What's The Best Temperature for Civilization?

Today we're taking a closer at an average temperature map of the world and trying to see if we can find any patterns.
Do you have any thoughts? Was this complete nonsense? How DO you use a little can opener?
I should also have mentioned that climates have changed in many places across the globe so this map might not be 100% accurate in depicting the temperatures across ancient civilizations while they were still civilizations. I really meant to mention this in the video but alas, here I am writing it in the comments instead.
Here's a link to the map if you're interested: i.redd.it/l1eye5puu3v11.jpg
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support me on patreon at / atlaspro
"Ave Marimba" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

[@o0260o]

Once again someone fails to explain how Russians are even alive

[@mcamp9445]

Vodka and no laughing

[@Alvaro1ization]

Simple they're Russians. That's enough of a reason.

[@vatssuyogmishra3194]

aniaml fur jackets, petroleum, willingness to survive and more important voldka made russians alive.. That sounds weird

[@muhammadvikral4367]

They are not alive they are survive!

[@ahmedfawzy4511]

They have the blood of the nords, what do you excepect

[@vdotme]

Slightly colder is also better for food storage and pest control.

[@aniseedus]

Yes, but hot places too can do it because of a local speciality: spices. Spices manage to preserve food longer (think for example pickling). It is one of the reasons for the historic trade and demand for spices. You could say this to be one reason why Indian food is spicy.

[@asterope1604]

Also less tropical diseases like malaria etc.

[@skellagyook]

Hot places can also do it (and traditionally have, sometimes for dry seasons) with methods like drying (for things like grains/crops/plants) and smoking and salting (for meats, fish, etc).

[@skellagyook]

@@aniseedus or with drying (in the case of things like grains and other plants) and smoking and salting (in the case of meats for example).

[@user-nf3hh8kn5r]

Also no mosquitoes. I fucking hate living south of the equator.

[@genseric3712]

It gets even more interesting when you know that egypt and iraq were a bit colder 5k years ago !!

[@viveka2994]

They were wetter, not colder. But that only lasted a thousand years, it went back to super hot desert.

[@genseric3712]

@@viveka2994 exactly

[@TheYannir]

@@viveka2994 Why do you think it was wetter? Because it was colder. Hotter air holds more moisture until you get to like 60+ C.

[@viveka2994]

@@TheYannir Not really. Just the winds flew better into the sahara. Now dust flews from Sahara to Atlantic.

[@rabahsahi6448]

@@viveka2994 Yes you r right For example the indian subcontinent has Temperature of 45 plus centigrad in summer And some areas have a very high percentsge of humidity So its almost 30 plus average temperature And it has been the same for a few hundred or thousands years Ok we could say that it Was about 25 plus centigrade average temp But we have huge and very old civilization in this area Almost all over the Subkontinent With more in river areas In punjab sindh Bengal and Ganga jumna river valleys Reaching even the tropical areas of south india Madras a very old city Kalicut Kerala old trading Ports Goa Portugese colony Karachi old Name dibel Was populated 1000 of years ago So the temperature suitable Varies It also depends on the crops production The food variety the fruits Herbs and spices Domestic animals Overall natural ecosystem And in the sub continent These all above mentioned factors were quite suitable And favorable for human growth for development of civilization and of course Establishment of kingdoms and empires And that is why foreign invaders came to indian sub continent for its favorable conditions The aryans the afghan and persian conquerors the mughals who ruled here for hundreds of years then the british came and stayed Russian always wanted but could not Another factor is how well and Quick some people races nations Can Adapt to their environment And how well they can find ways to Face the difficulties and prepare invent counter measures The factor of disease and danger of predators And other natural disasters Like earth quake Zones flood areas Hurricane Tsunami areas Volcanic erruptions Or any other natural hazards which take place Frequently So that the inhabitors of that area have less time to progress to build up and prosper before the next disaster strucks And there definately other factors involved This was just some examples

[@aleksanderlenartowicz5659]

Climate was much different in Bronze Age when most of early civilisations thrived. I think you should include climate fluctuations into this thought experiment

[@hoperules8874]

Yeah! He already did the work on that bit! That would totally rock.

[@sods2731]

Forgetting the Aztec civilization which was quite the achievement and the Incan civilization which were both in the Americas and within the correct temperature zones

[@TheNando1]

For real!! For someone with an education in environmental science and geography he could not have just missed those civilizations. I almost think he forgot them on purpose.

[@timvanrijn8239]

I think he was looking for atcient civilization And the olmecs arent to commenly known. Be we can be glad someone dint think of the aztecs as crazy atciend for once

[@peonyrumble1815]

@@timvanrijn8239 I feel like the Olmec are popularly known. Especially by those who study such things. Leaving out these civilizations was hopefully just over site. They should have been included, and it was disappointing that they weren't.

[@timvanrijn8239]

@@peonyrumble1815 seeing as the indus valley wasnt named either id just asume its a oversite.

[@timvanrijn8239]

@Shivam Joshi thats why is suspect he also means exualy atcient civilisations.

[@xyilxyil]

Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, praise the lord!

[@nigangte6984]

Amen!

[@jeremiahtisdell4823]

We Americans count calories per cheeseburger instead of kmh

[@adronius147]

Well, 37°C body temperature is mild fever level though. xD

[@mybackhurts7020]

Isn’t that nice of them so that you can understand what’s going on

[@grotty9850]

@@adronius147 No it isn't

[@sublime9525]

Mongols: screw temperature, hold my horse

[@columbien10]

Well, you could argue that the lands the Mongols ruled iver and their successors held on for a while are very similar to Mongolian steppes, consisting mainly of grassy plains and the edges of their empire was made of civilizations of other climates

[@bl1tz533]

@@columbien10 what about the Yamnaya horse peoples who literally are the ancestors to over 2 billion people

[@bl1tz533]

@Turtle Kingdom BITCH thats literally what the Yamnaya people are

[@bl1tz533]

@Turtle Kingdom BITCH yuh but i just want this comment to gain more traction so more people can learn about the indo europeans

[@bl1tz533]

@Turtle Kingdom BITCH so we gotta change that man

[@salemsaberhagen8926]

I have liked your other videos, but frankly this one is a mess. There are several problems with your theory and the way you approach the topic. 1. You didn't mention the Aztecs, the Mayans and the Incas. These were advanced native civilizations that emerged in Mexico, Central America and the Andes (areas on yellow and green on your map). They were certainly more advanced than native civilizations elsewhere in the Americas and in many parts of the world at the time. These civilizations also developed agriculture, writing, maths, and domestication on their own. Seems like a big oversight. 2. The inclusion of the United States in this video makes no sense. The USA is not an "ancient civilization". It's a modern nationstate that emerged after the industrial revolution as a product of colonization. The industrial revolution changed the rules of the game and climate stopped being as big a factor as a result. Thus the USA is not a "civilization", but an extension of the broader "Western civilization" which also includes Argentina, Australia and to an extent South Africa, nations that are also the products of European colonialism. These nations are also fairly successful as the most developed regions in their respective continents, with influential world cities like Sydney, Buenos Aires or Cape Town. It's true that ancient civilizations didn't emerge there but neither did they in the United States. Modern nationstates are both present there and in the United States. You are engaging in an anachronism by mentioning the USA as a separate "civilization" and confusing the issue. 3. You are using a modern climate map to describe civilizations that emerged as far back as 7000 years ago. Climate has changed a lot since then. 4. You barely mentioned rivers which are one of the main factors that affected the development of ancient civilizations. 5. Your maps don't have New Zealand on them.

[@AshrakAhmed]

Yeah stopped watching the video the moment he mentioned the "ancient civilization of USA!" need to rework this video.

[@hombomnl]

Why has this comment not more upvotes

[@mushmush4980]

This is actually incredible

[@omranhashim1028]

Great points, especially that third one about the climate being different thousands of years ago, I feel like that was totally overlooked.

[@nesta.nihispacevolcanystur4807]

Yeahh...he didn't point out about southeast Asia civilization which are Angkor Kingdom and Borobodur Temple thousands years ago that have great architecture in rock sculpting in the middle of the rainforest. Even he claims that the rainforest is an obstacle for building a civilization which is (in opposite) that they have great resources, food, more water stream and shelter.

[@andreteixeira6978]

Temperature changes over time, for exemple, you used the same map to justify the place of origin of humans but thousands of years ago that region might have had a different temperature

[@user-rh2pv2kc5g]

you forget one key point and made a vital mistakes....the temperature 5000 years ago is about 4 degrees on average higher than it was today...thats the average annually .in the summer the temperature would be 3 times more like 12 degrees higher...

[@burths7984]

100% the magnet field is moving and everyone just calls it global warming

[@zyndll1071]

Nekcorb S'hes bro just stop that’s not even close to being true

[@12halo3]

@@burths7984 dumbass

[@detsu09]

Climate change is fake news

[@MattTheMatt1]

You mentioned India as an anomaly but the Mayans existed for 1000s of years in the same temperature/climate

[@arijitpalit2756]

Not anomaly, it’s actually rivers. Constant supply of fresh water contributes more to a civilization than temperature

[@MattTheMatt1]

@@arijitpalit2756 I didn't mean that India is an anomaly, I'm sure that there are many reasons why people populated the Indian subcontinent. The creator of this video states it was but there are other civilisations that exist in similar climates, the Mayans exist for over 1500 years prior to Spanish Colonialism.

