Greater New World redux

Skraea

Guanche 2

The origin of the Guanche to this day is shrouded in mystery and controversy. Most believe that they are of North African origin tho some suggest Sardinian. A few think that the Guanches ancestors came from all over the Mediterranean world. A baffling mystery is why they lost their boats. Well,not in this timeline! There are two sources for canoes in the Canary Islands,trees and reeds.
5,000 to 4,000 years ago
The ancestors of the Guanche arrived in one or two waves of migration bringing with them their crops and livestock. Each one of the seven Canary Islands was set up as a kingdom of sorts ruled by what they called menceys. They were visited by Phoenicians and Carthaginians. So what is needed to shake them out of complacency and gain a navigational package? I have a theory.
Roughly 2,000 years ago
The Third Punic War was devastating to Carthage. Tiny remnants of the Carthaginian population fled to the sea and took refuge amongst the Guanche. Not enough to dominate or take over,but just enough to influence through intermarriage. While they could not build great warships without metal,they could build large reed-boats and canoes from the local trees, They taught their children and anyone who wished to learn how. Initially,it was for fishing,however other elements would provoke migration. A key element was greater population pressure,but another was genuine wanderlust awoke by the Carthage refugees. This combined with warfare provoked the younger Guanche and the Carthage survivors to explore the rest of Macaronesia fully colonizing the archipelago within centuries building their small steppe pyramids and ziggurats . They continued to make mummies of the dead and still practiced their religion. With a more stable food supply from the sea,the Guanche did not fear starvation.
1,500 years ago
Exploration by the Guanche westward and by the Carib eastward would result in interaction. Eventually,once over the initial shock,there would be conflict and trade.
Malagasy next post
 
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Skraea

Malagasy 1
Prelude
2,000 years ago
The ancestors of the Malagasy left Borneo and arrived at Madagascar. Some time later Bantu from East Africa arrived and the two groups blended in together. They grew rice and kept zebu cattle and chickens, In one timeline the elephant bird went extinct and the Mascarenes never got settled. Not here.
 

Skraea

Malagasy 2
1,800 years ago
The elephant bird is hunted,however people have noticed how easily they are tamed and their strength. Too slow maturing really for use as livestock,still they could mounted and ridden,plus their sheer size was impressive. They royalty began to keep flocks of the elephant bird with fertilized eggs and hatched chicks given out to favored nobility. The bushpig brought over by Bantu never went feral and was kept as livestock.
1,500 years ago
Population pressure and warfare forced some Malagasy to leave Madagascar and venture northward where they explored the Mascarene Islands and settled there. There were two birds of importance; the dodo and Rodrigues solitaire, Both saw domestication rapidly,especially since the dodo knew no fear,however their meat was tasty and they matured faster than the privileged elephant bird. Through all this,the Malagasy honed their skill,forged steel and practiced their arts. One day their descendants might make it to the Kerguelen Islands, Before that tho,some Malagasy set sail westward in some centuries.
Next post is Maori,then North America
 

Skraea

Maori 1
Prelude
700 years ago roughly
The Maori arrive at New Zealand with an agricultural package(designed for tropical climates,not temperate). They had a solid navigational package which allowed them to colonize the Chatham Islands,but life was difficult for a number of reasons. Chiefly being no terrestrial mammals. At least Australia had large mammals even if they were marsupial and monotreme.Plus,it would take a while for them to adjust to the cooler climate. Two things in this timeline will help out the Maori,contact with the southern Australians Budj Bim people and the Malagasy. They're gonna need it.
 

Skraea

Maori 2
Times are tough for the Maori. They've taken to fishing more and more frequently and going further out to sea. Roughly 50 years after landing in what they call Aoteroa, some fishing Maori arrive at the Truwanna Islands. Being a little envious, some of the Maori take to raiding and piracy,but they are unable to take over. Still,things are violent with hostages and heads taken on both sides. The Maori take hostages for food,the Truwanna less for food and more for head shrinking. The Budj Bim People are attacked as well,but they are fortified with walls.
600 years ago
The Budj Bim People and Truwanna meet the Maori in combat and emerge victorious. They begin to trade with them and learn about domesticating certain birds. These are what was domesticated................................
The weka = a curious,flightless woodhen the size of a chicken that was easy to catch,
the takahe =flightless and largest extant member of the rail family roughly goose size
kakapo= a flightless,nocturnal parrot that was the heaviest parrot in it's family
kiwi= small weird looking ratites
pouwa or New Zealand black swan= much bigger than it's Australian kin
kea= another large,omnivorous clever parrot
These domesticates and the introduction of South Australian wattles helped to increase and stabilize the Maori,but there was another tame if not domesticate.
5,500 years ago
The Malagasy had begun to travel back eastward in the Indian Ocean for trade, Upon reaching Aoteroa and the Maori,there was contact and trade. A few Malagasy decided to stay and take wives among the Maori and their influence began to grow. This is what saved the moa, who being of equal size to the elephant bird began to develop the same status. The moas were kept by royalty and their hunting restricted to royalty and high nobility.
Moriori
5,00 years ago
Some of the Maori left Aoteroa and migrated to the Chatham Islands where they lived by fishing,hunting seals, and muttonbirding. They also brought with them their livestock and a deepening kinship to the Malagasy. They would eventually adapt to the different climate and slowly migrate southward over the centuries honing their carving. The decision for some of the younger Moriori to migrate eased up on their population pressure and avoided them becoming completely pacifist.
North America next with some Rapa Nui and Norse sprinkled in between.
 

