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In the book Guns, Germs, and Steel, written by Jared Diamond, the author discusses the factors that he believes helped certain civilizations succeed. Diamond believes that certain factors allowed European civilizations to develop faster than others. Among these factors were their geography, location along an East and West axis, and ability to domesticate plants and animals and build up immunity to certain diseases over time.
Jared Diamond begins the book by asserting that if scientists could travel back in time, they might not be able to predict on which continent human societies would develop most quickly (Diamond, 1999, p. 52). However, they could make a strong case for any of the continents (Diamond, 1999, p. 52). For civilization to evolve from a society of hunter-gatherers to a sedentary agricultural society, Jared Diamond believes that one of the major factors was geography. The author believes that each human civilization was formed in its own specific natural-geographical and ethno-civilizational environment. This influenced the formation of its unique features, which at the same time were diluted by obligatory external borrowings necessary for successful international competition.
One of the first regions that would become an area to grow to produce without the assistance of humanity came from an area of Southwest Asia called the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent region is located within 35 degrees of the equator, which allows it easily support agriculture. Because of the physical characteristics of this latitude, mild, wet winters, and warm to hot, dry summers, this area had a geographical advantage to support the development of one of the first civilizations.
Most scientists believe that the earliest signs of civilization can be traced back to the Fertile Crescent area due to the Mediterranean Climate that can easily support agriculture. Not only can a civilizations geographical location determine how food production can develop, but it can also affect the directional destination of human diffusion. It is important to remember that the geographical factor involves not only location but also climate, soil quality, fertility, population density, and several other concepts. As it is known, the environment influences labor, thinking patterns, human morality, and every aspect of human activity. However, the emergence of early civilizations undoubtedly could not be due to geographical factors alone.
Indeed, the location in comfortable climatic conditions contributes to the more rapid development of agricultural enterprises. Jared Diamond believes that geography has played an enormous role in how and why more civilizations grew from regions in the same geographical latitude as the Fertile Crescent. The author introduces how difficult it is for plants and animals to migrate and survive moving on a North and South axis compared to traveling on an East and West axis. The difficulty for an organism to defuse is closely tied to the climate they are accustomed to. Animal and plant location was more prone to support movement east and west because of the common climate. Diamond writes that geographic differences in local wild plant and animal suites explain why only some areas became independent centers of food production and why in some of these areas, it emerged earlier than in others (Diamond, 1999, p. 29). Still, favorable natural resources are an important factor in economic growth, but not the primary one.
Having the same latitude means that two different areas will receive the same amount of sunlight at the same latitude. The farther north or south, the less sunlight they receive, so it gets colder, which hinders growth and sustainability. The more comfortable the climate in a particular area, the easier it is for plants and animals to reproduce. Diamond writes that Fertile Crescent domesticates spread west and east so rapidly because «they were already adapted to the climates of the regions to which they were spreading (Diamond, 1999, p. 185). At first, domesticated animals did suffer from a lack of immunity to the germs, but they were able to develop immunity over generations, thereby becoming more genetically evolved. Diamond sees the countrys geographic latitude as an important factor in its future development. Nevertheless, without an organization of skilled labor and high technology, it is not easy to produce efficient results. Still, it is fair that a favorable location in the early stages of civilization contributes to rapid economic growth.
The author believes that continental differences in the orientation of the axes influenced the spread of food production and other technologies and inventions. The East-West axis contributed to the displacement of humanity, which led to the latest advances in technology. This explains why European civilizations developed more rapidly than those located north or south of the Mediterranean climate zones. There were no problems in Eurasia with the transfer of information and goods, which was typical, for example, of island states. In the north and south, there were too many different factors that slowed down the movement process.
Another aspect that, according to Gerard Diamond, gave European civilizations an advantage was their ability to domesticate plants and animals. The abundance of domesticated plants and animals allowed them to create the surplus food needed for early population growth. Of all the animals that could be domesticated, only five were easily domesticated: the cow, the sheep, the goat, the pig, and the horse. Humanity could finally use animals not only for food but also as implements for plowing fields and transportation.
It is important to remember, however, that the process of agriculture took thousands of years before the first civilizations emerged. Overproduction of food was a necessary condition for the emergence of civilization but not sufficient. The proliferation of civilizations forced people to develop agriculture even more actively so that they would not feel the shortage of food. The surplus of resources for the further development of society contributed to the dominance of Eurasian civilization. It was there that most of the plants and animals suitable for domestication were located. However, it is impossible to explain the complexity of the processes of civilization formation by a single factor, as Diamond warns against.
The increased use of agriculture and the continued domestication of species marked the beginning of a rapid shift in the evolution, ecology, and demography of both humans and numerous animal and plant species. Man-made breeds of domestic animals and varieties of cultivated plants were essential new means of producing food and raw materials for clothing, footwear, and other items. Moreover, the most important consequence of domestication is that it allowed for abandoning the hunter-gatherer way of life and settling down, giving growth to urban centers.
Gerard Diamonds book is probably one of the first successful examples of an interdisciplinary approach to history. What is worth noting is that Diamond himself is not a historian. Nevertheless, his reflections on the factors in the development of civilizations are quite satisfactory. What Diamond did with his book was to provide the impetus for further analysis of the course of modern human evolution from an interdisciplinary perspective. He set a new benchmark for thinking about the evolutionary process of human civilization, which immediately led to both criticism and subsequent additions to his reasoning. For example, in the 2003 edition, Diamond discusses why China, which managed to unite in the early annals of time, never became the dominant force on the planet. His reasoning remains within the framework of the theory he created but is supplemented by discoveries and factors not previously accounted for.
I agree with Gerard Diamonds assessment of why certain civilizations were predestined to survive. When civilizations were trying to succeed, geography did play an important role in why certain civilizations were predestined to succeed. Life in those times might not have been easy, and being able to grow crops ensured survival. I also agree that because of the equal amount of sunlight during the day, it was easier for humanity, plants, and animals to spread along the east-west axis. Since the predominant axis of Eurasia is east-west, European civilizations were predestined to surpass civilizations that depended on northern and southern settlement. Geography gave Europeans the most productive crops and animals on the planet. According to Gerard Diamond, it enabled them to develop weapons, germs, and steel, the three great forces of conquest that have shaped human history.
Reference
Diamond, M. J. (1999). Guns, germs, and steel: The fates of human societies. W. W. Norton & Company.
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