[@ambravo190]

​@@MattTheMatt1 They Mayans survived thanks to their engineering, they had amazing irrigation networks and aqueducts that used rain water. I think the biggest problem the mayans had was a severe mega drought that destroyed them as a huge civilization. Therefore climate and the lack of constant supply of fresh water where a huge factor for their demise, I don’t know if temperature had to do with it.

[@guacamolework3918]

@@MattTheMatt1 The man who made this video was just didn't knew enough about the topic. He said that India is the anomaly for have a great civilization in such condition. It was totally bullshit. In the equatorial, there were many great civilizations, like in the Southeast Asia there are Sriwijaya, Melayu and many other Malay civilizations. And then Majapahit, Mataram, Singasari and many other Javanese civilizations. Also Bugis, Thai and of course the Indian civilization.

[@guacamolework3918]

Btw, the 4th most populous country in the world is located in Southeast Asia. The most populous island is Java Island, also located in Southeast Asia.

[@ramanparashar1]

"Availability of Food & Agriculture" has been the single biggest reason for civilizations & populations. Historically river valleys have served as the starting point of civilizations. Temperature is the least of all the concerns once Humans developed proper clothing & houses. And "food" is the only reason India & China have historically been the most populous regions on the earth even though Egypt had a headstart.

[@floppydonkeyste]

I agree, you can only have a large population if you can feed it. There is also the theory that in order to survive in colder climates humans need to pool their resources to increase their chances of survival

[@erdood3235]

@@floppydonkeyste i didn't understood that second sentence

[@gotouguts2066]

Erdood People have to share stuff to survive if they live in colder areas

[@mytiliss682]

It's also reason why Romans didn't advance further to the north. They couldn't harvest on this lands with their technology so the only reason they tried to conquer there was strategic opportunities for safer borders. But agricultural technology development (and middle-age temperature optimum) allowed civilizations to thrive there later.

[@SHAURYA181]

Raman Parashar foodavailibilty is controlled by elevation and vegetation growth which in turn is controlled by climate

[@andraslibal]

You need one more ingredient: periodic winters that force people to work and gather in the summer to be able to survive the winter. As you said, work is a key factor, but not just work - but over working compared to current existing needs. A seasonal weather pattern forces this onto people initially and then it develops into culture and planning, supplies gathering, organization, work ethic, a society and then it can be transported to other places. Egypt actually had this external periodic forcing with the flooding of the Nile.

[@alvarocostaalves]

But that happens with savannah regions too, there's a seasonal drought when practically nothing grows (that might explain India though)

[@youngjung161]

​@@alvarocostaalvesOne potential difference with cold is that you technically can survive in the heat to a degree without agriculture, food storage, etc... but in the cold it simply isn't possible. Even when there is little in the Savannah foraging and migration are possible. Secondly heat sucks for food storage, so it kind of messes with planning things

[@eestaashottentotti2242]

Yes. They say, that instilled forced collaboration by nature is one of the ingredients of current success of Scandinavia. I don't know, what went into Russia. Maybe they found oil and gas, so rulers get funding to stay in power without that good of an organization required.

[@andraslibal]

@@eestaashottentotti2242 no, that is Norway. Russia has a huge open plain towards the West that gets invaded all the time so they need to create and sustain a back country in Siberia to be safe. That need for safety overrules the laissez fare approach of countries that do not need to fear invasions (like the US or UK).

[@bulafuqqi4914]

13:13 >talks about China >shows footage of Frankfurt, Germany

[@AM-yz1ll]

Yes, but it actually looks very similar to the skyline in China.

[@juan1323]

@@AM-yz1ll just the one skyline?

[@joshi3334]

@@juan1323 Yeah. You know. _That_ skyline in the whole of China. _That_ skyline

[@jips5522]

Globasist architecture, very hard to tell the difference.

[@Celine.G.]

because the chinese copy everything. even cities

[@shibity]

I think the mistake this video makes is looking for temps that make US comfortable as opposed to looking for temps that make our FOOD grow the best.

[@CenarosNL]

Well.. I think it's kind of parallel.

[@tareke586]

He did show that food grows best in these temperatures too. Warmer temperatures have deserts and rainforests, colder temperatures are frozen for much of the year. Couple these with the smaller population, and the work argument, and you get NO CIVILIZATION, as not enough people are there to work, and they won’t even be working hard. Basically he says if water is there, you just need a good temperature, if a good temperature is there, you just need a large enough population. If the population isn’t large enough, have contact with the outside world. If the temperature isn’t good enough, again, be close enough to better temperatures to spread ideas like agriculture, making a large enough population REGARDLESS of temperature, like in the case of Germany or India.

[@josenildoferreiraassuncao8963]

16 to 21 °C is the ideal

[@colintilbrook]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

[@VezWay007]

I think this is where "necessity is the mother of invention comes to play". Orange climates (from video) are deserts and is not great at supporting life while red climates are savannahs and rainforests which have plentiful sources of food. The yellow climates are not deserts (they may be cool enough to retain water more) but they don't have as many food sources, making agriculture necessary to the people settling there and thus starts civilization. Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations are probably just necessary bridges from East Africa and are not really optimal which is why they were overtook by the other great civilizations.

[@barmleczny3980]

I like how you can clearly see poland's borders by just looking at this map

[@LancesArmorStriking]

Its modern borders? Maybe Stalin was onto something...

[@shaneschambach932]

And where did you think Poland lay? Within the temperate zone, ideal for human civilization? No offense, but did you honestly think that Poland had the optimal climate for human habitation? I

[@huntercampbell-lalonde7494]

The Aztec empire also falls within the “sweet spot” and was up there as one of the most advanced ancient civilizations

[@Native_Creation]

Aztec Empire is fairly modern in comparison to the actual Mesoamerican ancients; Olmecs, Toltecs, Teotihuacan, Totonac, Proto-Mayan, etc.

[@Ascertivus]

I noticed that on the map and thought about the Aztecs, too! I don’t know why they weren’t included in the video; after all, the United States, the most modern civilization listed here, was listed.

[@adriancampos8640]

I'm also missing Ethiopia.

[@balintmelegh6457]

Aztec empire was an advanced ancient civilization, but even thought I love them, I would not put them in the 'successful civilization' range, they made an impact for sure, but they were at technology at anctient tech. when europians just discovered guns, had iron and melted glass, had full plate armor, and china who had guns for 5 centuries before the fall of the Aztec empire in 16th centurie. Aztec had a really good tech. for an ancient civ. but they stoped there, yeah you can blame europian for colonising, but remember that they were at least a thousand years(!!!!!) behind in technology. That is why i do not think they were successful because they could maintain themself they were far to behind when considering europe and asia, that is the same problem with Maori, Hawaii, Indonesia, heck even norden civilizations like norvegia and sweden (those counties litteraly raided others 'couse they had very little, or tried to get in the country and live there) they can maintain life to the point where you have a good culture, but not good enough to be the strongest ones in time with the better placed civilizations. And if Christopher Columbus was not a f*king idiot then he would have known that the earth is not so small, going out just to find an other continent. they when the Aztec finally would reach iron or even guns I guess europians or chinese people would be looking down to their phones thought some satellite, saying " wie wir das nicht entdeckt haben" (how we did not discovered that). oh yeah I remember why are we not saying anything about Germany or Spain or France or Greece or Turkey? PS:I do not speak german that was google translation and I will not look up a better sentece if somebody want to correct it please do so. Edit: Oh right i forgot, the UK or that does not count 'couse they are THE WHITE PEOPLE and the internet does not give credit to the white people?? or Protugal, Japan, Korea with Bommer Turtle, or Vietnam they fought of the USA that was mantioned here or that win does not count 'couse they had help?

[@OC-CPA]

@@balintmelegh6457 What on earth are you even talking about?

[@santirial2465]

New Zealand has left the chat

[@bonkatronka]

as a kiwi I'm sure we would've won

[@DhawanGuptaIndia]

India, too.

[@blackyle3]

Who?

[@jimmyjim5yearsago376]

@@blackyle3 joe

[@cowardice9737]

Jimmy Jim who’s joe?

[@KokLiangLim]

how about humidity? i think it has impact on how we feel on temperature

[@aGuyNamedEr1c]

It also breeds infections, diseases, mosquitos, etc.

[@desp8161]

True, but humidity is an illusion of heat. Crop wise, it makes little difference.

[@desp8161]

@Darby Yeah I know, I just said it doesn't affect crops that much, but humidity doesn't raise temperatures. In order for there to be water in the air, it needs to be warm first, as water needs heat to vaporize more readily.

