
1. According to Jared Diamond's _Guns, Germs, and Steel_, which of the following factors does NOT explain why some areas of the world had geographic advantages?
~ Geographic advantages included greater numbers of wild plant and animal special amenable to domestication, fewer barriers to migration, and fewer barriers to intercontinental migration. Differences innate within individuals did not affect development.
@ Geographic advantages included greater numbers of wild plant and animal special amenable to domestication, fewer barriers to migration, and fewer barriers to intercontinental migration. Differences innate within individuals did not affect development.
a. Differences in wild plant and animal species available as starting materials for domestication.
b. Difference in barriers to migration.
*c. Differences innate within individuals who reside in certain regions.
d. Differences in the ease of intercontinental diffusion.

2. In the selection from _Guns, Germs, and Steel_, Diamond sets out to answer the question of
~ Diamond's question was a response to a question posed to him by a local politician in New Guinea named Yali, which was "why do Europeans have so much cargo, and we so little?" In other words, what factors led Europeans to industrialize and develop a commercial economy faster than other regions?
@ Diamond's question was a response to a question posed to him by a local politician in New Guinea named Yali, which was "why do Europeans have so much cargo, and we so little?" In other words, what factors led Europeans to industrialize and develop a commercial economy faster than other regions?
*a. why European peoples have been able to dominate non-European peoples.
b. why the unity of China led to its prospering compared to European nations today.
c. the role that objectivity plays in the study of a nation's geography.
d. why the region of the Fertile Crescent produced so many powerful civilizations.

3. Which of the following scientific methods could constitute a historical "experiment," according to Diamond, demonstrating that history is a science?
~ Comparing two societies as they develop, to test whether some factor that is present in one (literacy) but absent in another affects its development, would be what Diamond calls a "natural experiment." Diamond explains that experiments in history can work by comparing and contrasting different systems for presence or absence.
@ Comparing two societies as they develop, to test whether some factor that is present in one (literacy) but absent in another affects its development, would be what Diamond calls a "natural experiment." Diamond explains that experiments in history can work by comparing and contrasting different systems for presence or absence.
a. A prediction of what could have occurred if the American rail system had never fully developed.
*b. A comparison of two societies as they develop, one literate and one non-literate, to test Benedict Anderson's theory about print capitalism's effects on development of national identity.
c. An investigation of the role that "important figures" have played in developing a region's culture.
d. An inspection of historical documents for possible forgery.

4. According to Diamond, which of the following can slow the spread of ideas?
~ According to Diamond, geographic barriers such as mountains, deserts, or ocean can slow the spread of ideas by slowing migration and diffusion of populations.
@ According to Diamond, geographic barriers such as mountains, deserts, or ocean can slow the spread of ideas by slowing migration and diffusion of populations.
*a. Geographic barriers such as mountains, deserts, or ocean.
b. The lack of an abundant surplus of easily domesticated fauna.
c. The failure of a region to adopt a uniform vernacular.
d. War and hatred against other regions.

5. Who is "They" in the following quotation from the text? "They committed ecological suicide by destroying their own resource base."
~ Diamond is referring to the Fertile Crescent in this quotation. The overgrazing and deforestation of the already arid environment of the Fertile Crescent caused it to lose its initial geographic advantages. Europe had similar geographic advantages as the Fertile Crescent but did not suffer ecological destruction thanks to a more beneficial natural weather system.
@ Diamond is referring to the Fertile Crescent in this quotation. The overgrazing and deforestation of the already arid environment of the Fertile Crescent caused it to lose its initial geographic advantages. Europe had similar geographic advantages as the Fertile Crescent but did not suffer ecological destruction thanks to a more beneficial natural weather system.
*a. The Fertile Crescent
b. China
c. The Americas
d. Western Europe

6. "I am thus optimistic that historical studies of human societies can be pursued as scientifically as studies of dinosaurs--and with profit to our own society today, by teaching us what shaped the modern world, and what might shape our future." This quotation suggests that Diamond belongs to which historiographical school of thought?
~ This quotation suggests that Diamond belongs to the modernist school of thought. Diamond writes that historical study can be pursued objectively via scientific methods.
@ This quotation suggests that Diamond belongs to the modernist school of thought. Diamond writes that historical study can be pursued objectively via scientific methods.
a. postmodern
b. cultural materialist
c. New Left
*d. modernist

