DominusNovus
January 8th, 2004, 09:25 PM
The ASBs decide to do some experiments with culture. They go through history, and abduct groups from two different cultures (say some Romans and some Aztecs) and put them together somehwere sometime out of the way. The two groups are equal in size (I'm thinking around a thousand or so each), and are picked so that they will have to unite (don't worry about why. if you really care, just say the ASBs zapped them with happy rays). The location should be good for their growth (good climate, soil, etc.), and ignore any problems with disease (for example, modern people are just as vunerable to smallpox as the Aztecs were). The groups can be from any points in time (so you could combine Sumarians with modern Iraqis, if you wanted) and could be the same civilization from two different times, if you wanted (combining 21st century Americans with revolutionary Americans). They can't bring any technology or items with them, though people from technologically advanced civilizations would be well off, since they've got the basic ideas of what to do (someone would probably know how to make gunpowder, basic machines, and have an understanding of basic physics)
So, who do you pick? Things to think about:
-religion
-language (if one is easier to learn/speak/write, it might become dominant)
-gender/class system
I'd pick some Americans (just ones that speak English as their first language) from AD 2004 and Romans from around the 2nd century BC and I'd put them around the mouth of the Mississipi River, around the 1st century AD. Both groups are pretty industrious and militant when need be (won't start a fight, but will end it on their terms). Both groups are pretty tolerant of religious freedom, but I'd expect Christianity to become the overwhelming majority religion (as it'd probably be in the American group anyway). Some of the Americans might already know Latin, this would help with early communication. Both languages often get mixed in with others, so they'd probably mesh fairly well, though the modern alphabet (with our J's, U's, W's, and punctuation) would probably dominate. Both groups are fairly devoted to the republican ideals (the Romans might kinda like the idea that our system is inspired by theirs) and the more refined American political system (with checks and balances) would probably work well with the Romans civic sense.
Assuming no slaves got brought along for the ride, the Romans might give up slavery, especially if the Americans can get some of the more easily produced innovations working, to ease the labor demand. Still, it could be a point of contention, but that really depends on the population involved (poor urban Romans wouldn't mind losing slavery, rich ones might). I'd also predict bad things for the Amerindians, they'd probably get assimilated and their land taken, as well as. It'd be worse for them if the American-Romans keep slavery, though they'd be assimilated quicker. I'd expect them to domiate trade in the region and build lots of infrastructure. Eventually, they might sail to the old world and stir things up there.
So, who do you pick? Things to think about:
-religion
-language (if one is easier to learn/speak/write, it might become dominant)
-gender/class system
I'd pick some Americans (just ones that speak English as their first language) from AD 2004 and Romans from around the 2nd century BC and I'd put them around the mouth of the Mississipi River, around the 1st century AD. Both groups are pretty industrious and militant when need be (won't start a fight, but will end it on their terms). Both groups are pretty tolerant of religious freedom, but I'd expect Christianity to become the overwhelming majority religion (as it'd probably be in the American group anyway). Some of the Americans might already know Latin, this would help with early communication. Both languages often get mixed in with others, so they'd probably mesh fairly well, though the modern alphabet (with our J's, U's, W's, and punctuation) would probably dominate. Both groups are fairly devoted to the republican ideals (the Romans might kinda like the idea that our system is inspired by theirs) and the more refined American political system (with checks and balances) would probably work well with the Romans civic sense.
Assuming no slaves got brought along for the ride, the Romans might give up slavery, especially if the Americans can get some of the more easily produced innovations working, to ease the labor demand. Still, it could be a point of contention, but that really depends on the population involved (poor urban Romans wouldn't mind losing slavery, rich ones might). I'd also predict bad things for the Amerindians, they'd probably get assimilated and their land taken, as well as. It'd be worse for them if the American-Romans keep slavery, though they'd be assimilated quicker. I'd expect them to domiate trade in the region and build lots of infrastructure. Eventually, they might sail to the old world and stir things up there.