[@jasonholt2543]

@Darby Higher humidity stabilises the tempreture which does indeed affect the rate of growth of plants, it increases it reducing the need for advanced farming and storage ideas due to abundance. If you have less need to built advanced tools to aquire food and no need to fight over limited resources thus develop better weapons and military there is no need for a civilisation to pay large taxes to a goverment who essentially drives society.

[@invalidname.pleasetryagain122]

Humidity matters so much. Couple days ago it was 66 degrees Fahrenheit in NYC so I thought it was gonna be cool but the humidity level was at 99% because it had been raining and I was sweating like a pig ugh. Right now it's 77F but the humidity level is only at 63% and I'm cool as a Q-cumbr

[@pratikdedhia]

But average doesn't mean it will be same throughout the year. Fluctuations also could have been taken into account. What's the point of having 21° C average when your extremes are 35° C and 7° C. I would rather prefer 24°C average with extremes of 21°C and 27° C .

[@somatia350]

Interesting, I don’t remember Africa getting close to freezing, or the Amazon, yeah no. It’s not normal for some parts, especially close to the equator, of the world to experience 7C. Ohh and if you’re talking about Fahrenheit...yeah no

[@hamanakohamaneko7028]

How is 7 and 35 extreme? It’s just Japan

[@TheSasudomi]

I would say that Europe is anything but extreme in this area. Like -10 is not even close to extreme. Completely normal if you expect the snow.

[@AlfaRomeoQ]

He means extremes as in "lowest and highest averages". For instance, where I live the yearly average temperature is 23.5ºC, the average highest temperature is around 36ºC and the average lowest temperature is 12ºC. It can go higher or lower, but these are the averages. He's not saying 7ºC is extreme weather, he's just saying that there's no point having a 21ºC average across all seasons, if during summer it goes as high as 35º and during winter it goes as low as 7º. Also, you might think 7ºC is normal, but the world doesn't revolve around where you live. 40ºC is normal in a city further north of where I live, and I guess most Europeans would probably faint if they had to experience such weather for 3 months with average humidity of 80%+. Given that, it is reasonable to think that the OP would feel 7ºC is cold, since I think he's from Kochi, India (around 30ºC high average all year round).

[@ziguirayou]

Shows hot places like South Asia, Persian Gulf and Central America: "Apart from India, no advanced civilizations here guys"... Aztec, Maian, Persia, Mesopotamia, Sian O_O

[@viveka2994]

Siam is not ancient, Aztecs have no impact on us, he literally said Persians, we use some of their laws today. He said Mesopotamia, Euphrates and Tigris is literally said on the video, learn to listen. Mayans gave no impact and were tribal, same as Tenochitlan.

[@jmlightning8045]

@@viveka2994 Whether or not the central and south American civilizations have an impact on us today (which I of itself I do not agree with) it does not change the fact that they where advanced civilizations like Rome and China and thus should be considered in such discussions.

[@dekippiesip]

Agreed, even India in it's own right is too big to just push aside as an 'exception'. This is confirmation bias at work. At least he should provide alternative explanations as to why India or the Aztecs where the exceptions to this rule. What sets them apart from other areas with the same average temperature?

[@viveka2994]

@@dekippiesip it's not bias but ok

[@viveka2994]

@@dekippiesip india has tons of cultures, the size isn't the impact, it's their cultural impact.

[@luissa268]

How about humidity? temperature is just a portion of climate.

[@meteofur9604]

yes in florida people from up north are like, "lol i can handle 95 F" but they dont resize florida has a high 100% humidity

[@kyleewart945]

@@meteofur9604 Yup. I work in the ideal "Slightly below optimum temperature" zone in the United States and I work out side. The actual temperature may say 97, but the humidity makes it feel like 105.

[@luissa268]

@@meteofur9604 exactly. i'm from a hot place in Portugal, and people from Russia say that our snowless 12ºC winters are colder than their snowy -5ºC winters. I've been in both, and I agree. also, most infections, parasites, etc, are more pervious to humidity than temperature. It would make a kick ass video, IMHO :)

[@gutersteinker]

You can have a more accurate weather estimation with the Dew point.

[@elkiness]

Just came back from India to Israel. While the temperature is about 31 C in both, the high humidity in India made it difficult to function optimally. What a relief to come home to our low humidity!

[@tusharmahendrakar2387]

It's all about rivers. Huang He, Indus, Ganga, Tigris,Euphratus and Nile were most important flowering of ancient civilizations. Egypt was breadbasket of Roman Empire. Ganga-Yamuna Doab was heartland of indian civilization. Tigris and Euphratus help sustain persians.

[@yattasuccess9212]

And because of the water source, more people from across the regions tended to move to that growing and progressing place, therefore the productivity of the civilization just keeps multiplying and multiplying.

[@KuK137]

Name any significant rivers in Italy, Greece, Persia, Tunis (Carthage), or Syria (Phoenicians), five great powers of ancient era. Oh wait...

[@mangudaimonger8915]

@@KuK137 Italy - Po River. Persia (whose empire was based around Babylon) - Euphrates, Syria - also Euphrates and Tigris. As for Greece and Carthage, their empires were founded off of trade networks which can be helpful, but these two empires became great not because of population but because of the wars they were able to wage and the people they were able to subjugate. Think about the Mongols, they live in a very inhospitable climate yet became one of the greatest

[@klaudioprecetaj7859]

Yeah thus video is stupid af. Its all about rivers. Fresh water source is the most important factor.

[@team3am149]

KuK137 Did you just forget about the large ass body of water next to 4/5 of those nations? It's not only about rivers, but instead about large quantities of fresh water and a medium for transportation

[@japjitsingh31]

Here in India. Temperature in Winter reaches 5 And Summer reaches 48

[@pedrosabino8751]

😱

[@DR-54]

winter temperature being only 5 would be a dream, already get those summer temperatures so nothing changes

[@animeshsingh7294]

@@DR-54 actually here in North India the temperature in winters reaches as low as 0° and I am just talking about plains mountaneous states are colder and in simmer it might reach 48° in plains . so go and do some research

[@rafamilk1]

@@animeshsingh7294 takashi is mad

[@animeshsingh7294]

@@rafamilk1 how does that even matters ,it's just an anime character.Moreover and it proves that u have no knowledge of winter temperature in India and u are just a fool, even states like UP and Bihar reach the temperature below 0° in winters and instead of telling me mad go and do some research , a small Google search will also work it would not take much time

[@luizfernando4497]

I live in one of these orange (average of 21°C) zones and i need to say that its 38°C right now and it gets to -6°C in the winter

[@fayhay8011]

What an extreme temperature change you live

[@60ritikanand69]

Same here. Except temperature ranges from 44°C to 0°C

[@SoulDelSol]

@@fayhay8011 where i live it ranges from about -23C on coldest winter days to almost 40C on hottest summer days. Needless to say I'm not in an orange area

[@gustavosauro1882]

I have never experienced any temperature lower than 25°

[@Spacemongerr]

@@gustavosauro1882 That is wild. For me it is below 25° all year except one to three weeks in the summer. I find it to be quite unpleasant when it is above 25.

[@ala0284]

I would say the reason that humans live best in 16°C is because it was much easier to keep warm than cold - all we had to do when it was cold at night was light a fire, and in the daytime temperatures were around that optimum 21°C, where as in areas where the average temperature is 21°C had days that were above that, and it would’ve been very difficult to keep cool without cold drinks or anything like that.

[@sodr7440]

Clothing also is a pretty nice weapon against cold

[@kekerosberg1654]

Well propably pretty close to the nordic countries

[@connorleonard4047]

sweat

[@ShadowMajestic]

cold drinks don't cool you off, rather the opposite.

[@kekerosberg1654]

@@ShadowMajestic but they do, example soda

[@VanBurenOfficial]

Wasnt global climate slightly different during the bronze age?

[@paula194]

Yes and no. I'm going to preface this by saying I've never been formally educated in Geography or climatology and have what can at best be considered a passing interest in these topics. All info giving after this brief aside should be taken with a grain of salt, and should someone with far greater credentials go "EVERYTHING HE SAID IS WRONG!" They are probably right With that out of the way, whether there have been any major changes in the climate over human history is something of a weird question to answer, as climate change (as a whole, not including the rampant burning of coal and other fossil fuels that's happening right now) tends to happen very slowly over very long time scales However, these 'small' changes which don't affect the planet as a whole much, can have massive effects on individual regions on Earth. For example, over the last 2,000 years, the global average temperature has changed very little (at least, as far as our most popular estimates are concerned) and in fact, depending on which reconstructions of global temperature you're using, the global average temperature has changed by more in the last ~100 years than it did over the other ~1900 years or so (though of course, there are other reconstructions that dispute this fact heavily, but they all generally agree things have changed a lot over the past 100 years) However, there have been certain climates that over the last 10,000 or so years have seen drastic changes. For one, the middle east has undergone a great deal of desertification since the time of Mesopotamia (I might be thinking of another civilization here, but there was a civilization there that only ever saw the area as nothing but a natural bread basket). I'm fairly certain there've been some interesting changes with the areas around the Amazon rainforest over the last 10000 or so years and I remember reading something about the Asian steppes, but I'm not confident in saying what exactly happened there. There's also the fact that as far as the planet is concerned, a global ice age actually happened very recently (one that some would say is not even entirely over yet). The point is, that climate change is a pretty complex issue and with the added difficulty (though in some ways ease) of having to examine historical changes in climate, for which there are few known human records (though quite a few natural ones), well, even the simplest of questions quickly start having answers measured in paragraphs.

