Guns, Germs and Steel pt. 3

We continued watching the documentary, and in the viewing, we learned about the importance of productive crops in the development of a civilizations. China grew a large population after rice farming, the Americas grew a large population following the farming of beans, squash, and corn, and Africa grew a larger population after the farming of millet, yams, and sorghum. But in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, farming and plant domestication didn't benefit the civilization as much. This is because the plants in Papua New Guinea, such as bananas, sago tree pulp and taro root, don't provide many nutrients, many people living in these civilizations will eat giant spiders to make up fr the lack of protein in their diets. Also, the food grown here doesn't keep well, and must be eaten shortly after being harvested.
Essentially, how a civilization develops is entirely due to geographic luck. In James Diamond's book, he uses this to explain how Eurasian predominance isn't due to genetic superiority, but rather beneficial geographic features such as productive crops.