Why did the Old World discover the New World and not vice-versa? Jared Diamond argued in Guns, Germs, and Steel that the ultimate cause of the asymmetry evident in the 1492 encounter was the orientation of the axes of the geological continents or worlds. Whereas Africa and the Americas are vertically aligned, the orientation of the Eurasian axis is horizontal. Because innovations (particularly innovations in food production) diffuse faster along longitude than latitude, this was a decisive conditioner. In particular, this meant that the most decisive advance in prehistory — the rise of sedentarism and food production — made a staggered appearance across the continents. Specifically, the arrival of the Neolithic transition was significantly later in the vertical worlds of Africa and the Americas than in the horizontal world of Eurasia.
Testing the Diamond Hypothesis
Testing the Diamond Hypothesis
Testing the Diamond Hypothesis
Why did the Old World discover the New World and not vice-versa? Jared Diamond argued in Guns, Germs, and Steel that the ultimate cause of the asymmetry evident in the 1492 encounter was the orientation of the axes of the geological continents or worlds. Whereas Africa and the Americas are vertically aligned, the orientation of the Eurasian axis is horizontal. Because innovations (particularly innovations in food production) diffuse faster along longitude than latitude, this was a decisive conditioner. In particular, this meant that the most decisive advance in prehistory — the rise of sedentarism and food production — made a staggered appearance across the continents. Specifically, the arrival of the Neolithic transition was significantly later in the vertical worlds of Africa and the Americas than in the horizontal world of Eurasia.