Summer Reading
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

This assignment should be downloaded into a word processing program.  The assignment is to be typed, double-spaced, arial font, 12 pitch with one-inch margins.  Direct quotes from the text should be cited with a page number.

Author's Name:
Prize Awarded to Book:
Do you agree that this book was deserving of the award?  Why?

Fill in Titles and answer the following questions for each chapter:
Preface:

On page 10, the author suggests that the roots of western Eurasian dominance in the modern world lie in what?
Why has the author chosen to write this book in this style and manner?
Prologue:
According to the author, why did human development proceed at different rates on different continents?
What is the author's personal view  on civilization and progress versus hunter-gatherer societies?
Chapter 1:
What was the Great Leap Forward?  Describe the life of CroMagnon man.
What impact did the arrival of humans have on big animals?  Provide an example.
Which continent had a "headstart" in 1100 BC?  Why?
Chapter 2:
Explain the difference between the development of the Morioiri and the Maori.  Who conquered whom and why?
What lessons can be learned by the pattern of dispersion of the Polynesians?
Chapter 3:
Write a paragraph detailing your interpretation of the account provided on pages 69-74 of Pizzarro's conquest of the Incas.
What strikes you the most from this account?
Write a paragraph explaining the reasons for Pizzarro's success.
Chapter 4:
Write a paragraph explaining the chart on page 87.  Do you agree with the author's conclusions?
What advantages are gained by being the first to domesticate animals?
Chapter 5:
Identify the centers of origin of food production throughout the world.  Which crops originated where?
What are "founder" crops?
What is the author's view on "head start" as discussed on page 103?
Chapter 6:
Write a paragraph outlining the merits of hunter-gatherers versus farmers.
What determines your choice to be one or the other?  Why would some hunter-gatherers consciously reject farming?
Chapters 7 & 8:
Discuss Darwin's natural selection as described on page 123.  How does it relate to the selection and propigation of seeds?
What are the five advantages the Fertile Crescent enjoyed over other Mediterranean Zones?
Why was cannibalism so widespread in the New Guinea highlands? (p. 149)
Chapter 9:
Identify and define the Ancient Fourteen.
What is domestication?
Which animals most helped Eurasians?
Chapter 10:
Explain the map on p. 181.  What does it show?
What explains the rapid diffuson of crops in Eurasia?  How was geography instrumental in the spread of crops.
Chapter 11:
What are characteristics of infectious disease epidemics?
What is the relationship between agriculture and the domestication of animals and the launch of infectious diseases.
P. 208 - What ended laughing sickness?
What was the role of disease in the exploration and conquest of Hernando de Soto?
Chapter 12:
Define the term Blueprint as used by the author.
Why did Sequoyah devise an alphabet?  Was he successful in his endeavor?
Chapter 13:
Provide the fourteen explanations provided to explain resistance to technological changes and advancements.
Chapter 14:
Write a paragraph on each of the following terms:
Band
Tribe
Chiefdom
Kleptocrat
Protostates/states
Chapter 15:
Why was European colonization of Australia so much more successful than in New Guinea?
Chapter 16:
What accounts for Chinese success in colonization?
Chapter 17:
What areas did Austronesian expansion include?  What links these societies?
Chapter 18:
At the time of Columbus, what advantages did the Eurasians enjoy?  Which was the most important?  Why?
Chapter 19:
Write a paragraph explaining the fate of the Khoisan.
Epilogue:
Provide a one-paragraph overview of the epilogue.

What sources does the author use for this text?