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”?

Germs, Guns, 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.

. Because of the more food opportunities in other places like farming people have come less reliant in hunting and gathering and this helped them be more technologically advanced while the people of New Guinea were still hunting and gathering
. These people were not blessed with the good land to grow anything so while other countries were developing in other ways these people were still keeping their old ways because they knew nothing else.

 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.

By domesticating crops, they mean that people do things to try and get this crop to grow to it's full potential and taste the best. Some of the ways they do this is planting and harvesting at certain times, and choosing only the biggest tastiest, easiest to harvest, and selecting certain plants that will be better.

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.

Some of the ways domesticating animals helped them is they could use these animals for meat or even milk. This can also provide other resources such as skins for clothing, using the animal for transportation or warfare.

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

All the animals were found in South America, Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Some of the animals included goats, sheep, pigs, cows, horses, and donkeys.

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

 These type of animals led to greater productivity, and helped them through tough times whether it was from clothing, or extra food.

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?

 The Fertile Crescent had a dry climate and a fragile environment. This played a big role because this land helped them support their crops and animals, without this land they may have all died out. Even though they overused this land and had to move, without it they all could have died.

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?

I believe this because it depends how much a country or place can develop based off he materials they have. If a place doesn't hav good farm land they are going to have to keep hunting and gathering and would never advance like the other country with good farm land can. They will always stay the same and keep their old ways because they don't know how to advance.