I think that the spiritual credence and rational systems plays a huge role in civilization. Philosophical ideas such as monotheism, are definitely an upgrade, from a technology standpoint, because they take on the table the idea of god's transcendence: god lives in "another world" and this world is at men's full disposal. This idea enables the possibility to "use" the world for taking benefits as long as the sea, the mountain, the river, the forest, the animals are not (or not anymore) owned by a susceptible god. That's the reason why, for example, climbing a mountain (reaching a place where life isn't even possible for an hour) is an activity respected in "occidental world" but it would be considered foolishness in Nepal...
"We’re all wrong, all the time—especially me." Perhaps we can rephrase it to "We all have particular perspectives, all the time."
Living in Germany I learnt two years ago from a ranger how disadvantageous the East - West orientation of the Alps is. During the last glacial period the forests North of the Alps lost a lot of their diversity in trees. It got too cold for many tree species and they could not "cross" the Alps and got extinct. In the Rocky Mountains the different tree species moved South when it got colder and then moved North again when it got warmer. Apparently today the variety in trees in North American forest ist about an order of magnitude higher than in North Europe. With the climate becoming warmer and dryer the remaining tree species in Germany are now endangered.
In elementary school I learnt how advantageous the East - West orientation of the first low mountain ranges in Germany is (just South of the North German Plain). During the glacial period a more or less constant wind blew from North to South and carried loess to the South across the North German Plain. The loess stayed at the edge of the plains where the low mountain ranges started, leaving very fertile land.
When humans decided to bring in new crops to Europe they did not follow latitudes (anyway there can be very different climate conditions on the same latitude). The other day I read in John Seymours book "Self-Sufficiency" the potato is originally a tropical plant. It was brought to Europe anyway, not following an East West direction but South North, leading to catastrophic historical incidences. We grow today potatoes in our garden in fertile soil enriched by glacial period loess.
Complex world, my limited personal perspectives. Let us make sure to take lot of different perspectives and develop our ideas further. Tomas, it is very stimulating to follow your perspectives and integrate them. Keep sharing your articles!
Intriguing! I have only in my middle years developed an interest in history because I learned to hate it in grade school, so I am very grateful to you for providing this perspective. I also had not really understood what a fabulous space our nation occupies. I find so much pain in knowing our role in destroying the race and people we stole it from. Thank you for this series on geography.
Interesting read, especially the comparison of civilisations with companies in free-market.
You might also find it interesting to read about Janpadas during Vedic period of Indian civilisation and how Magadha Janpada rose above them all due to closer access to iron mines and relatively protected capital city Patliputra by mountains.
The rise of Magadha empire is also an interesting read. At it's peak it covered almost entire Indian subcontinent except areas in deep south (present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala). A true Game of Thrones :)
"What are the most likely explanations of why civilization didn’t evolve there as fast in North America as in Eurasia and North Africa? Or even in Mesoamerica?"
One explanation I've read is the lack of domesticable animals and plants. The lack of such animals was itself induced by humans. Horses were native to North America, 15,000 years ago, but they went extinct soon after people arrived, along with a lot of other animals you wouldn't expect to be natives, like North American camels.
That might be because megafauna in Africa and Eurasia evolved alongside humans, but in the Americas these animals were first exposed to people after they had already gotten much smarter and much better at hunting:
And again, related to this, how indian reservations are bigger in west coast and almost inexisting in the east, Maps normally matter, if we relate this two maps maybe we can have a relationship between those two. https://fronterasblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/reservasindias.jpg
I've worked remotely, as a consultant, for 17 years. I'm wickedly productive. I certainly have greater flexibility to use my 24 hours a day as effectively as possible for being a mother, wife, and working person. There's no commute. I'm outside the artificial box of the "workday." As long as I do what matters most, and plan accordingly, I deliver across the areas of my life, and I am rewarded. All that said, I"m not an employee. I don't have that level of certainty or the benefits package. But, I also don't participate in yearly performance development and other HR obligatories that in contrast drain my husband's work hours (along with a lengthy commute).
