A Sea in Africa

Stolen wholesale from another thread, apparently from '06. I figured since that thread was dead I'd just start another one.

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^the sea

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Kaki: temperate and cold forest
Purple: Mediterranean vegetation
Yellow: desert
Orange: grassland and dry savannah
Light green: forest and prairie
Dark green: rainforest
(You may correct and improve as needed)

^the effect on vegetation (roughly)

how the sea formed said:
120,000 BP
A Small Asteroid hits in the area of the Congo river mouth. while it doesn't do much damage, the rebervations cause a hot spot to form in the vecinity.

105.000 BP
The hot spot burns through in the vicinity of OTL Brazzaville.

100.000 BP
The Lava has formed a dam across the Congo river a dozen feet high, forming a small lake.

75.000 BP
The interaction of the water and the Lava has formed a Dam Several hundred feet high reaching across the whole Congo Valley.

60.000 BP
The weight of the Volcano, and the Inland sea, has been stressing the Cameroon Rift valley, Over the next couple thousand years this stress will be relived in a series of Massive Earthquake. When they are over Landslides thruout the Guinea Highlands Have blocked off the Niger River Valley.

55.000 years BP
The Niger Sea overflows the last mountain pass and starts flowing down into Lake Chad

50.000 BP
the Congo Sea overflows the last mountain pass and starts flowing down into the Niger Sea.

48,000 BP
The Twin Seas break thru the northern Mountains and begins flowing to the NNW thru Niger.

47.000 BP
Having filled many of the Depressions along the way the River turns in west Central Lybia and heads NNE toward the Gulf of Sidra.

40.000 BP
Most of the Depressions between the Atlas mountians and the Nile Plateua, have been filled by Rain, allowing a Sahel to form. this is covered by nomadic Herdsmen who travel from Lake/Oasis to Lake/Oasis following their herds. there are settled fisherman along the Great River, in small villages, trading their fish, for Meat, and Leather from the Herders.

12.000 BP
ICE AGE ends, Weather patterns are shifting, the western end of the Great Sahel is drying a Little, Foraging parties are having troubles, some of the Fishermen along the Great River, begin gathering Seeds and Boardcast sowing them so to ensure they will be there next season.

10.000 BP
nomads have come down from the Nile Platuea, and settled among the tribesmen along the fertile Nile Valley. They bring with them the idea of Sowing Seeds. a Population boom begins

Smaller rainforest, probably a larger and drier Kalahari slowly expanding upwards through the centuries. On one hand this will lead to earlier developed
civilizations in Africa, on the other hand most of South Africa will be uninhabitable.

discuss.
 
on the other hand most of South Africa will be uninhabitable.
Don't think so, It is Sahel, full of Herder/Gatherers. They trade with the tribes along the south coast of the Inland Sea.

probably a larger and drier Kalahari slowly expanding upwards through the centuries
Don't see this one either. The Kalahari is Governed by the Northern flowing Coastal Current moving north from Antarctica.
Don't see your Inland see affecting this current.

40.000 BP
Most of the Depressions between the Atlas mountians and the Nile Plateua, have been filled by Rain, allowing a Sahel to form. this is covered by nomadic Herdsmen who travel from Lake/Oasis to Lake/Oasis following their herds. there are settled fisherman along the Great River, in small villages, trading their fish, for Meat, and Leather from the Herders.
Each of these lakes will be the center of a City/State like Greek Cities on the Aegean Islands/Mountain Valleys.
Around the Larger Lakes, whe will have small Multi City Empires [Athens-Sparta], However the River Mouth City, will grow to be the main culture center.

At least till you get to the Niger Mountains, where the Inland Sea Culture will dominate.

OTL the 3 main trade routes north were Morocco on the west Coast, the Nile on the East Coast, & Carthage 3rd, in the Middle.
ITTL it will be the Great River in the Center, The Nile in the East, and Morocco a distant 3rd.
 
If there was a large inland sea I would be willing to bet the population of Africa would be several hundred million larger due to there being more arable land.
 
If there was a large inland sea I would be willing to bet the population of Africa would be several hundred million larger due to there being more arable land.

Maybe, maybe not.

The African Sea actually submerges one of the most populous parts of Africa IOTL, so it would depend on what effect it would have on Middle-Africa and its Rainforests.
 
Don't think so, It is Sahel, full of Herder/Gatherers. They trade with the tribes along the south coast of the Inland Sea.

You don't think there'd be an issue with Southern African tribes reaching the inland sea? The Congo jungle wouldn't be completely gone after all.

Each of these lakes will be the center of a City/State like Greek Cities on the Aegean Islands/Mountain Valleys.


Around the Larger Lakes, whe will have small Multi City Empires [Athens-Sparta], However the River Mouth City, will grow to be the main culture center.

At least till you get to the Niger Mountains, where the Inland Sea Culture will dominate.

I was thinking that the eastern area, from the eastern coast of the Congo Sea, towards Tanzania would probably have mild eastern influences, as it would have access to easy and (relatively) cheap trade with East Asia. Then again, East Asia would be influenced by that region as well, they'd all look pretty different.

OTL the 3 main trade routes north were Morocco on the west Coast, the Nile on the East Coast, & Carthage 3rd, in the Middle.
ITTL it will be the Great River in the Center, The Nile in the East, and Morocco a distant 3rd.

