![]() The general logic of the hypothesis is that the similar latitude of an east–west alignment means animals, crops, as well as travel and trade, more easily spread across the continents than across those with a north–south alignment - of the Americas and Africa - which naturally encounter more different climatic zones.Īs a simplified example, horses and other large animals and crops spread throughout the shared temperate latitudes of Eurasia. An east-west alignment means the land generally has a more similar climate, day-length and seasonal variations. The Americas are largely lined up north–south, while Europe and Asia (Eurasia) are largely lined up east-west. One hypothesis, striking in its simplicity if you’ve ever looked at a world map, is the significant contribution of the general orientation of the major continents. Jared Diamond’s classic book Guns, Germs and Steel, proposes some remarkable hypotheses about how the pattern of history played out, notably trying to answer the question of why it was generally the Europeans that invaded much of the rest of the world rather than the other way around. ![]()
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