[@chloepechlaner7806]

@@paula194 As far as the ice age is concerned, we're in whats called an interglacial period; we're in a warm time within an ice age. In around 10,000 years (a short amount of time, geologically) massive glaciers will cover northern europe, asia, and america. Unless we turn our planet into Venus of course, but thats a different conversation.

[@paula194]

@@chloepechlaner7806 Oh thanks for the info. Out of curiosity, are the mechanics behind why this will happen something that can be explained to the layman? and if so, how will this mesh with the effects of global warming currently occurring. Heck, will the effects of global warming even continue to persist 10000 years from now, assuming we peaked at a 1.5-2 degree increase in average global temperature?

[@chloepechlaner7806]

@@paula194 Basically, a combination of earth's axis "wobble" and small changes in our orbit make it so that the northern hemisphere is at times SUPER far away from the sun most of the time. These things dont line up the same way for the south pole. Its a bunch of little things that mean when cycles line up, the northern ice sheet gets REALLY big.

[@chloepechlaner7806]

@@paula194 assuming we peaked there? No. The issue is that raising temperatures engender processes that themselves raise the temperature; a self-sustaining cycle of increasing temperatures. For example, when ice melts, less light gets reflected by it and so the earth gets hotter, which melts ice...

[@luisemilio6322]

I love this man’s video, and so far I think this is the only time I find an “error”. This man completely forgot a lot of places that fit in his description of tropical savanna. The Mayans and Aztecs, Incas, even some empires in Southeast Asia. I thought this was because of time frame and he only meant early civilizations, but then he goes and talks about the US.… How?

[@russelldouglas8746]

Just to add to what you said, there were large scale civilizations throughout Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were ignored during the same section. Ashanti, The Swahili City States, Songhai, Mali, the Emirate of Oman, the Sabaeans, etc.

[@KPops1897]

I think this was intended to be a sampling. There were many more in the Mediterranean too, and the commonality in the civilizations he chose were those that were expanding beyond their borders.

[@PaiDeLosMontes]

I think it's most probably that he didn't even know about them. Or that this video is actually a lit biased

[@anomalianomali5080]

​@@PaiDeLosMontesFirstly, they are not an advanced civilization, secondly, like SEA, their ancestors came from the Yellow Region, their civilization is a legacy originating from the Indus Valley, Yellow and Yang Tze Kiang Valley, all three are in the Yellow Region on the map.

[@An-kw3ec]

The place were aztecs lived was subtropical highland, not rainforest nor Savanah, the region had lake systems and pine forests. But mayans did lived in the Yucatan peninsula with a real tropical climate.

[@ilaibavati6941]

I always thought one of the contributing factors to the development of civilizations in colder places is that they require more work to survive - more energy, intensive agriculture to make it through the winter, more insulating clothes and shelter, etc. Thus, it makes sense that the earliest civilizations arose in areas that were naturally accomodating for agriculture (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley), which generally relied minimal work compared to colder climes. This was fine for the Bronze Age, where agricultural output was the core of civilization, but for more developed civilizations, the focus has to shift to technology, and the incentive to develop technology increases in a harsher climate (although too harsh a climate makes it too difficult to develop technology). I think a great example of what I'm talking about is the Netherlands, which developed as a result of its perpetual fight against the sea (and rivers).

[@pnkochkn]

Thank you Atlas Pro, very 21 degrees Celsius!

[@aupoorbosarkar6462]

😂

[@kust112]

Very 21 savage

[@mybackhurts7020]

Isn’t it nice that they used Celsius so you could understand

[@bro...5849]

my back HURTS I don’t know Celsius.

[@MyVanir]

@@mybackhurts7020 Well, maybe they don't want to target only the speshul, backwards snowflakes who continue to use the imperial system and Fahrenheit.

[@daddyleon]

You mentioned it with Egypt and Mesopotamia, but not with China and the USA: rivers!

[@jorghiabiansyah4482]

Chinese civilizations depends on the Yantze and Yellow river

[@fixthings2473]

It had nothing to do with rivers or climate, otherwise most of America would have been like Yucatan peninsular, its about whoever inherited the surviving knowledge of the antediluvian civilizations that got destroyed 10,000 + years ago, ancient Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt were the first, they passed it on to the middle east and southern Europe who invaded them non stop and took them out of civilization, then spread it around asia and western Europe, and western Europe invaded the world and continued to crack the code of the mystery science and invite off world entities for knowledge and we got the modern world which still pales in comparison to the antediluvian world which was both technically adn spiritually advanced unlike the annunaki prison we live in today.

[@soyderiverdeliverybeaver8941]

Rivers are present in the mediterranean and the pampas as well, i'm not sure about south africa and australia

[@SirSchmittyX]

@@fixthings2473 hahahahaha

[@Ola-rc7hm]

I love how he said "in these areas, no real civilization ever emerged" (precides to show us a highlighted map of Florida)

[@Calvary_fellowship]

You forgot to mention great African civilizations such as Mali, Nubia, Abyssinia, Kongo, Luba, Borno, Songhai, Ghana, and Zimbabwe as well as the Buganda kingdom that thrived well before 1600

[@nelsonganchozo3260]

You forgot to mention that the Incas the most developed civilization in South America used to be located mainly in the Andean region ,which has the same temperature of Europe and Asia

[@bog4ntkd8932]

And Abyssinia, the first christian kingdon of Africa

[@rajbagwe3732]

Incas were stone age civilization, not advanced

[@timthehistorian]

That area was a cradle of civilization and tons of Pre-Incan civilizations thrived before the Inca rose in the late 1300s

[@timthehistorian]

@@rajbagwe3732 they built roads into the sides of mountains, used ropes as a writing system, that we just figured out. They has a centralized government and used COPPER AND BRONZE TOOLS AND WEAPONS. Not advanced, huh?

[@rajbagwe3732]

@@timthehistorian I mean population wise, they weren't much...

[@willingersoll302]

They completely skipped over the Mali, Aztec and Inca empire

[@ililililili9726]

Are you serious?

[@gururajmaddodi7709]

confirmation bias

[@claivertfelix2214]

THANK YOU

[@jordanjacobson6046]

well and additionally the Maya as well, not all of the region is at that perfect 21C band but is spread out all over in the region kinda like a spider web in his map and they supported incredibly complex cities and even built the largest known pyramid in terms of volume(la danta), all without the wheel. Modern estimates (in the past two years) since they started doing lidar mapping from drones was anywhere from 15-25 million people spread across dozens of large cities, hundreds of smaller ones and potentially thousands of villages.

[@alessandroolivieri7]

What about Vikings and Russians? They also were skipped completely

[@shaneschambach932]

I think human comfort and human progress are two very different concepts. The climate that is most conducive to human health and well being is not necessarily always the one most conducive to civilization, as proven, time and time again, by the various geographical setting and their respective climates where it arose and flourished.

[@TheRedKing247]

Sidenote in support of your theory: Argentina/Uruguay, South Africa, and Australia have all been pretty moderately successful countries in the modern world, with the Argentinians having the worlds 5th largest economy at one point, South Africa being really one of the only successful post-colonial African states, and Australia being one of the few truly developed nations outside of North America and Europe.

[@Metroyeti17]

My only question/complaint is that you completely disregarded Mesoamerican civilizations like the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec when you discussed civilizations in the 25-30 degree range

[@marcooosbibendorsht1334]

And SE Asia, West (And East Africa), Indonesia etc

[@jankatozden5928]

@Boco Corwin Aztecs were one of the last ones to emerge in that area but both Olmecs and Mayas had a long run counting in thousands of years.

[@Metroyeti17]

@Boco Corwin Bruh that's not the case at all, look into Teotihuacan for starters, there's some deep an immense history over there. We just know very little about it because the jungle's covered up most of what we know, and by the time Europe actually got to exploring most of it 95% of the population was dead from Old World diseases

[@miliba]

and he also forgot the incas

[@sonicpsycho13]

I was thinking the same thing: Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans. However, I think we're not certain how big those civilizations actually got, due to a lack of permanent records and destruction by European conquerors.

[@ahashtonwoodlin5194]

I loved the video, but was surprised you didn't mention any of the ancient American civilizations like the Inca, Aztec and Maya

[@ds2k15]

A glaring omission imo. The Americas and highlighted southern hemisphere locations also didn't have the beasts of burden that Eurasia had access to.

