Why You Need Barley and Wheat to Create Huge Civilizations
Environment Matters More Than You Think Part 1
Most people underestimate how much the environment we live in contributes to what we are able to accomplish in life. If fact, living in the wrong environment can make it almost impossible for people to achieve success even if they are smart and hard working.
In Papua New Guinea, there are still tribes that hunted and gathered using the traditional methods from 13,000 years ago.
Hunting using a gun is easy. Hunting when you only have tools made of wood and rocks is quite difficult. To be a good hunter, you need skills, stealth, and a vast knowledge of hundreds of species.
Biologist Jared Diamond, who studied the New Guineans for many years, believes they are one of the most culturally diverse and adaptable people in the world, so why is their country so much poorer than the rest of the world?
It's because of their environment.
The places in history that have built huge civilizations in the past had one thing in common. They all had access to grain crops. People in the Middle East had access to barley and wheat, people in China had access to rice, and people in the Americas had access to corns and beans.
The New Guineans did not have access to any grain crops. Their staple food was taro, which is a root crop. This small difference created a huge disadvantage for the people living in Papua New Guinea.
Taro has less nutrition value and rot much quickly compared to grain crops. It also takes more work to plant taro because you have to plant them down one by one. Wheat, on the other hand, can be planted simply by spreading a bunch of seeds using your hands.
The second disadvantage for the New Guineans is that they only had pigs for domesticated animals.
There are nearly 2 million known species of wild animals, but only 14 species has been successfully domesticated.
Here's how National Geographic defines a domestic animal:
"Domestication is not the same as taming. A domestic animal is genetically determined to be tolerant of humans. An individual wild animal, or wild animal born in captivity, may be tamed—their behavior can be conditioned so they grow accustomed to living alongside humans—but they are not truly domesticated and remain genetically wild."1
Pigs are only useful for their meat, while bigger domestic animals can be used in other ways. Cows can help the farmers plow the land, and they produce a lot of milk. Horses can also plow the land, and they are great for transportation.
By having access to grain crops and bigger domestic animals, places like the Middle East were able to have more productive farming systems, which allowed them to not worry about food all the time.
When you have surplus of food, it means some people in the community can spend their time developing new skills and technologies to advance their community forward.2
The example of Papua New Guinea shows that even if you have generations of smart and hardworking people, it's almost impossible to create great civilizations without grain crops like barley and wheat.
Hopefully, you will start re-evaluating the environment you are currently living in after reading this article. If the city you are living in is not improving the odds of achieving your goals, you should consider moving to a new city.
In part 2, we will talk about Maurice Janklow, a smart and hardworking lawyer that struggled to find success.
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Thanks for reading!
-George 🐙
Daly, N. (2021, February 10). Domesticated animals, explained. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/domesticated-animals
Lambert, T. (Director). (2005). Guns, Germs, and Steel [Film]. National Geographic Video. https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-and-Steel/dp/B0009GX1EM