tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8713290311211812386.post8399565208759139302..comments2024-02-04T22:16:37.351-08:00Comments on Can These Bones Live: Why the West Rules - For Now, by Ian MorrisCarl Bankstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01241103671889463341noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8713290311211812386.post-33077067157499460142012-07-12T16:45:41.530-07:002012-07-12T16:45:41.530-07:00I'm sure you mean Subsaharan Africa, not Egypt...I'm sure you mean Subsaharan Africa, not Egypt or the Maghreb. I think Jared Diamond would answer this by pointing to the scarcity of domesticable animals and geographic challenges to transportation and communication. Morris would probably give more emphasis to the lack of anything like a Mediterranean center. One of the problems with explaining why world history turned out as it did is that given that this is the only history we have explanations are unavoidably speculative. A couple of highly speculative thoughts, though: A wealth of resources can limit development. When needs are met, why change? Second, perhaps if Africa was indeed the place of origin of humanity, this might be why those who remained retained more of the older ways of doing things, while those who left often had to change in response to new environments.Carl Bankstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01241103671889463341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8713290311211812386.post-63664143121937125562012-07-12T06:21:46.706-07:002012-07-12T06:21:46.706-07:00An interesting study might be what caused Africa t...An interesting study might be what caused Africa to drop back as far as it did. There can be no doubt that Africa, although endowed with a wealth of resources, has failed to make its mark on the world.Nicole Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04889992562174060508noreply@blogger.com