conclusion in search of a supporting narrative. It came off as we're all the same, it's just that through the accident of geography Europeans and Asians had large animals, etc. The Americas have bison, elk, moose, llamas, etc. Is domesticating a bison that different than domesticating water buffalo? The Asians did that.

The Americas did not have sails or wheels until Europeans brought them. Nothing in the Americas prevented that from happening here.

I certainly have not done extensive research but gut feeling is that factors other than those mentioned in GG&S explain the differences between the Old World and the New. I believe that culture is influenced by genetics. It might be a matter of populations that are more left brained vs right. It might be oral traditions that are passed down that say you cannot domesticate bison because they are god's animals.

To me it seems like invention and exploration are basic human traits, but maybe not for everyone. I can't imagine living e.g. on the shores of the Chesapeake and building a canoe but not thinking to put a sail on it, and not wondering what was on the other side, or up the coast. I'm not saying this is intelligence but what people find important. Maybe ancient North Americans were just not wired that way.