Skraea

A key note on North America;there are several culture complexes I want to focus on....................................................
Mound Builders and not just the Mississippians either. Largest complex in eastern North America with a range as far west as Kansas considering the Pawnee. Still extant as a civilization during the time of the conquistadors,but fell due to disease. I want to give them some disease resistance.
Cliff Dwellers=used to be called the Anasazi,but now referred as Ancestral Puebloans. I want them to cover the Southwest from Texas to California with dominance in Utah,Colorado and maybe even farther.
Thule= Will be getting more of a boost with new livestock and continued interaction with Siberia.
Pacific Northwest=Will be getting domesticates and a more seafaring lifestyle.
There're other smaller cultures that might get focus as well. One thing is,I'd like for them to get some disease resistance.
 

Skraea

If anyone's still interested North America will start with Aridoamerica/Oasisamerica,basically northern Mexico and the American Southwest from Texas to California and as far north as Utah and Colorado.
 

Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica 1
The region known as Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica is a huge one stretching from northern Mexico and covering most of the American Southwest from Texas to California and as far north as Utah and Colorado. It's also a very dynamic region with civilizations in the Desert Tradition from Ancestral Pueblo People,Mogollon,Hohokam,Fremont and Patayan in Oasisamerica and the Chichimeca of Aridoamerica.
In Oasisamerica,they already had complex agriculture,growing several cultivars of maize,tepary beans,cotton,agave,squash and peppers,keeping ocellated turkeys and having complex architecture. Macaws were imported from Mesoamerica and they might'v kept rabbits. The natives of Baja California did domesticate piebald/pinto chuckwallas which are iguanas of that region. The agricultural methods were complex with canal irrigation,lithic mulch,trincheras which were rock walls or terraces for farming,floodplain cultivation and water harvesting. About the only thing they didn't have going for them was sizable domesticates.
 

Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica 2
11,000 years ago
The musk-ox of the arctic is the largest goat-antelope known today. It lives in the Arctic,but had temperate relatives......................................
the shrub-ox=in between size between the musk-ox and the bison living in the Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica region. It went extinct in our timeline 11,000 years ago,but for this one,there will be relict herds.
the woodox=possibly the same as the shrub-ox of similar size and found throughout much of temperate eastern North America. Likewise,small herds remain extant.
As of 11,000 years ago,they are hunted for their meat and horns,but later on down the road will play an important role.
 
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Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica 3
3,500 years ago
The ancestors of many civilizations in this region known as the Basketmakers begin many of their practices that define Oasisamerica,but a few things change. One thing was the survival of the shrub-ox,relative of the Arctic muskox but bigger. Indeed,the only other ungulate bigger was the bison and the shrub-ox was more docile and not as powerful. There was a dependence upon the shrub-ox and an interest in keeping their numbers up as with the desert bighorn sheep. The idea of domesticating them came from Mesoamerica,as they noted and traded for the domestic peccary. One of the tricks used for capturing was the timber corral/impound method used for hunting bison. Another and perhaps safer version was the capture of weaned calves with use of the imported bolas. While the first few generations of domestic bighorn sheep and shrub-ox were wild and unpredictable,selective breeding and culling of aggressive individuals reduced that. The result was powerful ungulates with a good carcass yield. Their manure enriched the soil,they could pull travois,act as pack animals and the wool of both shrub-ox and bighorn sheep could be put to use as fabric. These two species along with peccaries also helped out the nomadic people of Aridoamerica. However,there were other domesticates.
The prairie chicken of the grouse family is also related to domestic fowl by being a member of the galliform order. The idea of domesticating it was not that far of a stretch,since they already had the ocellated turkey and imported the muscovy duck,chachala,guan and curassow. This brought feathers and eggs. The small children and infirm elders looked after the flocks while more able-bodied individuals watched the herds.
The desert cottontail was also domesticated.They're social and relatively tolerant to each other. They were kept in pens. Also,chuckwallas were domesticated.
3,000 years ago
Now dogs were already being kept. Indeed,dogs are known to almost every society worldwide and were the first domesticate. But,their close kin the coyote also saw domestication. Now,the coyote is much like the golden jackal of Africa actually a member of the wolf family and readily interbreeds with their larger cousin resulting in cross-fertile offspring. And in real life,the coyote was domesticated on separate occasions by Native Americans. Their domestic offspring would show the same signs of domestication as regular dogs; floppy ears,curled tail,reduced muzzle and variations in colors. The kit fox, a far more distant relative was also kept undergoing the same changes. And no,the domestication of foxes is not that far off as fennecs of North Africa and Middle East were and are commonly kept as pets. Further out west,the grey fox(not really a member of the vulpine clan,but rather basal canine) were domesticated as pets and valuable enough to have more around. Lastly,the ocelot was domesticated as a verminator.
Around the same time,some trees or shrubs saw domestication...................................................................
the papershell pinon,2 needle pinon,honey mesquite,velvet mesquite,fan palm,yucca tree and desert willow which when combined with domestic bighorn sheep,shrub-ox and peccaries formed a silvopasture environment in certain areas of the region. The sego lily,beeweed and pignut or hog potato also formed important new crops.
All of this,plus some small imports from Mesoamerica and South America would help improve their chances of avoiding collapse in the coming years.
 
