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Re:Life in the Americas Before Columbus (2002) by JoeAltmaier on Monday October 13, 2014 @03:16PM (#8450077)
American populations had been cut off from mixing for millennia. Europeans kept moving around, sharing bugs and having plagues that killed off millions. Then rebounding and doing it again. Made for a more resistant population?
Re:Life in the Americas Before Columbus (2002) by eropple on Monday October 13, 2014 @03:25PM (#8450121)
Less generally resistant, just more resistant to the particular witch's brew of diseases out of Europe itself (as one would expect). Remember, Syphilis tore up Europe when it came over from the Americas.
Re:Life in the Americas Before Columbus (2002) by JoeAltmaier on Monday October 13, 2014 @04:38PM (#8450522)
But that doesn't explain why the admittedly larger population of Americas didn't have their own brew to pass on to the explorers.
Re:Life in the Americas Before Columbus (2002) by eropple on Monday October 13, 2014 @04:53PM (#8450606)
Density and less transportation to spread exciting things from further away?