[@Lyle-xc9pg]

they weren't that advanced though, and they didn't last that long

[@jonlawrence19]

@@Lyle-xc9pg oh yeah they were advanced enough and the most advanced in the area especially when considering other factors against them like a lack of domesticated animals to help in agriculture

[@hehe8012]

Japan was also glared over

[@kingkeeper9926]

@@Lyle-xc9pg These territories where populated more recently than those of Europe, and trade with different communities was harder because of mountain ranges. But not so long before the Spanish arrived these civilizations managed to trade and share their advances, starting an rapid advance in agriculture, government and religion. This advance happened in a pretty short amount of time, and they managed to reach a high level of development, life quality and government stability. Something that Europe only had for a short time in ancient Greece and never really obtained again until recently. The Muisca, Aztecs and Incas advanced a lot. The Aztecs had one of the biggest cities in the earth by the time the Spanish arrived, the Incas had one of the largest empires ever created and the Muiscas managed to create a peaceful Federation between other tribes that spoke different languages, lived well and where pretty rich. All of this built in a short period of time and without having any connection to the rest of the world. By the time the Spanish arrived, the natives where better feed and more educated than the average person in Europe by the time. They could have lasted for longer, but sadly they really didn't had much time to pair with Europe and sickness killed most of them. They also never fought so much as Europeans and war wasn't really a principle for most societies.

[@ncubesays]

I'm new to your content. On binging, I realized that your focus tends to omit advancements on the African continent suggesting civilizations did not exist. In Southern Africa, you omitted the emergence of Mapungubwe and Zimbabwe empires in the temperature ranges noted. Nubia further north was also omitted. I could go further and point out even more omissions in Central and South America. Africa’s history has been defined and told from a Western perspective, creating a clear bias in how the continent perceived. This in turn means Africa’s contributions to the history of humanity are consistently omitted as if they don't exist at all. I've thoroughly enjoyed the bulk of your content (the biogeography series is second to none), however I challenge to study the history of Africa with a more open lens and not fall into the trap that Africa is a 'dark continent'. Thank you

[@panner11]

This video is worse than that. He basically omitted all common sense because the evolution of civilization is well recorded and understood. Him coming with this random theory of temperature affects working condition productivity based on heatmap patterns is just nonsense.

[@scygnius]

I’d definitely argue that you could expand the temperature range to slightly lower than where you stopped it. Much of Europe and North America could be added

[@oscareduardole]

No love for the Mezoamericans and the Inca? Mexico was highlighted almost entirely yellow.

[@lEGOBOT2565]

The Inca was entirely mountains

[@araknas3981]

@@lEGOBOT2565 The Inca are pretty much the exception to the rules, not just here but in at least one other theory that I've seen. It's incredible how advanced they were despite the mountainous region they lived in. I'm not a fan of the ancient American civilizations but I'll gladly admit what they made is astonishing.

[@lEGOBOT2565]

@@araknas3981 They had domesticatable animals, access to metals, and had a number system. They even had wheels. They were 2k years behind and were able to fight the Spanish to a degree

[@jedihunter176]

@@lEGOBOT2565 2,000 years by what metric? That's ahistorical thinking. Technology isn't a clear, inevitable line of progression. As far as logistics, government, culture, military etc. went, the Aztecs were more on par with the Spanish than you think.

[@TheMichaelg1280]

@@jedihunter176 Spanish couldn't have defeated them if the common cold didn't help.

[@good2freelance1]

You missed out 1 important element. Water, water and water.

[@corrda1993]

He mentions it when he talks about South Africa.

[@renshartsuiker9629]

and subsequently, crop cultivation.

[@darkhorseman8263]

Glacial leeching depletes soil nutrients, making some farming less successful, and less caloric dense. Higher energy from production. South Australia had its iodine and lithium leeched out of the soil. Leads to poor mental health, poor growth hormone levels in population.

[@shankysays]

Exactly. Explains what he called anamoly of India.

[@placeholder1915]

Hence the title being “best temperature” not “best location”

[@jasmineluxemburg6200]

A highly informative and thought provoking presentation ! It is so rare to see joined up thinking on this scale ! I really like that ideas and infrastructure are subordinated to fundamentals of biology and climate !. A great challenge to hubristic conceptions ! So much needed in a period of recklessness towards long term human well being !

[@jonpaulyc-eng474]

Interesting to see how the megalithic cultural areas of Meso and South America follow the 16-19°C line very well! The pattern is especially true for the Andes, where the 16-19° lines correspond near perfectly to the Incan high ways!

[@burths7984]

Did you know Australia's biggest cities are actually all in that line haha. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide

[@bog4ntkd8932]

Same in South America. Santiago, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Sao Paulo are in this zone, and that's the most developed region from the continent.

[@siddharthmishra48]

Same trend with Sub-Saharan Africa (more or less) - think Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Blantyre, Dar es Salaam

[@mjk97dubstep]

@@bog4ntkd8932 Totally and in Argentina if you go to the north you will find really less developed provinces and very slow working culture.. I guess that htey just can't help it, it's so hot over there to work in summers of 35°C

[@Dommy521]

He was referring to the indigenous people

[@penguinlord3918]

@@siddharthmishra48 what about kinshasa and lagos

[@RainierKine]

You emphasized work. But I think crop cultivation are also equal influencial. The ideal temperature for wheat is around 20°C (very roughly). Furthermore, colder climates have shorter growing season and working hours in the winter; warmer climates have greater pest and illness prevalence. So, a mediterranean climate is the easiest to grow populations and civilisations from the lowest technological level.

[@rianfelis3156]

Yep. The historic powerhouses were ideal climates for growing wheat and rice. The areas he highlighted in the southern hemisphere had no native crops that were quite as good. The Inca nearby though developed the potato and so made an empire. The main thing that lets you have any kind of civilization is a food surplus so that you can have anybody do something besides farm.

[@SHAURYA181]

4:11 its funny how easily this guy ignored *Indus valley* civilization in South Asia which was contemporary of Mesopotamian civilization.

[@Yanojointman]

I like your approach to the best location in this video basing it on temperature. Although there are 2 things I would like to point out: 1- Looking only for temperature average is kind of minimalistic (and at some level you refer that yourself) the resources available at a certain location, how steady and reliable they are also has a huge role, like the floods of the Nile and the eastern China basin. If the weather and seasonable events are regular and steady than better conditions for agriculture and hence better conditions for production higher than the sustenance needs creating abundance that allows trade and prosperity. 2- Somehow you did not take in consideration the different temperatures throughout the time in the same location. The temperature in the mediterranean sea coastline during the Roman and Greek civilizations was not the same as today, same goes to other locations. That should be taken in consideration when categorizing the best locations for the biggest civilizations spurs in temperatures and then use the current modern temperature averages. If you want to do it, base it on archeological records of the average temperatures back then, according to the location and age of any given civilization. But nonetheless I did enjoy the video and there was a lot of background study on it. You are humble and open minded, I like that. Keep up with the good work mate!

[@razaalee9477]

The Indus Valley civilization (the inventor of the first urban drainage system) flourished in the extreme hot temperatures of 45 - 50 degree celsius (113-122 F). Those temperatures still haunt us for atleast 4 5 months a year but people live and life goes on. I think it all depended upon rivers wherever they crossed from civilization started coming to existence. It was all about work and food rather than personal comfort.

[@clydedsouza5843]

I am an Indian and even though it is very hot in Summer, the Monsoon rains brings us great relief from the extreme heat. It allows Crops to be Grown without irrigation while cold enough to work outside, thus an ideal condition for civilization.

[@NarFlux]

The river in the Indus Valley had changed how it flowed through there at some point in the past. The Gobi Desert in western China has ruins and pyramids from an ancient Aryan Civilization like 3000 to 4000 years ago. The river changed how it flowed, the area became a desert, and the civilization had to die or migrate.

[@60ritikanand69]

@@NarFlux Ruins of Ancient Aryan 'civilization' in Gobi Desert? Hahaha. Lol.

[@aflactheduckyy260]

>Atlas Pro shows map of the world >>Doesnt show New Zealand >>>Is Atlas Pro Anti-New Zealand?

[@AnonymousYoutuber69]

New what now? Oh you mean Australia, that's on the map.

[@_AbhijeetPawar]

What's 'New-Zealand'?

[@handryantan]

Check 10.18

[@jasonholt2543]

@@_AbhijeetPawar I think he mean "Nu Zelund" broo

[@angrypepe7615]

Sorry do you mean the kiwi empire

[@cemiquents]

I think best temperature for civilization is actually a colder one, as the cold forced people to work together to survive and not freeze, making these some of the strongest countries.

[@helium-379]

This is why I love Fall season. Its not too cold but cold enough to work.

[@SaudiHaramco]

Average temperatures are kind of useless though. If 21 is ideal then a place were it's 42 degrees in the afternoon and 6 degrees before dawn doesn't really support your hypothesis.

[@buzzfeedyeiiow3846]

He explained that

[@buzzfeedyeiiow3846]

Smart one

[@btkling]

Agreed!

