What Should I Cover First?

  • The Domestication of Wild Rice

    Votes: 27 48.2%
  • The Proto-Algonquian Migration East

    Votes: 29 51.8%

  • Total voters
    56
  • Poll closed .
When does it start?

I should have the first official update up by this weekend, with next Wednesday at the very latest.

@Alexander Helios I too have a soft spot for Pre-Columbian cultures and peoples, dreamed of doing a timeline but later post discovery is where I like the most

That's also a very interesting time period. Don't think we've seen too many TL's tackle that time period (there's the timeline about Donnacona and French exploration in North America, but I can't remember what it's called off the top of my head).

Took a couple of Mesoamerican classes in college though, and just enjoy reading on the subject in general whenever I can get.

Mesoamerica is pretty cool too, and it holds a place in my heart, as I did a fair bit of research into the region before starting to focus on North America. The cultures of the region will definitely play a important role ITTL.

The planning thread is filled with great stuff so can’t wait for a post.

It'll be very soon, so stay tuned.

And a final plug for Upstate, you might have heard of the Great Lakes, but the Finger Lakes are where it’s at.

Don't worry, haven't overlooked the Finger Lakes. Keep your eyes out for an important Algonquian state or two propping up in the region.
 
No one has dare tread into the Lovecraftian abyss some call my PDF folder, and come back sane to tell the story, coming back out to find that they can only communicate in scholarly dissertations, incoherent screams, and reconstructed Native American proto-languages, all while being slowly consumed by pre-Columbian academic Satan himself...

All jokes aside, that's a very broad subject, so do you want to know about anything in specific? In my experience it's best to start small, slowly working your way up to a good overall understanding. Though personally I haven't gotten my hands on them, but if you can find any of the volumes of "The Handbook of North American Indians" (Volume 15 is the one about the Northeast if I'm not mistaken) I'd highly recommend you read it, as the books provides a detailed outline of just about everything.

I find the Hopewell and their astronomy to be particularly interesting, but really I'm happy to take anything you've got. I had to migrate my own pdf folder to Amazon Drive because I ran out of space on Dropbox and I already have a Prime account, so don't think I am some spring chicken.

I will look for your recommendation.
 
Don't worry, haven't overlooked the Finger Lakes. Keep your eyes out for an important Algonquian state or two propping up in the region.
The Finger Lakes region is nice, to be sure. Unfortunately, the Adirondacks are likely to stay sparsely populated ITTL. Much as I may love them, they're still one of the coldest, snowiest, and overall roughest places east of the Mississippi.

Upstate NY is a heck of a place for somewhere that's so ignored.
 
This is will be interesting!

Thank you, hope you like it!

I find the Hopewell and their astronomy to be particularly interesting, but really I'm happy to take anything you've got.

In that case, have you read An Archaeology of the Sacred: Adena-Hopewell Astronomy and Landscape Archaeology by William F Romain? I haven't been able to find the entire book online for free, but individual chapters of the book are easily found online (I downloaded a few from academia.edu), and I figure that if you look hard enough you could probably compile all of them.

In addition, I've found a few other scattered articles on Adena/Hopewell/Mississippian astronomy and religion over the months, though I'll have to do some digging to find them again.

The Finger Lakes region is nice, to be sure. Unfortunately, the Adirondacks are likely to stay sparsely populated ITTL. Much as I may love them, they're still one of the coldest, snowiest, and overall roughest places east of the Mississippi.

You'd be right in that regard, there won't be much civilization in the Adirondacks. Though further down the line, we will see a certain group of people from the far north who will find the conditions perfect for their lifestyle. But spoilers.


They are the only place in Eastern North America that are still rising.

Really? The Adirondacks truly are a geological anomaly.
 
HEY! My AH.com didn't notify me of the release! Time to see what surprises you have for me in this TL :winkytongue:, i haven't followed this for so long for nothing :p

EDIT:
I'd say that it could be an excellent representation of a small-scale ceremonial center along the Wabash River during the Middle Formative Period [1800 BCE to 1310 BCE]. And if you have no idea as to what that means, don't worry, since I'll cover all of this in the next several updates.

Screenshot_20191006-120940-1.jpg
 
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Okay, this sounds super interesting! So I've always had this softspot for the idea of Woodland natives developing the wheel and then using domesticated dogs to pull carts and the like. I mean: vicious dog chariots! Not sure if this is really viable, but its stuck in my mind all the same :)
 
HEY! My AH.com didn't notify me of the release! Time to see what surprises you have for me in this TL :winkytongue:, i haven't followed this for so long for nothing :p

EDIT:


View attachment 493047

Hey man! I was wondering when you'd get here. You'll definitely enjoy some of the things I have planned for South America (though it's gonna take me a bit before I cover it).

Any domesticable animals native to the Great Lakes?

Turkey and wolves, but nothing else comes to mind.

In his planning thread he said the Algonquins would have domestic ducks and muskrats.

I recommend a look at the planning thread for all those interested in the possible domesticates. The community thought up a ton of them.

Or keep it a surprise and wait for updates!

Yeah, people have mentioned some of the planned domesticates above (though there's plenty more in store). If you want more information about the topic, I'd second the suggestion of checking the planning thread, as we've discussed a lot in that regard.

So it looks like arable farming, hunting, and fishing for the immediate future.

Approximately, though I wouldn't place hunting so far up as a major part of the economy. Besides livestock, a daily diet that contains enough wild rice and groundnut will provide the daily protein requirements. Once societies make the shift to fully sedentary communities, hunting will become almost obsolete, except for sport.

And as for fishing (a little bit later on we'll see some major aquacultural innovations), it'll be more important in some areas than others.

Okay, this sounds super interesting! So I've always had this softspot for the idea of Woodland natives developing the wheel and then using domesticated dogs to pull carts and the like. I mean: vicious dog chariots! Not sure if this is really viable, but its stuck in my mind all the same :)

Thanks! Dog are good draft animals, and things like dog sleds were utilized by some natives (mostly in the Arctic, but some sources I've read claim that various other tribes engaged in the practice). I've heard about dogs pulling wheeled carts as well, so it's not implausible. I'll see what I can do. ;)

By the way guys, I promised an update by today at the latest, but realistically I think I'll be able to post it by Friday. Thanks for the patience!
 
Hey man! I was wondering when you'd get here. You'll definitely enjoy some of the things I have planned for South America (though it's gonna take me a bit before I cover it).

The delay of my arrival was a combination of a lack of AH.com notification, a difficult time at school and other minor things, but now i'm back in business :cool:

And about South America, let's see...surprise me :p

By the way guys, I promised an update by today at the latest, but realistically I think I'll be able to post it by Friday. Thanks for the patience!

If Friday is a bad song, can Friday be a good update? x'D
 
as both an aspiring member of the up-and-coming AH.com Pre-Columbian Cabal and an upstate NYer, i'm interested. (well, I've been very interested since the planning thread :p)

looking forward to see what this TL has in store.
 
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