I do also think that it is noteworthy that most places had some sort of domesticate in the form of sheep, goats, and pigs before domesticating bovids. I'd say probably the best POD in that case would be the domestication of the mountain goat (which I use in my own TL), and perhaps also the bighorn sheep (slightly more difficult as information on their dominance hierarchies vary) and the peccary. I think a good realistic package of domestic animals for North America that would be most similar to Eurasia would be the mountain goat (goat), bighorn sheep (sheep), peccary (pig), bison (cow), turkey (chicken), and American species of ducks and geese as well as the extinct American horses and camels. You could also perhaps throw in caribou, elk, white-tail deer, prairie chickens, and rabbits.
Either way, as I have discussed the contents of that previous paragraph on what feels like dozens of threads now, I would also add that I don't think you necessarily need alternate domesticates for a powerful Mississippian cradle of civilization. The EAC and Three Sisters could easily support larger populations with an earlier adoption of agriculture. Illinois in the north and the alluvial plain to the south offer some of the most fertile land in the world. The river would provide an easy means of transport, and overall I imagine the region would probably be like the China of the Americas, having maybe as much as half of the population the the two continents.
Now, I think a question we haven't really gotten to yet is what the relationship would be with the colonial powers. Perhaps as Cortez heard about the empire on the mainland in Mexico, another conquistador-to-be in the Caribbean would be drawn to the Mississippi. As a result, you would probably see the Mississippians follow a similar direction to Mexico and bring the focus of Spanish colonization east, which would hinder the colonial ambitions of the French and English. The French would probably be first to the St Lawrence and the English would probably still settle in some of the lands east of the Appalachians, and both would likely form an alliance against Spain. In that case, the English and French would support the Mississippian natives in North America against the Spanish, a conflict which they would most likely win with Spain so stretched out. The Mississippians would likely become French or English vassals serving as a buffer between their colonies and Spain. Perhaps they would become a semi-autonomous entity of the British Empire and may westernize like the Five Civilized Tribes. It is unlikely they would industrialize early on, as they would likely primarily serve the British/French by providing natural resources. However, as time passes and the developing world begins to catch up, the Mississippians would likely return as a rising power in the Americas, competing primarily with Mexico and Brazil most likely.
). Aside from the dog, domesticated animals came after civilization began to develop. Mississippian agriculture is the first thing which needs to be addressed in order to get a cradle of civilization, and the talk about the Eastern Agricultural Complex is certainly on the right track. For my part I do think maize or wild rice are better in the long run, but let's not forget that China's founder crop was millet, not wheat or rice. Additional crops can come along later and supplant them, but what is needed first is to get things seeded (both literally and metaphorically). Animal domestication can come later.