[@sheilawest1720]

I find your inclusion of the USA in your thesis to be a serious flaw. The thesis should stick exclusively with the emergence of complex civilizations only within the context of pre-industrial human technology. The rise of the USA as a major world power didn't truly happen until after the Industrial Revolution. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that if you could go back in time and prevent the Industrial Revolution from ever happening, the USA would NEVER have risen to the status of THE most powerful nation in the world. And as for Texas and California (which you specifically zeroed in upon) both of those are heavily reliant upon the 20th century technology of year-round air conditioning being employed 24/7/365 within just about all human habitations. Indeed, Texas didn't begin to climb in population until after WWII when the viability and affordability of commercial air conditioning started to become commonplace. I think you should look at two other factors, only one of which you touched upon in this video. 1) WATER, for both drinking and transportation (potable and navigable). No civilization can ever exist without water. Texas is truly at a loss for potable water, as is California. Only through high-tech and elaborately engineered interventions do either of those states have enough water to allow copious numbers of people to live there. Take away those interventions (ie, set both Texas and California back into pre-Industrial Revolution technology) and both of them will dry up and blow away (pun intended). And their populations will dwindle. 2) WEALTH MAPS. Get a look at wealth maps of the world. You will see that colder regions have more concentrations of wealth than warmer ones. This has been attributed to the need of one very important factor that you did explore in this video: the need for humans to be able to work long hours all day at hard physical labor without serious physiological impediment. It's also been attributed to the availability of drinkable water, as well as navigable water. And lastly, diseases spread far more rapidly in warm environments than in colder ones, and so scourges like malaria go unchecked in warmer climates but always shut down come winter in the colder zones. The only drastic exceptions to this rule of thumb of modern day wealth maps favoring cold regions are all cases of warm regions which can attribute their heat-defying wealth to modern technology: Saudi Arabia, Southern California, Texas, and Brazil. Aside from those exceptions, most of the super-warm areas of the world tend toward poverty. And then if you are able to get your hands on a wealth map dating back to the 1700's (before air conditioning and before) the corollary between cooler temps and national wealth is bourn out even more dramatically.

[@davidguthrie5941]

Sheila West This kinda of logical thought is dangerous and will only lead to rational decision making.

[@tactics1056]

So why won't you make the video?

[@runway5338]

Hmm, so going by what you’ve observed, is modern-day technology the best (if not the only) way for those hot climate countries to rise? Hong Kong and Singapore are considered to be wealthy places, and they’re also by the equator. Ancient India, from what I’ve heard, seemed to flourish and was doing well for itself. What would you say would be a good way for those countries to rise in wealth, be able to do labor, and stop diseases w/o being too dependent on modern technology, if you’ve any idea?

[@leogazebo5290]

This is amazing

[@johnappleseed8146]

Wasn’t expecting a nuanced take here

[@Dan_ModernDayViking]

I like the idea that the civilizations needed a slightly lower than optimal temperature for the purpose of work. Thinking about it in terms of human nature it’s about living with conditions that make it a challenge without being too difficult to live in any extreme. Optimal temperatures seem like places to relax like tropical regions which by making life easy to live in but might not promote advancement, and harsher environments seem like places where survival is harder and more focused on. The sweet spot appears to be a nice place but with a slight challenge that encourages us to be innovative and build on without making survival the most important aspect of life and thereby letting us focus on those other things we want to achieve as a civilization.

[@pearspeedruns]

I just wanted to let you know that I’ve been enjoying your videos. They’ve gotten me interested in geography!

[@BVargas78]

I think rivers have more to do with it than temperatures. Though it is probably also a factor.

[@FJDH11]

Rivers, crops and irrigation. Yes.

[@pineapplefarmer7352]

and bonus checks

[@Sometimes_Happiness]

Rivers are also great at regulating local temperature

[@bluebeluga2929]

You didn't take the climate shift in concern. The climate in which the ancient greeks lived was different from now.

[@PoliticallyDonutTasty]

@Jackson DeCourcy African humid period to mention one, not really ancient Greece, 3000 years before even the Minoans, but still around when other civilizations first started to develop. People settling, stopping hunting, forming villages etc. you catch my drift. The climate shifted HEAVILY the last 8000 years, not to mention the last 50000 years. Roman Climatic Optimum, Medieval warm period, Little Ice Age, and that's only Europe, temperature and climate shifted all over the world.

[@RodMartinJr]

During what period? The Minoan Warm Period (major Holocene warm period, 1,000-year cycle) was far warmer than today. When that warm period ended, the Greeks suffered a 300-year Dark Ages, fraught with famines, all because the climate cooled down to TODAY's level. Technology makes it easier to do agriculture in a broader range of climates. Some idiots (like those at Harvard and Bill Gates) want to cool down the planet. Dumb! Famines and societal collapse! But they are, after all, Globalist-Leftists who want to destroy Western civilization so they can usher in their One-World government. The late David Rockefeller even bragged in his Memoirs that he had conspired for decades against the best interests of these United States. Proud of his treason.

[@RodMartinJr]

@@artisticlion9218 And why, oh why, did you need to bring up that obvious point? Please re-read my comment and prepare to debate.

[@alemoncitrus8285]

@Rod Martin, Jr. please be joking

[@RodMartinJr]

@@alemoncitrus8285 Sorry, no.

[@muhammadarslan9678]

I want to mention that the resources play more important role then isolation. Largest civilizations have rivers and are compatible for trade. Indus Valley, Nile Valley, Iraq and China also relied on its rivers. Europe also has vast water resources.

[@ciaranf4]

I see your point and also the reason multiple different types of food grow optimally as well is another variable. Your reason, well explained, also correlates

[@chaytonsheargold3210]

Rainfall: That's probably another huge influence on the potential of civilisation. Australia and Southern Africa receive very little rain.

[@zachm8235]

Chayton Barber What you’re saying is true but not al of Australia is barren. The parts highlighted in this video are either tropical and thus very rainy or temperature forests and grasslands that receive normal doses of rain. Obviously the outback has little rain but considering that 95% of Australians don’t live there if the entirety of the outback vanished most wouldn’t even notice to be honest.

[@homer_sexual]

I live in a 0°C average zone (cyan) *Proud uncivilized forest person*

[@flores332]

Is it hot?

[@bazargurodsuren5956]

I live in average temperature minus 3 degrees uncivilized grassland man noises

[@LJMadrigalMusic]

I live in an average 30°C temperature and my body is screaming hell.

[@flores332]

@@LJMadrigalMusic me too man

[@sourgreendolly7685]

Flores It’s literally freezing lol

[@danielkenah2152]

Out of all of the advanced ancient civilisations you mentioned all of them are in Eurasia, this is because one thing that Eurasia has that other continents don’t is domesticated animals such as cattle and horses both being able to tow carriages allowing trade over land much easier and horses allowing faster and further travel allowing ideas and technology to be spread over large distance. In the America’s there were technological advancements, but they just weren’t spread as far as they were in Eurasia. Climate does have an impact of civilisations but more because of diseases and extreme weather.

[@AnonyMole]

Requesting a video on the comparison / correlation of population & technology. One of my theories (regarding the Fermi Paradox) is that enough people must exist in a concentrated enough population to trigger collaborative technological sharing thereby boosting a society into technological advances. Advances that will eventually allow Electromagnetic communication. You mentioned China in this video and it's concentration of population ... resulting in technological independence. Per this video: Even colder climes encourage planning by the seasons which might indicate the industriousness of the northern latitudes.

[@ShaoVideoProduction]

You forgot one other very important metric: variance. That's why deserts aren't inhabitated, we can adapt as long as the variance isn't to high.

[@Warkurus]

one thumb up is not enough

[@silicalnz]

dude your map doesn't have NZ.

[@WAMTAT]

Most maps don't. Its sad

[@rubensteinfinsteraarhorn9028]

rip NZ

[@anon-iraq2655]

seen this in a lot of places

[@frikativos]

Please, stop with the hoaxes. There is no such country as "NZ".

[@paomian4686]

I stand with you NZ!

[@violey3386]

Your videos are epic! Amazing work!

[@samuellundblad5766]

My conclusion: Civilization or not depends more on the humans inhabiting a region than the region's temperature.

[@hassanalbolkiah127]

When you highlighted all the orange areas, you did cover much of Arabia/the Arabian gulf, the coast of Iran, Somalia and the red sea areas, the Yucatan in Mexico(mayans), West Africa. All of which had had major medieval superpowers

[@nexus6755]

@@KevinMcScrooge Somalia in 1400s with some ottoman help defeated the Portugeese navy in the Indian Ocean

[@TheXvalenX]

@@KevinMcScrooge more like the Sultanate of Mogadishu or the Ajuran Sultanate. They were powerful regional trading powers that dominated the Indian Ocean Trade. Read your history.

[@TheXvalenX]

@@KevinMcScrooge yes and the ajuran and mogadisu sultanate both lay in modern day somalia in the 11-17 centuty

[@ogolow570]

@@KevinMcScrooge Somali pirates? You mean the Ajuuran navy? Wow.

[@ogolow570]

Yeah, he should have highlighted more on those regions. Especially since Arabia hosted one of the largest empires in Human history, twice.

