O texto a seguir é referência para as questões de 21 a 23.
We are accustomed to thinking of military success as determined by quality of weaponry, rather than by food supply. But a clear example of how improvements
in food supply may decisively increase military success comes from the history of Maori New Zealand. The Maori are the Polynesian people who were the first
to settle New Zealand. Traditionally, they fought frequent fierce wars against each other, but only against closely neighboring tribes. Those wars were
limited by the modest productivity of their agriculture, whose staple crop was sweet potatoes. It was not possible to grow enough sweet potatoes to feed an
army in the field for a long time or on distant marches. When Europeans arrived in New Zealand, they brought potatoes, which beginning around 1815
considerably increased Maori crop yields. Maori could now grow enough food to supply armies in the field for many weeks. The result was a 15year period in
Maori history, from 1818 until 1833, when Maori tribes that had acquired potatoes and guns from the English sent armies out on raids to attack tribes
hundreds of miles away that had not yet acquired potatoes and guns. Thus, the potato’s productivity relieved previous limitations on Maori warfare, similar
to the limitations that lowproductivity corn agriculture imposed on Maya warfare.
(Diamond, J. (2006). Collapse. London: Penguin.)
Why does the text mention the Maya?
