How did we get here? How did we get here?

Why did some places develop Why did some places develop more than others?more than others?

An original Power Point presentation by David Knapp

A time of equalityA time of equality

• At the end of the last ice age people all over the globe were living about the same – in the stone age, like cave men.

• About 10,000 years ago things began to change– There was less rain and

water, people began to look for new plants and animals to use

How people adaptedHow people adapted

• In some areas people were able to adapt plants and animals like wheat and cattle. In other areas they could not.– CAN YOU THINK OF

SOME REASONS THIS WOULD NOT WORK?

Its all about the shape!Its all about the shape!

• Notice how Eurasia seems to go side to side or East and West.

• Africa and the Americas seem to go up and down or North and South.

Attitude on LatitudeAttitude on Latitude

• As we move north or south of the tropics, and farther away from the Equator, the difference between hours of daylight, compared to hours of nighttime, will start to increase. The day will be much shorter than the night (wintertime). If the earth is tilting towards the sun, the day will last much longer than the night (summertime).

Distance from the EquatorDistance from the Equator

• Plants and animals which thrive at a given latitude, will tend to thrive at the same latitude anywhere else on the planet – either north or south of the Equator.

• However, it is very unusual for plants and animals which thrive at one latitude, to be able to survive at dramatically different latitudes. Successful migration north or south is extremely rare, because moving through different latitude zones means moving through dramatically different climates, day lengths, and environmental conditions.

What does it mean?What does it mean?

• The problem is that when you try to move plants (and animals) from one climate to another they don’t adapt well.

• How do you think a tropical lizard would do in the North Pole? How about a Polar Bear in Miami?

Friendly FoodFriendly Food

• Lest look at a few plants and animals to see how some ended up on a farm and others did not.

OK they got some animals, so what? OK they got some animals, so what? What other advantage could that give What other advantage could that give

them?them?• For thousands of years, the people of Eurasia lived in close proximity to domesticated mammals – eating, drinking, and breathing in the germs these animals bore. Over time, animal infections crossed species and became deadly to man. Diseases like smallpox, influenza and measles. These diseases tended to explode in sudden infection and death. Transmitted via coughing, sneezing and touch, they wreaked devastation throughout Eurasian history – and in the era before antibiotics, thousands died.But not everyone.With each epidemic, some people survived, acquiring immunities which they passed on to the next generation. Over time, the population gained increased immunity, and impact of disease decreased.

Where do we go from here?Where do we go from here?

• The future is ours to shape!