First Day Blog

Today in human geo we took our quiz on the video Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I studied all last night and in off so i expect to get a good grade. I thought the test was easy . compared to the others.  Some of the information we needed to know was how many types of domesticated animals there were and what ones, what sago was, what Draa was. We had to know about the fertile cresent. Also Jared Diamonds answer to Yali's question. The answer to his question also. It also talked about what three things an advanced civilization has. Which is a large population, an organized work force, and advanced technology. After we finished the test Mr. Schick turned on this video of different pictures that had music.

Today in class we finished watching the documentry by Jared Diamond. New Guineanans agriculture can't generate a food surplus. The Fertile Cresent is not the power house of the modern world. The climate there was too dry and the economy was fragile. Entire communities were forced to move because they could not farm in the fertile cresent. There are 100 million cows in the United States. The answer to Yali's question was geography. The farther you were to the coast in New Guinea, the more advanced they were. The population there is 7 million. Its concentrated in the highlands and the eastern coastal regions.

Today in class we watched more of Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. According to Jared Diamond Americans have had an advantage over New Guineans. Animal Domestication started to occur. People started to control where the animals are moving, how they are breeding, and how they are eating. Goats and sheep were the first animals to be domesticated in ancient times. Before the Industrial Revolution animals were the strongest machines. This allowed more farming to feed more animals. Papua New Guinea never had these animals (no plow). The only muscle power in New Guinea was human power. The 14 domesticated animals are: goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys, bacterium camels, arabian camels, water buffalo, llamas, rain deer yaks, mithans, Bali cattle. None of these animals came from or were located in New Guinea, Australia, sub Saharan Africa, or North America. Llamas came from South America, Middle east had 4, and Asia, North Africa, and Europe had the other 9. The Fertile Cresent

.Today in class we watched Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond. In the Middle Eat there was wheat and barley growing instead of Sago. Food sources set nation to modern civilization. Archeologist have discovered a village that is 11.5 thousand years old. They lived i oval huts. It took them 4 years to discover. They had the worlds first granary. It was the first time people started to bring food back to them. They became the first farmers in the world. People started to control nature. Plant domestication. Some places that developed their own farming are: China-rice, Americas-Corn, squash, beans, Africa-sorghum, millet, yams. The highlands of Papua New Guinea didn't advance in farming. People around the world that had the most productive crops were the most productive farmers. Jared Diamonds conclusion is that it came down to geographic luck.

Today in class we watched more of the video. When the Europeans came to Papua New Guinea the New Guineans thought their cargo represented the white mans power. Such as the record player. The Europeans thought they were geneticly superior to the New Guineans. All great civilizations have these three things: Advanced technology (not iphones and computers), a large population, and a well organized work force (jobs). In Papua New Guinea they have tribes that are still hunter-gatherers. The tribes are deep in the rainforest. They use bow and arrow to hunt. The women cut down trees that had wild sago in them. In the tree pulp. It was an important food source. They turned it into dough and cooked it. It took 4 days to process and could created 70lbs of food.

Today in class we learned about Guns, Germs and Steel written by Jared Diamond. It was published in March 1997. It won the Pulitzer award. A document was made about it for National Geographic. Jared Diamond was a professor at UCLA who has traveled the world. His real passion is the study of birds. He is a biologist who specialized in human physiology. His quest started in Papua New Guinea in the rainforest. This is located on an island and is one of the most remote places in the world. While he was here a Yali asked him "Why you white men have so much....and we New Guineans have so little. When the Europeans came they said power is determined by race. They saw themselves superior- White supremecy.