3 ms·
Mongols are considered "western civilization?"
by xkcd-sucks 9y ago
Mongols are considered "western civilization?"
- bambax 9y agoYou seem to be inferring that I said that no non-western civilization ever used the horse? I said no such thing. I said that a great number of civilization and cultures, that lasted for many centuries, developed without ever using horses, and that therefore, the horse cannot be considered to define all of human civilization.
- toasterlovin 9y agoDomestication of the horse shaped human history pretty much everywhere except Africa and Southeast Asia.
- tacomonstrous 9y agoAlso, the Americas till the Europeans showed up.
- toasterlovin 9y agoThe Europeans showing up is part of history. And the horse is one of the things which gave Europeans a huge advantage over the native populations here. Hence, I, a descendant of Europeans, am writing this to you from the Americas.
- samastur 9y agoNot nearly as much as germs and muskets.
- jessaustin 9y agoEveryone has germs, but they wouldn't have had the muskets and more notably the boats to get here without the horse.
- philwelch 9y agoIf it wasn't for germs and muskets, the Comanche would have conquered North America just like the Mongols conquered Eurasia.
- bambax 9y agoAnd America(s) before the Europeans. And all the brillant cultures of the Pacific islands. Etc. So, really not "everywhere".
- toasterlovin 9y agoYeah, but the Europeans showing up is part of history in the Americas. Thus, the horse influenced human history throughout most of the world. And the cultures of the pacific islands aren't really capable of proving or disproving any broad generalizations about human history. The pacific islands are separated from the mainland by thousands of miles and constitute a tiny land mass.