[@fida80]

I think its more to do with rivers than temprature

[@sherkjlsjdf6334]

nope,every continent have rivers but not all of they have great civilizations

[@fida80]

@@sherkjlsjdf6334 please provide examples rivers and no civilization

[@espacfc2365]

fida80 Mayans

[@SrJomba]

@@fida80 Congo, Amazon, Volta, Zambezi, Lena, Ob', and probably many others

[@nahush6299]

@@SrJomba But that was because they didn't have actual arable land instead of forests. I think rivers along with arable land are the most important factor. Temperature isn't really a big issue since rivers or coastal presence can moderate temperature. A big population can only be sustained by sufficient food.

[@Cornexium]

I think another reason for the suboptimal temperature needed could be that for all of history until air conditioning heating yourself up has always been way easier then cooling off. You can heat by just wearing or burning something but for getting cool you need to soak in water which grants coolness for a temporary amount of time. Therefore, it is better for humans to live in a slightly colder temperature then optimal because during the times where there is a big standard deviation in temperatures, the heating will be easier then cooling. This skews the temperature to slightly less than optimal.

[@donmackay9315]

I think your arguments here are indisputable. I really look forward to your presentations

[@laebeli]

For India, Himalaya is a double edged sword. Protected it from invasions, gave many vital rivers. But, protects the cold wind streams from up north to cross down to India making India barricaded and hot.

[@pjd0ioas]

They also make the rain fall in India. Without them, clouds could move farther inland before raining. India is green, above India is a desert.

[@MrJaaaaake]

protection from invasions means less research and development into warfare. This means less technological advancement as a whole.

[@ashwin3233]

@@MrJaaaaake But sadly Indian subcontinent was huge enough in itself (to self-sustain) and it was one of the most advanced civilization until it was invaded by foreigners and looted (do you see the irony?)

[@MrJaaaaake]

@@ashwin3233 You are not being truthful. If you speak of the ancient relics that could have possibly been from a civilization at the 20,000 year old period then we don't know if it was even the same people. The younger dryas period is when that civilization was destroyed. As well as other speculated advanced civilizations. If you mean from 10,000 years and forward then we can actually see an increase in technology after the Aryan invasion. If it was so advanced it would not have been conquered by a smaller force of horse nomads. It was very behind in the art of war. War itself is a primary driver of technology. The reason Europe has advanced further than any other place on the planet is because of the constant quarrel of nation states. The Arabs were once the same but stagnated because of Islam. China was on the path to domination until the Mongols set them back. Like India, it was softened by it's agricultural ways.

[@rickr9435]

but Indian subcontinent has the west side wide open and the invasions always came from that side.

[@rabi423]

Atlas pro:what is the best temperature for civilization. Me(In 50° C):this is fine

[@TheRocknrolla12]

Apu Ki Dhakai?? Shunlam onek gorom porse..canada palan

[@EmpireTVDragon]

This video explained why India thrived even though the would country is tropical

[@somefrog9673]

mood

[@TahaAlZadjali]

@Adartho Mapping that would be Kuwait

[@rezahoque8655]

Good research and original content.

[@dreamscape1751]

Great video. It would interesting to do an overlay of best temperatures for food production as well. Australia also has the oldest surface with significantly poorer soils except for a few isolated poackets like Tasmania which is ideal all round for civilization but even more isolated.

[@sebastiangonzalez5013]

8:30 You should have mention Ethiopia and Meseoamerica. Very important civilizations started there.

[@chillin5703]

Thats because his video, and its premise, is under-researched, and lazily done. Firstly, the fact that he even unironically uses the concept of civilization is already problematic for actual study of historical societies, since ‘civilization’ means nothing when push comes to shove.

[@VanaeCavae]

He was concentrating on the major civilizations. With all due respect, Ethiopian and Mesoamerican civilzation are not considered major ones.

[@Clintvictory]

Antarctica, to whom are they not major? There are millions of people alive today that descend from those civilizations.

[@erine.5680]

@@Clintvictory not to 'whom' but to what level.the number of human descendents is not equivalent to number of achievements.

[@oetgaol]

There was also the civilization on the west coast of Africa or the Kmer in Cambodia there are lots of examples of civilizations in this hot climate

[@jamesbarron7512]

The use of average temperatures may be throwing you off. People sleep at night and can usually cover up and conserve heat. So really only daytime temperatures matter

[@Forlfir]

@Jonathan Stiles I had to convert that an actual useful scale. 26 degress celsius at night is the average night temperature in many places across the world, usually a fan is enough

[@entropyzero5588]

@@Forlfir But we didn't have access to fans for most of human history.

[@MrAmgadHasan]

It's 22 C at midnight where I live and it's perfectly fine.

[@max-ed1kk]

yes but late freezing can kill crops

[@cdw2468]

Leopoldo Ferrari useful is subjective. For science, Celsius is most useful, but for everyday life, Fahrenheit is much more practical

[@andorgaraczi2288]

For addition one major requierment is needed to have I think: Crop/cereal (rice, grain, corn etc.) These are the types of plants, whichever you plant one seed, at the end of the agricultural process you get 1 seed to replant and a lot of seeds to eat with high amount of calories In Australia, south Africa and in the Pampas there were no such crops available

[@xaristop6081]

Nice video. Also some ideas for you. In europe and middle east we had barley and wheat, in china rice (more productive - more population) and in america corn, and food is essential so maby you can make a map with that in mind. Also in europe and china people had domasticated horses donkeys cows etc that helped in the manual labor and that is what is missing in the other areas, productive food to sustain big populations and big animals to help

[@moogle1019]

what about the Mayan, Incan and Aztec, they all lived on the equator and where pretty advanced any thoughts

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

None of them lived on the equator. The Incan may have been the closest to it, but no.

[@moogle1019]

@@lissandrafreljord7913 Good point, I remembered Central America and assumed that is where it is hottest. However My question still stands if you show the mean annual temperature world map.

[@cartaparaperu]

@@lissandrafreljord7913 The Incas literally lived partly in Ecuador. Which you might guess is located on the equator.

[@kaan4040]

Alex Morales they werent advanced mainly due to isolation however they were about as far as egyptians in 3000 bc und nowhere near to rome,persia... and not even anywhere near to europe and asia in the 1400s

[@Carlos848]

yes, these civs were pretty advanced considering their isolation, but the golden age of the aztec empire was in the 1400s. In these times numerous European, Middle Eastern and East Asian Empires were much more advanced. I think people tend to forget that fact because of the Aztec and Mayan Ruins looking like they are much older (like Egypt Old) than they actually are.

[@LuisGutierrezG123]

You mentioned the US that has been influential for barely 100 years, yet you didn’t mention anything about Mesoamerican civilizations that existed way longer. Also China wasn’t completely isolated, you forgot about the Silk Road

[@hassmanSMO]

There's no historical information unfortunately that we can use to see how many people lived and the native people never really made any buildings that lasted long time to show or they were destroyed.

[@varana]

@@hassmanSMO Where? In Mesoamerica? There are lots of buildings and artifacts left by those civilisations - Maya and Aztecs are the best-known ones, but there are a lot more.

[@rickr9435]

@@hassmanSMO Chichen itza, Teotihuacan, Tulum, just name a few in mexico. if you haven't heard of these places, you should google them.

[@hassmanSMO]

Ok yes. I was only thinking of the native american indians when thinking of civilisations instead in north America. Wasnt counting south i thought he briefly said about the aztecs and mayans.

[@hirancpatel1]

@@hassmanSMO the problem is with his definition of civilization. Additionally, by the time the indigenous people of the entire Americas, began to be seriously studied by people of European descent, their populations had wiped out by diseases from the old world, for centuries. What we are used to seeing in the Hollywood films of 'Cowboys and Indians' is a snapshot of 2 decades in the 1800s. The horses depicted like, the aforementioned diseases, were European introductions. Who is to say how these cultures would have developed if they had immunity to old world diseases? What is also astounding, is that the piece completely discounts the seafaring races. Just erase their contributions to humanity...

[@ankurkaushik2125]

Very interesting and a unique approach, apart from ideal temperature, we should also need to consider availability of water. All ancient civilizations falls somewhere tropical or subtropical regions, which has the average temperature ranges from 16-22 degrees( ideal for working environment). But what about Aborginal Australians which traces back to 75,000 years ago, they were from a very remote areas, it will be interesting to know how did they survived or flourished?

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

@3:41 he left Indus valley and upper Himalayan territories, and later mentioned them in the lower temperature.

[@bobmartin9742]

Nice try, but not. It's about the best climate conditions for agriculture.

[@ameene4818]

Bob Martin Not necessarily, agriculture isn’t the only thing that drives civilization, trade and production (whether it be textiles, shipping) are also important

[@Deathmastertx]

I think that's pretty true. India and Eastern China have supported so many people for so long and civilisations for so long because of their high agricultural fertility.

