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Mackenzie Foster Ms. Bettye Boone AP World History 22 August 2012 A Brief Human History Although short in comparison, this first part to the book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Societies by Jared Diamond, mentions and goes into somewhat of depth on many of the topics elaborated on throughout the book. In this part much of our existence and beginning is explained. Also some reference to the title is incorporated behind the scenes. In the three chapters that are included in this part, much is mentioned. Therefore the reader is almost forced to keep up with a fast and rigorous pace. The first chapter of this account of history takes us back through time to the very beginning. Much of this chapter is focused around our human history and our possible evolution from chimpanzees. Diamond is able to go into great detail based upon the researched possibilities of our evolving from similarly structured and behaved chimpanzees. He has explained our coming from monkeys into the very early stages of human recognition. Our human history began and took off near 50,000 years ago. The earliest sign of human history is believed to have come from Africa, and then closely followed by East and Southeast Europe about 40,000 years ago. Much question has been has been raised due to the fact that Europe has seemed to have gained a lead in the race to civilization and industrialization. Also the Americas became active with human existence close to 12,000 B.C. The colonization of the Americas is thought to

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have taken the extensive amount of time it did because the travel across a great body of water was required. This is why the early settlement of New Guinea is very controversial among historians. Also majorly discussed throughout this chapter is the extinction of animals. It has now become a topic of agreement. Many historians believe that mass extinction did not occur in relation to the Ice Age. It is now thought to be true that extinction occurred in direct relation with human settlement. It is a belief that extinction may have had to due primarily with the hunting habits and the modification of the habitats in a specific area of the colonizers. The first indication to any information pertaining to the title is seen in chapter two. The mention of guns, germs, and steel imply a sense of conquer when read in the title. After thoroughly reading this book you could say that you have conquered the knowledge inside of the book, but the title is chosen to imply that there has been much conquer through time. In chapter two there is a reference to steel, of the tree containing three branches: guns, germs, and steel. This reference is seen through the noting of resources provided by the environment and the fact that human kind depends on the resources they can acquire from their environment. From the quote on page fifty-seven: The outcome clearly illustrates how environments can affect economy, technology, political organization, and fighting skills within a short time. You can infer that Diamond believes fully that the environment you are surrounded by has major impacts on your activities and lifestyle. By the fact that the environment and the area you are surrounded by is mention several times, you are able to conclude that your environment is an important part of your lifestyle. Our environments limit food and animal production and also help or hurt the chances for innovation and potential for political power. In addition to the brief explanation of steel, chapter three helps to introduce the guns and germs aspect of the title. Guns help to symbolize the technologies you have acquired and the

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advantages that those technologies give you. A powerful example is given when Diamond includes the takeover of the Incas by the Spaniards. Although extremely outnumbered, the Spaniards were able to conquer the Incas empire due to their superior technologies. These technologies were primarily guns and domesticated horses for quick transportation. The last piece of the puzzle is the incorporation of germs. Stated directly in the text, Smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, bubonic plague, and other infectious diseases endemic in Europe played a decisive role in European conquests, by decimation many people on other continents. With Diamonds statement we are able to conclude that not only did superior technology help to give Europeans an upper hand, so did the diseases that roamed their daily lives that they had become immune to. Also a contributing factor in the demise of the Incas was the introduction to European diseases. The Incas were not able to become immune to these sometimes lethal diseases and had to way of threatening these acquired diseases which therefore meant that the Incas were put down in numbers and technologies, almost ensuring a successful Spanish conquer. In conclusion, I would like to give a very brief summary of the extreme amount of information I have presented. In this first part of this book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Society, we are able to not only have a brief, but solid, background of our world, we are also given our first glimpse into the meaning of the title of this book. This first part of the source is surely a much need portion. As I have stated previously, it is much shorter in comparison to the other parts of this book, but it is a much needed buffer between the prologue and the second part of this book. Presented is a background needed to understand the rest of the information given throughout the book and also the early indication to the possible meaning of the title of this book is also extremely helpful to the reader so that they are able to, by the end of the book, fully

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understand his correlation between the information presented and the title he has given to his source.