Guns, Germs and Steel Written by Jared Diamond - Essay Example

Guns, Germs and Steel Guns, Germs and Steel is the of a book written by Jared Diamond in 1997, which exploresand tries to explain the factors that contributed to Eurasian civilizations’ supremacy. There are various explanations that have been developed over time to explain the dominance of Eurasia’s dominance over other regions in the world. Some people postulate that the use of waterways and their ability to navigate them facilitated rapid expansion and advancement. Sections of academia postulate that inhabitants of Eurasia are genetically superior in comparison to people from other regions of the world. In his book, Diamond argues against this notion, and in its stead, he proposes the environmental and geographical theory. In his postulates, he attributes Eurasian success on various environmental and geographical factors that played a significant role in their civilization’s development and advancement. These attributes are reflected in the book’s title, in the sense that their civilization produced guns, steel and germs that were used as weapons against other lesser civilizations. The dog is scientifically referred to as Canis lupus familiaris and as ‘man’s best friend’ due to the fact that it is a widely accepted that it was the first animal to be domesticated by man. Archeological evidence indicates that man began domesticating wolves approximately 33,000 years ago (Diamond 94). According to Diamond (88), dogs are a subspecies of the gray wolf, with DNA evidence indicating that there was an evolutionary split between wolves’ and dogs’ lineage at around 100,000 years ago (Diamond 211). This is attributed to disruptions and variations in climate, and the subsequent changes in the environment that led to genetic and morphological adaptations to facilitate continued survival of the species. This is reflective of Diamond’s postulate that the environment played a key role in influencing the supremacy of the Eurasian civilizations. Figure 1.0. Yellow Labrador Retriever. Dogs are used for various purposes, uses and needs in the daily lives of humans, where they have been kept for working, as pets, for hunting, protection and in assisting handicapped people. The initial domestication of dogs was to aid in man’s hunting activities, which was one of his basic modes of acquiring food, with the other method being foraging or gathering of wild fruits, seeds, tubers and roots. According to Diamond (162), the Eurasian region was geographically conducive for the domestication of more wild animals than other in the world. The earliest signs of dog or wolf domestication reflect this postulate since archeological evidence of this fact was discovered in a cave in Southern Siberia. As humans become more civilized, they found new uses for their domesticated animals, an aspect that can be construed to have led to breeding to develop different breeds for different purposes. The domesticated version of the dog’s wild ancestor is still alive today in wild. Apart from the most dependent of dog breeds like Chihuahuas and poodle’s, the modern day dog species still holds the potential to survive out in the wild. This is best illustrated by Prairie Dogs in temperate lands and the Wild Dog found in the plains and Savannahs of Africa. The evolution of dogs, in man’s life over time, is consistent with Diamond’s argument in the sense that it supports his postulate about the availability of a wide range of wild animals for Eurasians to domesticate. This is in comparison with other areas like Africa and the Pacific Islands which did not have animals with the potential for domestication. The use of dogs in hunting increased Eurasians sources and access to food, which improved their chances of expansion in terms of territory and population. Man’s interaction and domestication of animals had its negative impact in his life chief among them being the transfer of animal diseases to humans. The spread of animal diseases to humans is referred to as Zoonosis, which is derived from the scientific term, Zoo for animals (Diamond 205). Diseases that afflicted humans were as a result of direct transmission from animals that they came into contact with through their diet and in domestication activities. These disease causing pathogens include HIV, diphtheria, smallpox, measles and influenza. To survive, these pathogens need to stay alive in hosts or non-human reservoirs for long periods until they pass into a new host where they manifest as illnesses. Rabies is spread by a virus that affects all warm blooded animals that leads to acute encephalitis. This is characterized by inflammation of the brain with symptoms that include headaches, fatigue, confusion, fever and drowsiness. In its severe form, it leads to memory problems, seizures, tremors, convulsions, hallucinations and eventual death of the victim. Rabies is passed onto humans from animals through various means, for example, bites from an infected dog. Figure 2.0 Transmission of Rabies from Animal to Man. The ability of the rabies virus to multiply inside the acidic environment of animals’ cells is an adaptation of the virus that makes its survival and propagation feasible and successful (Diamond 211). Upon replication in the cells, the virus concentrates itself in the salivary glands of their hosts to facilitate further transmission and spread. The evolutionary strategy of the rabies virus has been from its initial or primary vector or reservoir, to different species and its subsequent serial transmission among species (Diamond 207). The virus has shortened its incubation period, increased its excretion through saliva and impairment of victim or host’s immune system. With respect to humans, the rabies virus is in its fourth stage, which as described above is the stage of inter-species transmission. With regard to Diamond’s ideas about the role of diseases or germs in advancing Eurasian dominance, rabies played its part as postulated by the author. This is in the sense that since rabies was a zoonotic disease, it affected animals and people of regions that Eurasians conquered. The book Guns, Germs and Steel is an insightful publication that presents the reader with yet another perspective to analyze the history of human civilization and reasons for its present state. Work Cited Diamond, J. Guns, Germs and Steel. London: Random House. 2013. Print. Fig. 2.0: Tosan. Family Infected with Rabies after Child Bite. TrendyAfrica. Web. 5th Feb 2014. 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