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Eurasia and the Americas

Eurasia and the Americas. 1492. Food Production. Eurasia . Americas. 1 Large Mammal Species Domesticated birds and small animals Paucity of domesticable plants and animals Large areas for hunter-gatherers. 13 Large Mammal Species Domesticated birds and small animals

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Eurasia and the Americas

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  1. Eurasia and the Americas 1492

  2. Food Production Eurasia Americas 1 Large Mammal Species Domesticated birds and small animals Paucity of domesticable plants and animals Large areas for hunter-gatherers • 13 Large Mammal Species • Domesticated birds and small animals • Agriculture + herding • Few areas for hunter-gatherers

  3. Major Disadvantages for Americas relative to Eurasia • Widespread dependence on protein-poor corn instead of Eurasia’s diverse protein-rich cereals • Hand-planting of individual seeds (vs. broadcast sowing) • Tilling by hand instead of plowing by animals • Lack of animal manuringto increase soil fertility • Human muscle vs. animal power for tasks like threshing, grinding, and irrigation.

  4. Differences in Disease Infections diseases of Eurasia: smallpox, measles, influenza, plague, tuberculosis, typhus, cholera, malaria, and others—the worlds most lethal disease. Native Americans had nonsyphilitictreponemas and some think syphilis, but probably not. The difference is due to differences in useful livestock. Most microbes responsible for the infectious diseases of crowded human societies evolved from very similar ancestral microbes causing infectious diseases of the domestic animals with which they had close contact.

  5. Technology Metals Military Technology Sources of Power Wheels Sea Transport

  6. Political Organization • Eurasian Empires: Habsburg, Ottoman, Mogul, Mongol • American Empires: Aztec, Inca • Large Eurasian States: Spain, Portugal, England, France, Holland, Sweden, Denmark • Writing and Literacy

  7. Why Did Major Developments Occur Later in the Americas? • Later start. • More limited suite of wild animals and plants available for domestication. • Greater Barriers to Diffusion. • Possibly smaller or more isolated areas of dense human populations in the Americas than in Eurasia.

  8. The Eurasian Head Start Diffusion? Adaptation? Food Domestication? Geography? Trade?

  9. Conclusion:Contact & Collisions The first documented attempt to colonize the Americas was by the Norse at Arctic and sub-Arctic latitudes. The Norse colonies failed because . . . The second attempt to colonize the Americas succeeded because . . .

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