The main
reason that the availability of domestic animals and plants had the impact Diamond suggests has
to do with the economic conditions necessary for specialization of labor. Hunter-gatherers live
in what is known as a subsistence economy, in which all members of the society must focus their
efforts on finding food; there is no surplus production which allows some individuals to focus
on things that are not absolutely essential to survival.
The neolithic
agricultural revolution in which plants and animals were domesticated produced a food surplus.
That meant that farmers could produce enough food to feed not only themselves but also many
non-farmers. This gave rise to specialization of labor, allowing people to develop complex
skills such as writing and metallurgy. Rather than all children working in the fields as soon as
they could walk, some children in agricultural societies could attend schools or be apprenticed
to skilled craftspeople, allowing technical skills to be trained...
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