Chapter 9 was pretty simple, explaining how the major east-west axes contributed to faster spread of food production in the Eurasian continent compared to the major north-south axes of America and Africa. The spread of food production emanating from the Fertile Crescent is proven by a phenomenon known as preemptive domestication: the Fertile Crescent package spread so well east-west that domestication of local species was not required.
The reason for the success of east-west spreading comes down to latitude. Areas far apart like Portugal, northern Iran and Japan that are located at the same latitude have more similar climates to areas that neighbor them north and south. The germination and growth rates and disease resistance are all adaptation to the climate, thus a plant growing in a similar climate will be adapted to grow there. Hence, domesticated plants had an easy time spreading from the Fertile Crescent across of the major east-west axes of Eurasia.
Diamond also suggests that this spread of food production also facilitated the spread of domesticated animals and the concept of trade. Thus, concepts such as writing, math and the invention of the wheel (for animals to pull in agriculture) were also facilitated in this area. Were these the first steps towards guns, germs and steel?
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