Chapter 10 "Spacious Skies and Tilted Axes" Summary and Analysis

When looking at the major axes of the continents, it is apparent that while Eurasia's axis runs east-west in a more horizontal line, both the Americas and Africa axis run vertically from north to south. Diamond argues that just as important as geographic differences is the spread of food production across the continents. The axis of the continent proves to influence the spread of crops, animals, and other technologies. Through several examples, the author illustrates that food production spread much more rapidly and readily out of Southwest Asia than it did in the Americas.

Places located east and west of each other share the same day length and seasonal variations as well as, to a lesser degree, similar diseases, patterns in temperature and rainfall, and habitats. These aspects, in...