Transcript The Major Works of Jared Diamond

The Major Works of
Jared Diamond
A Sustainable Agriculture
Book Review
By Cortney Barackman
Jared Diamond
Works Reviewed
 Guns, Germs and Steel:
The Fates of Human Societies
 Collapse:
How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
 Ants, Crops and History
 The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race
What is Guns, Germs and
Steel all about?
 An examination of human history for the
past 13,000 years.
 History of agriculture
 Why has the history of Eurasians
proved to be so different from the
history of other peoples?
Why Eurasia???
 Diamond contends the answer is largely
environmental.
 11,000 BC -people on all continents
were equal
 The ultimate differences which
emerged… guns, germs and steel
11,000 BC- The Agricultural Revolution
Hunter/Gatherers
vs.
Farmers
 Healthier diet
 More food available
 More diversified diet
 Higher population
 Egalitarian social
structure
density
 Hierarchical social
structure
 More disease
Factors for Domestication
Plants
 Edible wild ancestors
 High yields
 Ease of growing
 Quick growth/ harvest
 Easy storage
 Self-Pollinating
 Wild ancestors require little
genetic change
&
Animals
 Late-Pleistocene Extinctions
 Anna Karenina Principle
 Diet
 Growth Rate
 Problems of Captive
Breeding
 Nasty Disposition
 Tendency to Panic
 Social Structure
Continental Axes & Diffusion
 Day-Length is crucial factor for plants
 Day-Length is determined by latitude
 Crop diffusion is easier/ quicker laterally
 Eurasia is on east- west axis
 Africa & Americas on north-south axis
 Ergo: Rapid crop diffusion across
Eurasia
Conclusions:
Guns, Germs and Steel
 The differences in the histories of the
earth’s people are not due to innate
differences in the people themselves,
but differences in their environments.
What is Collapse all about?
 Uses ecology, biology, archeology, linguistics
to understand history
 Looks towards the future and implications
from past lessons
 Examines the mainly ecological
collapses of past civilizations to
understand our current situation.
Five-Point Framework:
Major Causes of Collapse
 Environmental Damage
 Climate Change
 Hostile Neighbors
 Friendly Trade Partners
 Societal Response to Environmental
Problems
Easter Island
 DEFORESTATION!!
- isolation
- high latitude
- low rainfall
Anasazi
 Deforestation
 Arroyo Cutting
 Water Depletion
 Climate Change
 Internal Trade
Bitterroot Valley, Montana
 Mining
 Deforestation
 Soil Depletion & Quality
 Water Depletion & Quality
Serious
Environmental Problems
Loss of natural
habitats
Fossil Fuel
Depletion
Alien species
(“invasive”)
Loss of wild foods
(especially fish)
Freshwater
Depletion
Atmospheric gasses
Decreased
biodiversity
Ceiling of
photosynthetic
capacity
Human population
growth
Soil Loss
Toxic chemicals
Ecological impact of
humans
PROJECT CONCLUSIONS:
 Guns, Germs and Steel & Collapse
 Both of these books were fascinating
and packed full of valuable information
from the past and for the future.
 MUST READ FOR ALL!!!