“I think weather comes into the mix. In warm weather you dont need to be as industrious. Although...the Eskimos havent had the most advanced civilization either.”
Many years ago I developed a theory that explains the differences in accomplishment between blacks and other races. In Africa you can live like your ancestors did thousands of years ago, there is no selective pressure to change your way of life. You can be a half wit and still be able to get water from a lake, build a mud hut, and plant a few seeds. There is little or no drive to make things better. As the more industrious africans moved north they encountered different environmental conditions, that forced them to adapt to survive. New technologies and skills had to be developed to cope with the harsher conditions. The more intelligent and those who persevered survived. The slow witted and lazy died. Over thousands of years it can make quite a difference.
The lack of drive to improve their living conditions is illustrated by a show that mentioned the large number of africans killed by Crocs while trying to get water or doing laundry. Its been going on for thousands of years and little has been done about it. If white people lived there every dangerous animal for 100 miles would have been killed centuries ago, or someone would have drilled a well for the village.
You don't have that option in most of the mainland U.S. where at least several months a year consist of freezing weather and you would die of exposure sleeping outside.
We have gotten so used to being able to live in the comfort of heated buildings in northern latitudes that we forget how fragile the human body is. Would you have the misfortune of having your car break down in the middle of say New Hampshire in winter on a secluded road when it's minus 20 degrees, your life would literally be in danger within an hour if you did not also pack blankets, winter weather clothing and the ability to get a fire going.
Until recent times, it was a struggle to live up in these latitudes and one always had to improvise and be quick on one's feet just to survive.