Trade with Europe will still be pretty important though, and Northern Africa will be the only realistic way for the more Southern states to trade with them.
 
This all assumes that the first modern men actually survive the effects of the impact. There were so few that there seems a real possibility our species dosn't survive and the world belongs to the Neanderthals in Europe and Homo Erectus in Asia
 

Valdemar II

Banned
I personal find the idea of a second Nile the most interesting part of this idea.

It would fundamental change human history and genetics, in OTL modern man moved out of Subsaharan Africa through the Nile valley. Here we would get a second road out, and it the population leaving that way would be genetic distinct from the East Africans. While Eurasia, Oceanian and the Americas would likely be colonised by the Nile dispora, this second dispora would colonise Mahgreb and the second Nile (let's call it the Sile for short). Of course I'm not sure the Gulf of Sidra are the most likely place for the Sile's delta, I think it's more likely it will take the longer rute west through Niger and Algeria only to run out in South Tunisia, simply because there are mountain range in the way on the Lybian border.

After colonising the Middleeast the early Nile population stayed relative genetic isolated for a long periode, the Siles and Mahgreebs populations would likely split too, and stay relative isolated from each others and other groups. This give oppotunity to create rather distinct human populations both linguistic and in physical traits*. They likely stay mostly isolated until around agriculture are developed** or introduced. After the adoption of agriculture in the Sile, we will likely see the Sile culture and language spread over Mahgreeb, through the following citystate which are born there will likely not be part of the Sile Kingdom***.

The Sile and Nile population will likely stay relative isolated from each other with only some trade between them. Mostly the Sile will look west toward the isolated but rich cultures of the Mahgreeb, while Egypt look east toward the Fertile Crescent. This will last a long time. While Egypt are open for invasions and counterinvasion toward the east. The Sile are protected by a large desert (at least to the east). So until a power like the Romans comes around the Sile and Nile will not share rulers or war against each others (at least not seriously)

*Through they will look recognisable mediterranean in colouring.


**I lean toward developed, the Sile are perfect placed for the local discovering it on their own.

***The Sile are perfect for a early kingdom, while Mahgreeb are better for independent city states
 
Any thoughts about how this might affect West and East Africa?

On the subject of North Africa:

7000BC - 3000BC was the period in which the Sahara was "green", and it had a savannah type ecosystem. How do you think that would affect the development of the city states that are created once the lakes in the Mahgreb develop?

I was thinking that this might lead to a population explosion, massive overfarming, so when the green sahara ends, loads of city states die out as they are unable to feed themselves.
 
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@ Valdemar: The second nile will develop too late to affect that.

Also, here's a brief attempt at a timeline for this:

timeline said:
100000BP: Some humans head south and settle in South Africa. Others head further East and begin to settle along the Great Lakes, eventually reaching the Congo Lake. Otherwise no major changes from OTL.

60000 BP: (Development of the Niger Sea) By now, humans are living throughout most of Africa and the Middle East, and are beginning to head further east into Asia. The worlds largest population is in Central Africa, around the Great Lakes system, which now includes a rapidly expanding Congo Lake. Many tribes living in the jungles in the region of the Niger river are killed or displaced as the Niger river develops into a Niger Lake. Some head futher north into Egypt.

The changes in rainfall patterns have led to a much larger savannah in Southern Africa. Those tribes tend to have more nomadic lifestyles, following game throughout the Kalahari region.

50000 BP: The Congo and Niger lakes have combined. The tribes which lived around the Great Lakes system now number in the thousands. They expand along the new Niger-Congo river, up towards the Niger Lake, there they eventually mix with some of the smaller West African tribes, and form permanent settlements. The larger ones remain nomadic, and are a constant nuisance on the part of the farmers.

Humans spread thoughout the South Asia islands and reach Australia.

48000 BP: The Twin Seas expand out through the mountains into OTL Niger.

47000 BP: Filling depressions along the way, the River eventually reaches South Tunisia.

40000 BP: Rainfall fills the depressions between the Atlas Mountains and the Nile Plateau.

The Nomadic tribes in West Africa spread along the Tunisian river, and, as the Sahel develops, along North Africa, eventually coming into conflict with the Nile tribes. Eventually, they only become semi-nomadic. Resting in one area for part of the year and farming, before moving east along the lakes as game runs out or the weather changes.

Dogs tend to settle in areas near the Nomadic tribes in South Africa now, waiting for food and leftovers. Eventually large enough populations of dogs follow the nomadic tribes that they start to be domesticated. The tribes also begin herding Ostriches.

The Great Lakes civilisations begin herding cattle.

Humans have now reached the entirety of Western Europe.

Not sure what to do from there.
 
Another thing I was thinking about was:

OTL Africa has one of the greatest number of languages in the world, even amongst tribes that lived very close to one another. How would this affect the development of language?
 
I do want to try and write this, so I'll bump it one last time and after this I'll have to try and research all of this myself.
 
I personal find the idea of a second Nile the most interesting part of this idea.
There was an older thread on the Congo Sea that came to the disappointing conclusion that there wouldn't be any draining across the Sahara, but rather along the Niger. And the Niger doesn't have any potential dam as convenient as that of the Congo.
 
Twp obvious things occur to me: it's liable to change the prevalence of malaria & malarial mosquitos, & of tse tse flies.
 
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