APPLES OR INDIANS: Why Did Peoples of Some Regions Fail to Domesticate Plants?

Analysis of Areas Lacking Indigenous Agriculture

Jared Diamond explores why agriculture did not independently arise in some areas with suitable conditions, like California and western Europe, and why it developed later or to a lesser extent in others. Two main theories are examined: cultural characteristics of the people, and the availability of suitable wild plants for domestication.

Agricultural Development and the Role of Domesticable Species

The text outlines the inherent challenges in evaluating the potential for domestication in plants due to the vast number of plant species. Even high species diversity does not guarantee the presence of suitable candidates for domestication, as illustrated by the example of Mediterranean-type ecosystems around the world which, despite favorable climates, did not all result in early agriculture like the Fertile Crescent.

Early Agricultural Societies and Plant Attributes

The focus then shifts to the attributes of plants that influenced early agriculture. The Mediterranean climate of the Fertile Crescent, characterized by wet winters and dry summers, favored annual plants. These plants invest heavily in seed production, which is beneficial for agriculture as they produce larger, edible seeds, suitable for human consumption and storage. These climatic and botanical factors contributed significantly to the agricultural success of the Fertile Crescent compared to other regions with similar climates but less diverse and suitable floras.

Comparative Analysis of World Regions

The text compares the Fertile Crescent with New Guinea and the eastern United States, regions where food production developed independently but varied greatly in effectiveness and impact. New Guinea, despite its agricultural antiquity, lacked domesticable cereals and large mammals, which limited its agricultural productivity and led to protein deficiencies. In contrast, the eastern United States had more suitable conditions and developed a unique set of crops, but these were less calorically and economically rewarding than cereals like wheat or barley, common in Eurasian agriculture.

Impact of Introduced Crops

New Guinea and the eastern United States quickly adopted more productive introduced crops when available, which led to rapid population growth and intensified food production. This suggests that the slow or limited development of indigenous agriculture in these regions was due to the absence of suitable species for domestication rather than cultural factors or the preference for foraging.

Cultural Acceptance and Biological Potential

The manuscript concludes with reflections on cultural acceptance of agricultural innovations and the biological potential for domestication. It argues that while cultural factors can affect the pace and nature of agricultural uptake, the primary limitations in regions that lagged behind in developing agriculture were ecological and biological, not cultural. It posits that given enough time, regions without indigenous agriculture might have eventually developed it, as human societies continuously evolve and respond to available resources.