We should discuss soil as much as coal (2019)

Re:We should discuss soil as much as coal (2019) by 29athrowaway on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @12:53AM (#24195393)

Potatoes were not a panamerican crop, but they were grown in Spain and the British Isles as soon as they were introduced.

The Inca had a population of 10,000,000, and warehouses with surplus food that could sustain the empire for over 10 years.

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Re:We should discuss soil as much as coal (2019) by throwaway894345 on Tuesday August 18, 2020 @04:08AM (#24196305)

I think this is consistent with Diamond’s thesis—the New World didn’t have “guns, germs, and steel” because important developments (like potato agriculture) remained localized. But again, it’s not clear to me if your goal is to criticize Diamond’s thesis or not.

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