CHINA/INDIA/AFRICA/AMERICAS: How come No Age of Discovery. Sailed around the world/flight/ Moon Landing?

In the middle of re-reading "Guns, Germs and Steel" right now. It's an excellent overview of how some societies were able to succeed or fail, based on natural resources, geography and other factors. Very cool book, well worth investing in, if you are interested in how our ancestors figured out hows and whys of group survival..