7. Jared Diamond argues that historical study is a science because, like other "historical sciences," historians
~ Jared Diamond argues that historical study is a science because, like other "historical sciences," historians try to discover what caused events ("chains of ultimate and proximate causes"), make projections based on past statistical trends (which is not the same as predicting the future), and use "natural experiments" to draw conclusions about historical developments (natural experiment: how did the destruction of Nagasaki affect its population?; we might use that information to understand how the destruction of Pompeii affected the survivors--an experiment we can't repeat.
@ Jared Diamond argues that historical study is a science because, like other "historical sciences," historians try to discover what caused events ("chains of ultimate and proximate causes"), make projections based on past statistical trends (which is not the same as predicting the future), and use "natural experiments" to draw conclusions about historical developments (natural experiment: how did the destruction of Nagasaki affect its population?; we might use that information to understand how the destruction of Pompeii affected the survivors--an experiment we can't repeat.
a. can use data to predict the future, establish chains of proximate and ultimate causes, and formulate statistical trends.
b. employ laboratory experiments and test the results to ensure reproducibility.
*c. establish chains of proximate and ultimate causes, formulate statistical trends, and use "natural experiments" to draw conclusions about historical developments.
d. can use "natural experiments" to draw conclusions about historical developments.

8. According to Diamond, China shared the geographic advantages of Europe but eventually fell behind Europe in development. What geographic features help explain this?
~ The question asks for "geographic features" behind China's developmental disadvantage. The geographic features were those that led China to develop a single unified government--a relatively smooth coastline and long, navigable rivers. The decision of the unified Chinese government to halt sea exploration was final. In Europe, the craggy shorelines and mountains led to political disunity, so that one ruler's refusal to fund Columbus's sea exploration did not shut down all sea exploration. 
@ The question asks for "geographic features" behind China's developmental disadvantage. The geographic features were those that led China to develop a single unified government--a relatively smooth coastline and long, navigable rivers. The decision of the unified Chinese government to halt sea exploration was final. In Europe, the craggy shorelines and mountains led to political disunity, so that one ruler's refusal to fund Columbus's sea exploration did not shut down all sea exploration. 
*a. China's coastline was relatively smooth, with few large peninsulas or offshore islands, and several long, navigable rivers. This enabled China to establish a unified state.
b. China had few long navigable rivers on which to ship products internally. This led China to develop a sea exploration program that wasted its resources.
c. China's government decided in the early 1400s to stop exploring the oceans and focus on developing agriculture, which let European countries gain uncontested control of the seas.
d. China's intensive focus on agriculture led to depleted nitrogen content in the fields and decreasing agricultural output over centuries.

9. According to Jared Diamond, how could a larger area or population size benefit a certain geographic region?
~ Diamond states: "A larger area or population means more potential inventors."
@ Diamond states: "A larger area or population means more potential inventors."
a. A larger area could allow for a greater chance at unification.
b. A larger area could allow for long lasting greater numbers of domestic fauna.
c. A larger population could make communications amongst a region easier.
*d. A larger population size could mean more inventors.

10. Diamond is often labeled (perhaps unfairly) a geographic determinist. What is geographic determinism?
~ Geographic determinism is the assumption that the geography of a region determines its history (geography is the main motive force). Often many see this as undercutting the role that individuals play in history. However, in the text, Diamond brings up the role of individual idiosyncrasies and states they must be investigated further in order to yield any significant conclusion.
@ Geographic determinism is the assumption that the geography of a region determines its history (geography is the main motive force). Often many see this as undercutting the role that individuals play in history. However, in the text, Diamond brings up the role of individual idiosyncrasies and states they must be investigated further in order to yield any significant conclusion.
a. The improper use of geography in historical investigation.
*b. The assumption that the geography of a region determines its history.
c. The belief that the geography of a state plays no role in its development.
d. The idea that human action played a role greater than geographic factors in history.