It is just the title of the chapter in Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (1999) I reported in Development Cooperation class today. The chapter discusses the reasons why some peoples of some regions failed to domesticate plants at the earliest stages of development. The question is whether it was because of the apples or the Indians (i.e. the Native Americans). As raised by the author, three contrasting areas - the Fertile Crescent, New Guinea and eastern U.S. - in terms of geographical differences suggested the differences be lying on the differing suites of wild plants available for domestication. So, it was concluded that neither the apples nor the Indians were to blame; rather, it was the biota and environment.
What do you think?
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