Notes on Guns Germs and Steel

Notes.....

• Animal Domestication
• meat, milk, hair and skins used for clothes
• wool
• after the harvest period, animals could eat the leftovers and in turn the dung used for fertilizer
• Goats and sheep were the first domesticated animals
• The Plow
• A horse harnessed to a plow allowed farmers to grow more food
• New Guineans only had pigs, no other animals
• Pigs can't plow
• Only give meat
• only muscle power in New Guinea was humans
• Almost all farm work is done by hand
• Best animals to farm are plant eating animals
• in Africa they never domesticated the elephant
• in Asia they have used elephants as work animals but not domesticated
• domesticated animals must get along with humans
• Every Domesticated animals (over 100 pounds)
• 14 different species
• Goats
• Sheep
• Pigs
• Cows
• Horses
• Camels
• Camels (2)
• Donkeys
• Water Buffalo
• Llamas
• Reindeer
• Yaks
• Mithan
• Valley Cattle
• None of these animals came from Australia or New Guinea
• Middle East was home to some of the best animals, Pigs, Sheept, Goats, Cattle
• The reason why they advaced was because they had good crops and animals
• The Fertile Crescent
• people were geographically blessed
• sowing of wheat and having goats lead to first civilization
• Freed from farming, people were able to learn new things
• making plaster
• understanding how to work with fire
• first steps to making steel