member of the board of directors of World Wildlife Fun. Jared Diamond has won numerous prizes for his work. Some of Diamonds awards are he National Medal of Science, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Japans Cosmos Prize, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship and the Lewis Thomas Prize honoring the Scientist as Poet, presented by Rockefeller University. 2. Preface: The author suggests that the roots of western Eurasian dominance in the modern world lie in what? Why has he chosen to write this book in this style and manner? The author suggests the roots of Western Eurasian dominance in the modern world lie in the preliterate past before 3,000 B. C. The dominance of western Eurasian societies themselves and of the societies that they create on other countries. In the modern world they lie in capitalism, mercantilism, scientific inquiry, technology, and nasty germs that killed peoples when they came in contact with the Western Eurasians. Diamond chose to write this book in this style and manner to provide in depth view of history over the past 13,000 years about everybody. He sets out to answer the question motivating this book which is â€Å"Why did history unfold differently on different continents†. 3. Prologue: According to the author, why did humans’ development proceed at different rates on different continents? What is his personal view on civilized and progressive societies versus hunter-gathers societies? The human’s development proceeded at different rates on different continents for many reasons. The main reason is geographical areas. For example in New Guinea there are not a lot of crops you can plant. One of their main resources is a tree that they have to cut down versus the resources available in North America, where there are lots of crops (ie. , wheat corn and cotton). This alone gives North America huge advantage over New Guinea. His personal view on civilized and progressive societies versus hunter-gathers societies is that he does not think that civilized progressive societies are preferable than hunter gathers. The civilized societies’ have longer life spams and medical care however the hunter gathers have shorter life spam and a higher risk of death. But the civilized have not much extended families and friends. 4. Chapter 1: What was the great leap forward? Describe the life of a Cro-Magnon person. What impact did the arrival of humans have on big animals? Provide an example. Which continent had a head start in 11,000 BCE (Before Common Era= BC). Why? The Great leap forward consists of the firs proven Major extension of human geographic range since our ancestor’s establishment Eurasia. The great leap forward was about 50,000 years ago. The start of the great leap forward was in East Africa sites with stone tools and jewelry. The great leap forward accompany with a key extension of the range of humans to Australia and New Guinea from 40,000 to 30,000 years ago. Then there were similar events to appear near East and in southern Western Europe. In southern Western Europe is where full of modern skeletons of people who are called Cro-Magnon. The Cro-Magnon had lots of tools and weapons that were found at the sites. Some tools that were found were fishhooks, needles, awls, and engraving tools. The Cro-Magnon had also weapons which were harpoons, spear-throwing, bow and arrows, and the parts of modern weapons. At the sites there were still remains of their houses and sewn clothing can tell us that they survived cold climates. The remains of jewelry and carefully buried skeletons also tell us they had spiritual developments. The Cro-Magnon is best known for their art work such as: cave paintings, statues, and musical instruments. The arrival of humans made a big change for the animals. Most of the animals became extinct because of the humans. The humans killed the animals for food, clothes, and martieal needs. There were at least 10 million hunter gathers so we can imagine how much animals were killed . There was no continent ahead of each other in 11,000 BCE. 11,000 BCE is just before agriculture was discovered. But Continents could have little advantages before agriculture (ie. Africa was ahead because it had been populated with people for longer than any other continent. But the point is that all the continents were equal in 11,000 BCE. It was the growth of agriculture that made the Continents start to depart in following years. 5. Chapter 2: Explain the differences between the Moriori and the Maori. Who conquered whom and why? What lessons can be learned by the pattern of dispersion of the Polynesians? The Moriori were a small confine population that was hunter-Gathers. They were assembled with the simplest technology and weapons; also they were inexperienced at war. They had a weak leadership and organization. However the Maori attackers were from a thick population of farmers chronically engaged in ferocious wars, more advanced technology and weapons, and a good leadership. When the two societies came into contact there was no doubt that the Maori destroyed the Moriori. The Maori conquered the Moriori because they were the warriors, they were ready for fighting. The Moriori were not fighters they wanted to solve all the problems thru communication. The Maori had better weapons and leadership. The Moriori did not have good weapons and had a lack in leadership. Just by that we can tell that the Maori had a better chance of conquering. The lessons that can be learned by yhe pattern of dispersion of the Polynesians are The lesson that Diamond is trying to teach us through the example of the Polynesians is that the physical environment where a group of people settles determines what sort of society they create. He uses the Polynesians to show this because they were one ethnic group with one culture that spread to many different islands with many different physical environments. After the Polynesians dispersed, they developed many different kinds of cultures depending on the physical characteristics of the places where they settled. These ranged from small bands of hunter-gatherers to relatively large chiefdoms like Hawaii or Tonga. 