According to Diamond, the major significance of the
different outcomes is that they show the importance of food production. One of
Diamond's major themes in the whole book is the idea that cultures that develop
agriculture early have a huge advantage over those that do not. Diamond argues that the
experiences of the Austronesians in Indonesia and New Guinea show
this.
In Indonesia, the natives never developed agriculture
and were still hunter-gatherers when the Austronesians came. Natives of New Guinea, by
contrast, had agriculture and settled together in densely populated areas. Because of
this, the New Guineans had technology that was as good as that of the Austronesians.
They were resistant to epidemic diseases. These things helped them to resist the
Austronesian incursions.
So, the different outcomes were
significant because they show how important it is to develop agriculture sooner rather
than later.
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