Thanks, very interesting. I agree with your central thesis, but I wonder if their are a couple of other important factors at play. As you have pointed out water transport was vitally important before railways and roads were developed. The Mediterranean provided a link between a lot of the early European civilisations both in trade and in conflict which stimulated technological development. I also wonder how much of a role was played by the fact that the cradle of humanity happened to be in Africa, with a land connection to Europe. This meant that that humans got to Europe and multiplied before they conquered the mountain ranges and oceans to spread further afield.
I have always been a believer in the theory that life in the tropics is too easy: food is plentiful and there is less need for competition, conflict and technological advancement. Further away from the equator, cultivation and co-operation are required as well as warmth, better shelter and food storage for Winter.
I've enjoyed your essays on the impact of geography on history and human development - it all makes a great deal of sense. I think this would dove-tail nicely into a discussion of the positive impacts of migration on development and how migration along the trade routes , east-west and north -south axes impacted the exchange of technology and ideas and differentially promoted development.
Thank you for sharing your articles and keep them coming!
Intriguing! I have only in my middle years developed an interest in history because I learned to hate it in grade school, so I am very grateful to you for providing this perspective. I also had not really understood what a fabulous space our nation occupies. I find so much pain in knowing our role in destroying the race and people we stole it from. Thank you for this series on geography.
talking about geographic barriers is often relevant but the mountains in the US have never really played a role in our international standing, certainly not on the scale of impact from our early discovery of oil, commerce advantages from chattel slavery and conquest of natives for exploitation of land, coal & water resources.
I think that the spiritual credence and rational systems plays a huge role in civilization. Philosophical ideas such as monotheism, are definitely an upgrade, from a technology standpoint, because they take on the table the idea of god's transcendence: god lives in "another world" and this world is at men's full disposal. This idea enables the possibility to "use" the world for taking benefits as long as the sea, the mountain, the river, the forest, the animals are not (or not anymore) owned by a susceptible god. That's the reason why, for example, climbing a mountain (reaching a place where life isn't even possible for an hour) is an activity respected in "occidental world" but it would be considered foolishness in Nepal...
"We’re all wrong, all the time—especially me." Perhaps we can rephrase it to "We all have particular perspectives, all the time."
Living in Germany I learnt two years ago from a ranger how disadvantageous the East - West orientation of the Alps is. During the last glacial period the forests North of the Alps lost a lot of their diversity in trees. It got too cold for many tree species and they could not "cross" the Alps and got extinct. In the Rocky Mountains the different tree species moved South when it got colder and then moved North again when it got warmer. Apparently today the variety in trees in North American forest ist about an order of magnitude higher than in North Europe. With the climate becoming warmer and dryer the remaining tree species in Germany are now endangered.
In elementary school I learnt how advantageous the East - West orientation of the first low mountain ranges in Germany is (just South of the North German Plain). During the glacial period a more or less constant wind blew from North to South and carried loess to the South across the North German Plain. The loess stayed at the edge of the plains where the low mountain ranges started, leaving very fertile land.
When humans decided to bring in new crops to Europe they did not follow latitudes (anyway there can be very different climate conditions on the same latitude). The other day I read in John Seymours book "Self-Sufficiency" the potato is originally a tropical plant. It was brought to Europe anyway, not following an East West direction but South North, leading to catastrophic historical incidences. We grow today potatoes in our garden in fertile soil enriched by glacial period loess.
Complex world, my limited personal perspectives. Let us make sure to take lot of different perspectives and develop our ideas further. Tomas, it is very stimulating to follow your perspectives and integrate them. Keep sharing your articles!
