Guns Germs and Steel

Name:_____________________________________________ Date:_____________________

Viewing Guide:  Guns, Germs, and Steel: Episode 1

Directions: Before viewing the film, read each question below so you know what information and ideas you should be looking for as you watch Episode 1. Record your answers to each question by providing as many facts, details, and examples as possible to answer each question.

1.    According to Jared Diamond, what are the three major elements that separate the world’s  “haves” from the “have nots”?

Guns, Germs, and Steel.

2.    Jared Diamond refers to the people of New Guinea as “among the world’s most culturally diverse and adaptable people in the world”, yet they have much less than modern Americans.Diamond has developed a theory about what has caused these huge discrepancies among different countries, and he says it boils down to geographic luck. Give several examples from the film to support Diamond’s theory.  

One example to support this theory is the food sources grown and produced in different area of the world. In America, we have grown and produced crops that are “more nutritious and productive,” this sustainable food source has allowed for America to grow and flourish more so than a country which only grows crops like taro and bananas. Another example is the different animals that exist in different places all over the world. Some continents are lucky and are blessed with many animals that they can domesticate and use to their benefit (Asia, Europe, Northern Africa), whilst other continents are not as lucky and don’t have these animals. Another example is, in New Guinea, metal tools were not able to be created because there wasn’t enough food being produced in order to feed the metal workers. The New Guineans spent too long worrying about their food sources and crops instead of advancing technologically like other areas of the world.

3.    For thousands of years, people have been cultivating crops. Describe the process used to domesticate crops and create plants that yielded bigger, tastier harvests. 

The people began to select the crops that were the biggest and best for their needs and rewarding them and not the crops that weren’t as good. Due to artificial selection this led to the better crops to become more plentiful than the poorer crops.

4. According to Diamond, livestock also plays a significant role in a civilization’s ability to 

 become rich and powerful. How did the domestication of animals help people? Give several examples.

One example of how the domestication of animals helped people is, the animals provided a year-round meat supply that you didn’t have to hunt for. Also, animals’ milk could be used as a protein source, and their fur can be used to create clothing for warmth. Another example is, the domestication of animals helped for more crops to be collected quickly because the animals could be used on plows to help this process go faster than collecting crops one by one. 

5. List the animals that can be domesticated and where they can be found. 

Goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys, camels, water buffalo, llamas, reindeer, yaks, mithans, and bali cattle. Llamas can be found in South America, the other animals can all be found in Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Cows, sheep, pigs, and Goats are found specifically in the Middle East.

6. Looking at the list of animals and locations from question 5, discuss how Diamond’s theory about geographic luck applies here.

The areas of the world that were blessed with more animals that could be used to the people’s benefit such as cows pigs, sheep, and goat were able to flourish and grow quickly because they had easy resources that could be used to grow food, get materials for clothing, etc.

7. How did the movement of the early civilizations of the Fertile Crescent (Middle East) further support Diamond’s idea that geography played a key role in the success of a civilization? 

In the fertile crescent, they were blessed geographically which allowed for more materials to be discovered for different uses and new technology to be created, allowing the civilization to advance quickly.

8. Do you agree with Jared Diamond when he says of a civilization's ability to gain power, 

 wealth, and strength, “…what’s far more important is the hand that people have been dealt, the raw materials they’ve had at their disposal.” Why or why not?

Yes, I agree with this statement because, throughout the video there have been many examples that show how the geography and raw materials in an area can benefit people. Whether its areas blessed with plenty of animals made for domestication to be used for food, clothing, etc. or different types of plants that could be found and grown in an area with different nutritional values, it was proven in the video that the areas of the world with more of these resources grew and advanced faster than areas of the world with less crops (ex. The low nutritious values of New Guinea’s crops vs. the many nutrients in American crops).