The answer to this question can be found in Chapter Nine,
entitled, rather intriguingly, "Zebras and Unhappy Marriages." In this chapter, Diamond
looks at the number of animals that can be domesticated and how they are scattered over
the globe, and also explores reasons why a number of animals can be tamed but can never
be domesticated, such as zebras and elephants. Note what Diamond concludes in answer to
your question:
Eurasian peoples happened to inherit many more
species of domesticable large wild mammalian herbivores than did peoples of the
continents. that outcome, with all of its momentous advantages for Eurasian societies,
stemmed from three basic facts of mammalian geography, history, and
biology.
Firstly, Diamond
argues, Eurasia was the geographical location with most diversity, and thus had most
candidates for domestication. Secondly, Australia and the Americas actually killed a
number of large mammals during their late-Pleistocene extinctions. Lastly, chance
decreed that a higher percentage of the animals proved suitable for domestication in
Eurasia than in other continents. Thus, Diamond concludes, the combination of these
three factors left Eurasia with more domesticable animals than other continents, and
thus a massive advantage.
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