Intriguing! I have only in my middle years developed an interest in history because I learned to hate it in grade school, so I am very grateful to you for providing this perspective. I also had not really understood what a fabulous space our nation occupies. I find so much pain in knowing our role in destroying the race and people we stole it from. Thank you for this series on geography.
Interesting read, especially the comparison of civilisations with companies in free-market.
You might also find it interesting to read about Janpadas during Vedic period of Indian civilisation and how Magadha Janpada rose above them all due to closer access to iron mines and relatively protected capital city Patliputra by mountains.
The rise of Magadha empire is also an interesting read. At it's peak it covered almost entire Indian subcontinent except areas in deep south (present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala). A true Game of Thrones :)
This is a nicely written article. You asked:
"What are the most likely explanations of why civilization didn’t evolve there as fast in North America as in Eurasia and North Africa? Or even in Mesoamerica?"
One explanation I've read is the lack of domesticable animals and plants. The lack of such animals was itself induced by humans. Horses were native to North America, 15,000 years ago, but they went extinct soon after people arrived, along with a lot of other animals you wouldn't expect to be natives, like North American camels.
That might be because megafauna in Africa and Eurasia evolved alongside humans, but in the Americas these animals were first exposed to people after they had already gotten much smarter and much better at hunting:
https://medium.com/discourse/we-killed-the-mammoth-acdbc1ff058a
Those early extinctions may have ultimately limited the Native Americans' ability to build a civilization, thousands of years later.
And again, related to this, how indian reservations are bigger in west coast and almost inexisting in the east, Maps normally matter, if we relate this two maps maybe we can have a relationship between those two. https://fronterasblog.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/reservasindias.jpg
Only to add more to think, history matters too, and it really has a relation to geografy: This map is from 200 years ago.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c0/00/b8/c000b8febc9ee15ec02f460eef9b1890.png
I've worked remotely, as a consultant, for 17 years. I'm wickedly productive. I certainly have greater flexibility to use my 24 hours a day as effectively as possible for being a mother, wife, and working person. There's no commute. I'm outside the artificial box of the "workday." As long as I do what matters most, and plan accordingly, I deliver across the areas of my life, and I am rewarded. All that said, I"m not an employee. I don't have that level of certainty or the benefits package. But, I also don't participate in yearly performance development and other HR obligatories that in contrast drain my husband's work hours (along with a lengthy commute).
Go you good thing, go!
Thanks, very interesting. I agree with your central thesis, but I wonder if their are a couple of other important factors at play. As you have pointed out water transport was vitally important before railways and roads were developed. The Mediterranean provided a link between a lot of the early European civilisations both in trade and in conflict which stimulated technological development. I also wonder how much of a role was played by the fact that the cradle of humanity happened to be in Africa, with a land connection to Europe. This meant that that humans got to Europe and multiplied before they conquered the mountain ranges and oceans to spread further afield.
I have always been a believer in the theory that life in the tropics is too easy: food is plentiful and there is less need for competition, conflict and technological advancement. Further away from the equator, cultivation and co-operation are required as well as warmth, better shelter and food storage for Winter.
Loved the article on Geography's affects on the development of civilizations.
I've enjoyed your essays on the impact of geography on history and human development - it all makes a great deal of sense. I think this would dove-tail nicely into a discussion of the positive impacts of migration on development and how migration along the trade routes , east-west and north -south axes impacted the exchange of technology and ideas and differentially promoted development.
Thank you for sharing your articles and keep them coming!
Thank you. Very interesting article.
Intriguing! I have only in my middle years developed an interest in history because I learned to hate it in grade school, so I am very grateful to you for providing this perspective. I also had not really understood what a fabulous space our nation occupies. I find so much pain in knowing our role in destroying the race and people we stole it from. Thank you for this series on geography.
talking about geographic barriers is often relevant but the mountains in the US have never really played a role in our international standing, certainly not on the scale of impact from our early discovery of oil, commerce advantages from chattel slavery and conquest of natives for exploitation of land, coal & water resources.
good