Various inequalities existing in the modern world have become a subject of research done by anthropologists, historians, and researchers. The film Guns, Germs, and Steel which is based on Jared Diamond’s book presents a conjecture according to which the inequalities can be attributed to environment differences among regions.
This paper is aimed at comparing the themes that Jared Diamond discusses with the issues that Holly Peters-Golden examines in her book Culture Sketches. On the whole, one can argue that these scholars look at the development of societies from different perspectives. In particular, Holly Peters-Golden discusses the cultures emerged in various communities.
In contrast, Jared Diamond pays more attention to geographic and environmental factors that could have shaped the life of various nations. Yet, both of these authors exclude racial rhetoric from their discussion. In their opinion, this variable does not determine the ability of individuals and groups to achieve growth.
In her book, Holly Peters-Golden discusses various aspects that are related to cultural anthropology. In particular, this author focuses on such elements as belief systems existing in various communities, the creation of myth, the forms of government existing in different societies, values, geography and many other aspects are important for describing a certain culture.
This author does not focus only on socio-economic inequality; yet, her discussion suggests that the differences between people can be accounted to various factors such as geography, internal struggle within the community, different attitude toward individuality and community, climate, and many other factors that can shape the development of the society and living conditions of people who do not have any physiological distinctions.
In turn, Jared Diamond examines a more specific topic. This researcher wants to understand why there are significant differences in the level of economic prosperity. He attaches importance to such climate and environment because they play a critical role for the development of agriculture and subsequent evolution of the community.
This researcher rejects a stereotype which implies that inequalities can be attributed to a superiority or inferiority of a certain ethnic or racial group. In his opinion, this explanation is not consistent with the scientific evidence that is now available to archeologists and anthropologists. This idea plays the most important role in the movie which describes the journey of Jared Diamond.
Despite the differences in the themes that Holly Peters-Golden Jared Diamond explore there are some similarities that should not be overlooked. In particular, one should mention that both of these authors reject the idea that inequalities can be determined genetically. This argument can have significant implications for the modern community.
Their arguments imply that many contemporary stereotypes about racial superiority are completely unfounded. This is one of the main issues that should be taken into consideration. Additionally, their works suggest that cultural and socio-economic development cannot be predictable. This issue should not be overlooked by modern anthropologists.
On the whole, this comparison shows that modern researchers pay much attention to the diversity of various cultures and their long-term evolution.
The main issue is that one can better understand various traditions, customs, and economic development by examining various factors like geography, agricultural production, climate, migration, and so forth. This approach can be more suitable for the needs of anthropologists, historians and economists who want to explain the course of history.