6. Chapter 3: Write a paragraph explain your views on the event of November 16,1532, What strikes you the most about this event? Why did pizarro succeed? 7. Chapter 4: Write a paragraph explains the chart. Do you agree with the author’s conclusion? What advantages are gained by being the first to domesticate animals? The chart is trying to explain to us how the Europeans got possession of Guns, Germs, and Steel and other nearby causes that helped them defeat other oppents (ie,. Incas). In the chart we can see that the Europeans had horses, guns, ships, political organization, and epidemic diseases. But like Diamond says â€Å"we have to understand why the Europeans had these things while the Incas and others did not. † That’s the purpose of the chart because how did the Europeans get a hold of that stuff and the Incas did not. The chart also shows that the Europeans had epidemic diseases because of all the plant and animal species they equipped because because of things like the east-west axis of Eurasia and the consequent ease of species spreading. I do agree with the authors conclusion because it makes sense about how it got there. There’s a lot of advantages to be the first domesticate animals. You were the first to have livestock for a lot of people. It gave you the major source of protein, replacing the wild game. They had the first source of milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt. 8. Chapter 8: Why was the Fertile Crescent predisposed to have such a potent head start in so many areas of development: writing, cities, and empires? What reasons does the author give for cannibalism in New Guinea? The Fertile Crescent predisposed to have a good head start in so many areas of development because there was five advantages. The first one was that western Eurasia has by far the world’s largest zone of Mediterranean climate. As a result, it has a high diversity of wild plant and animal species, higher than in the comparatively tiny Mediterranean zones of southwestern Australia and Chile. The second advantage was that among Mediterranean zones, western Eurasia’s experience the greatest climatic variation from season to season and year to year. The third advantage was is that it provides a wide range of altitudes and topographies within a short distance, ensuring a corresponding variety of environments, hence a high diversity of the wild plants serving as potential ancestors of crops. The Fertile Crescent’s biological diversity over small distances contributed to a fourth advantage—its wealth in ancestors not only of valuable crops but also of domesticated big mammals. A final advantage of early food production in the Fertile Crescent is that it may have faced less competition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle than that in some other areas, including the western Mediterranean. A reason that the author gives for cannibalism in New Guinea is because of protein starvation. 9. Chapter 9: Identify and define the Ancient Fourteen. What is domestication? Which animals most helped Eurasians? The Ancient Fourteen: 1. Sheep Wild ancestor: the Asiatic mouflon sheep of West and Central Asia. Now World wide 2. Goat. Wild ancestor: the bezoar goat of West Asia. Now worldwide. 3. Cow, alias ox or cattle. Wild ancestor: the now extinct aurochs, formerly distributed over Eurasia and North Africa. Now worldwide. 4. Pig. Wild ancestor: The wild boar, distributed over Eurasia and North Africa. Now world wide. Actually an omnivore (regularly eats both animal and plant food), whereas the other 13 of the Ancient Fourteen are more strictly herbivores. 5. Horse. Wild ancestor: now extinct wild horses of southern Russia; a different subspecies of the same species survived in the wild to modern times as Przewalski’s horse of Mongolia. Now worldwide. Minor 9 6. Arabian (one-humped) camel. Wild ancestor: now extinct, formerly lived in Arabia and adjacent areas. Still largely restricted to Arabia and northern Africa, though feral in Australia. 7. Bactrian (two-humped) camel: Wild ancestor: now extinct, lived in Central Asia. Still largely confined to Central Asia. 8. Llama and alpaca. These appear to be well-differentiated breeds of the same species, rather than different species. Wild ancestor: the guanaco of the Andes. Still largely confined to the Andes, although some are bred as pack animals in North America. 9. Donkey. Wild ancestor: The African wild ass of North Africa and formerly perhaps the adjacent area of Southwest Asia. Originally confined as a domestic animal to North Africa and Western Eurasia, more recently also used elsewhere. 10. Reindeer. Wild ancestor: the reindeer of northern Eurasia. Still largely confined as a domestic animal to that area, though now some are also used in Alaska. 11. Water buffalo. Wild ancestor lives in Southeast Asia. Still used as a domestic animal mainly in that area, though many are also used in Brazil and others have escaped to the wild in Australia and other places. 12. Yak. Wild ancestor: the wild yak of the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau. Still confined as a domestic animal to that area. 13. Bali cattle. Wild ancestor: The banteng (a relative of the aurochs) of Southeast Asia. Still confined as a domestic animal to that area. 14. Mithan. Wild ancestor: the gaur (another relative of the aurochs) of Indian and Burma. Still confined as a domestic animal to that area. Domestication is to covert a plant or animal to a household use or in other words for it to be tame. The animals that most helped the Eurasians are the sheep, goat, cow, pig, and horse, the major five of the ancient fourteen.