1. Compare the life of hunter-gatherers and agricultural peoples considering workload, life expectancy, nutrition, disease, period during which they existed in human history, egalitarianism vs. hierarchies, storage vs. no-storage, mobile vs. sedentary life, etc.
2. Provide a definition of the Biological Old Regime considering: macro and micro parasites, the polycentric world, how population concentrated in a few areas and how climate shaped agriculture, the symbiotic relationship between agricultural peoples and nomads, the threat of wildlife, and the risk of famines.
3. Why does Robert Marks argue in favor of starting with China and Islam when approaching the history of the world c. 1500? Consider the magnitude of the Chinese population, the importance of rice, the technological advantage, the expedition of Zheng He, the strategic location of Islam, where most world commerce was located, the relationship between Islam and trade, and the legacy Islam left to the "Western" world.
4. According to the two episodes of Guns, Germs, and Steel that we watch in class, why did Europe have an advantage over other areas of the world? Consider the presence of certain species of animals and plants, the importance of geography, the impact of diseases and the development of technology (writing, steel, gunpowder, etc.) (Watch the two episodes)
5. Explain why some historians today argue that the concepts of discovery and conquest are not appropriate to understand the contact between Europeans and Natives in the Americas. Consider: civil war between natives /role of plagues / why Columbus was not a genius / critique to the theory of great men / difficulties with gunpowder / critique of the idea of European superiority.