[@thomaswalsh4552]

Domesticating animals is a huge part as well

[@spinnlo1985]

Do not forget that there are different forms of agriculture. Sure the yellow region on the map is suitable for wheat, rice and wheat but there are cultures that relied on different crops. Several Bantu peoples farmed yums and could therefore not spread completly into the Cape region in south africa because it was ro cold and wet for their fruits. My conlusion is: If humans would have felt most compfortable in the 25+degrees range for example, early humans would have cultivated suitable crops. Yums, maniok or peanuts come to my mind. Do not forget that corn, wheat, rice and almost all vegetables and fruit are so heavily changed by man that they often bare minimal similarities with their wild counterpart.

[@appleislander8536]

@Jon Bjornssen Small issue: White race isn't a thing. Besides, East Asia has for much of history, and now again, been the home of some of the world's most innovative and successful societies. Don't tell me that any "White" civilisation in Poland is superior to the Chinese.

[@WAMTAT]

Just finished watching your entire catalogue. So glad I found this channel. Keep up the good work.

[@Wm7forthewin]

ok

[@reptilefan1115]

interesting as well, ethiopia falls into the slightly colder temperature range, which also further pushes this hypothesis since it was home to one of the oldest and most powerful empires in the world during the early first century. edit: it's important to note that you didn't mention australian aboriginals, the aztecs or incas, or the south african natives.

[@TheOneWhoMightBe]

On the Australian Aboriginals, while they had a very successful culture (maintaining it for at least 40ky, maybe as much as 100ky), I wouldn't go so far as to say they were a civilisation, as they had no agriculture to speak of (isolated pockets, yes), built no lasting monuments etc, maintained no food storage, etc.

[@RedXlV]

The Australian aboriginals and the South African natives were too small in number to create great empires. There's a difference between having a society and having a civilization. Also, the Inca and Aztec Empires were smaller (especially the Aztecs) and shorter-lived than most people realize.

[@jeffreywenger281]

Your question is more interesting looking into the future. You might consider climates like Arizona where machinery seems to last forever with much less wear, and where you still see cars from the 70's driving around. Not only is there no freeze-thaw beating stuff up, but no salt on the roads to cause corrosion. An advanced civilization will have a lot of stuff to protect. It's also nice to have a city like LA that will minimally need heating and cooling.

[@feynstein1004]

Hmm I think this is pushing correlation a bit too far.

[@ebonymaw8457]

how so? i've always thought the relationship between optimal temperature and advanced civilizations was obvious

[@jestertycoon700]

Too hot to work ussually mwrrans too hot to give a damn about the region meaning no civilization..

[@PrimusGladius]

@@ebonymaw8457 The correlations are obvious when you're talking about the obvious. Like can you grow food, or at least produce some means to acquire or trade for it and sustain yourselves? The correlations become murky when you realize there's much more to human geography than just temperature though.

[@stareagle5000]

Feynstein 100 how so he mentions that this is just one factor and the issues is much more complex many times in the video. So yes while he is showing a correlation I wouldn’t say he’s pushing it. Also I didn’t once hear him make a claim of causation. So no I think he was fair and objective and provided a data set the could be useful food for thought. He also specifically points out parts for which he could not find objective data tells us it is his own speculation and warns us not to take it too seriously. This seems to be the gold standard to me in NOT trying to push a narrative while still telling an interesting story.

[@ebonymaw8457]

@@PrimusGladius Well, yeah, but he covered that. It's not as straight forward as optimal temperature = great civilization, there are other factors like geography, proximity to other civilizations, political atmosphere, and resources in the area that play a role as well.

[@duchi882]

*Best Temperature for Civilization:* 1. Hot outside 2. Turn on AC inside

[@fromfareast3070]

disapprove in Architects

[@tomasvrabec1845]

i hate AC

[@amerashi1111]

@@tomasvrabec1845 you monster >:(

[@NoName-ze4qn]

@@tomasvrabec1845 AC hates me

[@douglasphillips5870]

It's funny that the two most populated states in the U.S. that he mentioned had their population boom after the invention of AC.

[@bernardogortairemorejon6323]

I would suggest to look for agricultural capacities of the region. I would consider that access to a stable source of food is one of the main reasons for a civilization to succeed

[@Annie-hb8ob]

I live in Australia and I know for a fact that the mid to southeast coast and southern areas average is not 16-19 degrees Celcius. Maybe in winter. But not year-round. our average is probably more along the lines of 25 degrees

[@inlonging]

I’m Californian and also disagree with this finding. The arid areas may have an AVERAGE but the median is much hotter. We just happen to have cold drops at night. Note he has the Sahara desert on there as supposedly comfortable 😂

[@ZionCrafter]

Forgot to mention the Auxumite Empire that is shown as yellow in East Africa/Yemen. Was a hugely successful empire that is often overlooked in modern day Ethiopia. Great video by the way 👌🏽

[@justrandomthings709]

Sorry not so popular in my opinion, actually it's my first time to encounter that there is such thing as Auxumite Empire.

[@hoperules8874]

👍🏽

[@enrico7474]

@@justrandomthings709 according to the persian prophet mani it was one of the 4 powers of his time along woth rome,china and persia

[@M1ndfulJourney]

@@enrico7474 yea I think we fought the Persian too 🤔

[@amehak1922]

Nerding out You forgot the Zimbabwe civilization 500 years ago, they controlled a large trade network in southern Africa

[@TinasheKavumbura]

I agree. The southern African region had a civilisation comparable to that of Egypt. Over simplifaction indeed.

[@skellagyook]

And there were multiple other civilizations in subsaharan Africa: like the Ashanti Empire, the Kingdom of Benin, Jenne-Jeno, Dhar Tichitt, Igbo Ukwu, Nok, the medieval city-states and empires of the Nigerian Yoruba (like Ife, Owo, Ijebu, Oyo, etc), the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires, Mapungubwe, Buganda, the Cameroon Grasslands kingdoms (Bamileke, Bafut, Bamoum, etc), the kingdoms of Kongo and Kuba, and many others in Africa (and other places that were not mentioned in the video).

[@freshguy4]

We wuz kangs an shiet I'm joking and yes u are correct

[@bri1085]

Problem with that these civilisations were periodic with the climate going through major cycles

[@jghifiversveiws8729]

@Brad Smith That name is how you know you're not from SA.

[@ncuco]

Haha during my travels I've been studying this: comparing prosperity with temperature and corelating this with the advancement of technology and its effects (if any) on the change of prosperity through the globe. From Egypt to Rome to Paris to London to Oslo (depending where you are in the globe)

[@jimmie3232]

I paused at :23 sec. and studied the the map for a couple of seconds. Time flies when you are having fun!

[@wafflotes0X]

I find offensive that this didn’t covered the optimum temperature for agriculture or that agriculture wasn’t even mentioned. I mean it is only the first step for a civilization right?

[@AtlasPro1]

plants can be bred to be optimized to a wide range of temperatures, and I believe the temperature at which humans are most able to do farm work supersedes that which is optimal for the natural plants. We farm plants from all around the world because within less than a generation many plants can be adapted.

[@Locutus]

I'm offended too, TheCrowsEye... I'm offended that you think he should mention every civilisation, or every theory in a 10 minute, KZbin video... You disgust me.... /sarcasm....

[@yattasuccess9212]

Agriculture is an integral part but I believe He's rather discussing what are the optimal conditions (temperature) that Humans would even be inclined to stay in and feel more-comfortable and therefore have more productivity, of course the climates that favor agriculture are integral too but most people prefer to start with a comfortable region that they can actually settle-in if We're talking about soon-to be made civilization during earlier times. There are more ways that they can obtain or do agriculture, but as long as the civilization is in this inner proper, which is in the right climate.

[@piotrrywczak7971]

You are using modern climate map to talk about the environment from 2000-100 thousand years ago without any justification. 1:38 Just pointing it out.

[@Quickshot0]

Oddly enough the difference probably wouldn't be all to huge. Before the modern warming of the last hundred and some years, the previous period was of very slow cooling. Over all the modern warming should be a fair bit more then the cooling though, so it should actually be warmer now then back then. But it does help reduce the total difference a fair bit. So the difference probably is somewhere in the 0.5 to 1 degree centigrade at most. Shouldn't change the range to much really, though it would have made the northern most edges of the Roman Empire a bit colder say.

[@piotrrywczak7971]

He started by talking about Homo evolution.

[@Loserfr]

​@Sammy N "millions of years for any drastic changes to take shape" => no

[@Fankas2000]

@@Quickshot0 " the difference probably wouldn't be all to huge" Think again. The largest body of water that isn't a sea, the Caspian is basically gone at this point. The position of Tigris and Euphrates is much different now then it was during the Babylonian times.

[@Fankas2000]

@Sammy N "2000 years ago the difference in climate and global temperature is negligible." Have you ever heard about the little ice age?

[@aubade_1]

I think there's a lot of other factors obviously so it's too hard to say what is the most responsible. Interesting video of a question I've been pondering for a while now. I have a social theory of this that societies in hotter temperatures when they do show up are often more volatile due to resource scarcity, while civilizations in colder temperatures are more stable but fail to grow at a pace like the temperature median this video went over.

[@venkykema8641]

Hi can you make a video on ancient civilization's timeline.. Your explanations are being awesome..