Guns. Germs, and Steel Blog

Charlie McGill
Dr. Roddy
IHSS
11.16.18
How Horses Helped Advance Civilization
    In Guns Germs and Steel, Diamond talks a lot about how the domestication of large mammals helped advance human society and helped with food production, warfare, and even in building immunities to germs. The domestication of the horse was a major advancement in many societies around Eurasia, and eventually helped them take control of many civilizations in the America’s, making it one of the most important developments in modern history. Because of this, and just how cool I think the actual animal is, I decided to make my Guns Germs and Steel blog on it.
    The first major way the horse made an impact on civilization is in transport and communication. The horse’s speed made it a lot easier to travel great distances, and a lot easier to get messages around in larger civilizations, such as China during the dynasty times. This led to an increase in collective learning, as well as an increase in trade since horses can carry lots of stuff long distances, such as bringing some meat or produce from the farm to a trade port.
    The second major way in which the horse made an impact on civilization is in warfare. The invention of the stirrup and the saddle in China 2000 years ago made for a great advancement in horse warfare, and made it so that only a few mounted warriors could destroy many more warriors on foot. A great example of this is the Spanish victory over the Aztecs. The Aztecs greatly outnumbered the Spanish, but because all of the Spanish army was on horse, they were able to easily defeat the Aztecs. Another great example in which horses were used to overpower people without them are with the Mongols, who were famous for their incredibly fast mounted attacks in which they placed archers on horses and rode as fast as they could through the middle of towns, taking everything out as they went.  Horses were the main form of mounted or driven (like with chariots) warfare until the invention of the tank, which is very remarkable and a testament to important and effective horses were in warfare.
    The third and final way in which horses greatly affected civilization is in food production. Horses were able to carry plows and help farmers manage greater area of land, allowing for more food to be produced per farm. Although other animals such as the ox did this job as well, and probably better, horses were still used.
    Overall, the domestication of the horse was one of the most important developments in human history, and allowed for better food production, better trade and communication, and stronger armies. All of these things made a very big impact on the course of civilization, and how we got to where we are today.

Source:
Stark, Peter. “A Little Big History of Horses.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/expansion-interconnection/other-materials8/a/a-little-big-history-of-horses.

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