Bits and Pieces (climate, ..

[joanne0012]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "naamagatus" <naama_gat at h...> wrote:
> 
> You know, there have been anthropological theories that tried to 
> explain differences in cultural development through climatic 
> differences. It doesn't really work, though. Mesopotamia, Egypt, 
> India – the greatest of the early civilizations developed in warm 
> climates. Even ancient Greece and Rome, two other great 
> civilizations, developed in a much warmer climate than that in 
> northern Europe. 

Warm climates, yes -- but not tropical. Too warm, and agriculture suffers; =
too 
cold, and everyone has to spend all their time and energy staying warm and =
fed 
-- until the technological developments of the past few centuries.  

The absolute best book about this is the (unfortunately titled, IMHO) "Guns=
, 
Germs and Steel," a Pulitzer-Prize-winning tome by Jared Diamond. He wrote =
the 
book in response to a question asked of him by a friend in New Guinea, who =

asked, basically, why white people had so much "cargo" (material goods and =

technology) while his people had so little.  He knew that it wasn't basic 
intelligence or personality traits!  Diamond wends his way through history,=
 
anthropology, climatology, and lots of other -ologies in this fascinating s=
aga, 
which ends up focusing on natural resources and agricultural dissemination.=


Tabouli has it backwards, IMHO -- northern Europeans developed very little =

culture of their own, basically being barbarians until they conquered and 
assimilated Mediterranean cultures. (For further insights, read the surpris=
ingly 
fun "How the Irish Saved Civilization.")