9th Grade Humanities Name: ____________________

PART I: Cornell Notes

Topic: Guns, Germs, and Steel: “Out of Eden”
Main points: Notes:
Jared Diamond o Driving question: Why is the world so unequal? Guns, germs, steel
o UCLA professor; expert in biology and human psychology
o Works in New Guineau with smart and adaptable people, so why are they so much
poorer than us?
Yali’s question o “Why you white men have so much cargo and we New Guineans have so little?”
(cargo = )
o Explanations based on race are
Roots of o All equal until ended years ago
inequality: native o New Guinea: sago-
crops o Fertile Crescent: barley and wheat–
o People with most productive crops became the most productive farmers;
GEOGRAPHIC LUCK
(early o Location: , years ago
farming village) o First granary-
o Plant domestication-
o was a decisive turning point in human history
Animal o Animal uses-
domestication
o How animals benefit from crops- o How crops benefit from animals-

o New Guinea native species- o Eurasia native species-

o Total # large mammal species: # species ever tamed:

# species tamed Eur/N. Af/As: # species tamed elsewhere:
Guar (ancient city) o Location: , years ago
/decline of Fertile o
Crescent o
o
Impact of o Latitude-
geography o Crops/animals spread E/W easily bc
o So Eurasia had an advantage bc
o  , NOT vice versa!!!
o Inequality not set in stone, but big gaps to overcome

Summary of your notes (full sentences): Questions:

PART II: SER Paragraph
To demonstrate your understand of Professor Diamond’s theory, I ask you to defend it. You
can do this whether or not you entirely agree with it.

Support the following statement with:

o carefully selected evidence from the film (direct quotes or paraphrased ideas)
o and clear, logical reasoning that convinces the reader of the statement.

The root cause of inequality in the world today is geographic luck, which

began to influence human history around 13,000 years ago.