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Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica 4
Mogollon/Hohokam
2,500 years ago
The Basketmaker Tradition has evolved. They've taken to dwelling in pit-houses,They're building roads and setting up trade throughout the region. Two dominant cultures are the Mogollan and Hohokam traditions. While differing in many ways,still they were similar. They had plazas,roads,mounds,pottery and rancheria type living. Water glyphs became commonplace and pottery growing more ornate and carved. The cookware of Mesoamerica,the metate,molcajete and comal had all migrated northward and they were taking to working certain stones like turquoise well. With the domestication of the shrub-ox and bighorn sheep,both cultures had access to wool, which they took to weaving along with cotton in sturdy blankets and clothing. The transition into cliff dwelling would be gradual and based upon protection.
 

Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica 5
Chichimeca
2,500 years ago
Aridoamerica is harsh compared to it's northward neighbor Oasisamerica. They have at least four deserts,the Sonoran.Mohave and Chihuahuan, Great Basin Desert,Sierra Mountains Oriental/Occidental ,San Andres Mountain,Dona Anas Mountain,Chiricahua Mountain and Franklin Mountain with low rainfall and searing heat. This was the reason why the Chichimeca tended to be nomadic, tho in this timeline it was with herds of shrub-ox and peccary. The tepary bean was indigenous to this reason and planted along with maize,chia,maguey,various cacti and yucca. They coppiced willows which was cutting tree stems to ground level resulting in stools for the twigs. This practice enabled them domesticate the creosote bushes, joshua tree,pinyon trees and mesquite trees, breeding out bad traits and resulting in greater yields. Being in contact with Mesoamerica helped some to gain status as traders and Mesoamerican influence was felt via ballgames. The Chichimeca were viewed by the Mogollon tradition as brutal,bloodthirsty,territorial,tough,savage and barbaric, as noted by minimal agriculture(silvopasture,nomadic pastoralism and practice of sacrifice both human and animal. Many hired out to the Mayan Empire as mercenaries and some were raiders of the Mogollon and Hohokam peoples. They raided for slaves and for loot. In fact,they combined with a few other factors may'v eventually been the cause for the Cliff Dwelling culture to arise in the next few centuries.
 

Skraea

North America
Oasisamerica/Aridoamerica
Cliff Dwellers 1
2,750 to 1,550 years ago
Oasisamerica=Outside of the Mogollon and Hohokam Traditions,there was another one in the core Southwest of the Four Corners called the Picosa Culture where various villages were building their pueblos at the base of cliffs with storage pits for surplus food. They adopted the same livestock as the Mogollon.Pitayan and Hohokam. The reason one would suspect why would be migration of new people from north and aggression from the warlike Chichimeca. Anyway,they moved their pueblos to cliffs,canyons and the tops of mesas, with towers plazas,viewsheds. kivas and other forms of complex agriculture. Only accessible by rope or pole,their pueblos as well fortified as a medieval castle with the same purpose for defense. The style would spread to and be adopted by the neighboring Mogollon and Hohokam Traditions. A form of writing was developed in pictographs and petroglyphs with trade still essential.
1,550 years ago= The region of that makes up north Mexico and American Southwest is mineral rich. Full of silver,copper,turquoise,petrified wood,gold,obsidian and petroleum,the art of metalsmithing was imported and learned from Mesoamerica. The metalsmiths became very skilled with ornate jewelry. The psychedelic peyote cactus started to be used in religious ceremonies and other purposes resulting in cultivation. Peyote buttons were a popular trade item in Mesoamerica along with ayahuasca and kambo(frog secretions) from South America. The Cliff Dwellers actually were developing a reputation as healers or curanderos as they would be called later on.
1,000 years ago
From west Texas to east California,Utah,Colorado and far north Mexico,all that was the domain of the Cliff Dwellers. Made up of at least four ethnic groups with ornate architecture,roads,complex trade routes and strong defense system,they were the dominant force in Oasicamerica/Aridoamerica. Conflict with the Chichimeca,has brought a warrior society and experiments in siege warfare. Culturally,they were a little stern,suspicious of witches and superstitious. At times,rigid in their class system and intolerant of those who would deviate. They would survive the Little Ice Age.
700 years ago
The ancestors of the Navajo and Apache migrated down from Canada. While there were raids and conflict,many of the groups were heavily influenced by the Cliff Dwellers,some would assimilate,others would develop derivative pueblitos as both dwelling and defense readily taking to bighorn sheep,shrub-ox and peccary herding. Others would stay as raiders,the Apache proving to be as fierce as the Chichimeca to the south with violent conflicts there.But the dominant culture would remain that of the Cliff Dwellers who's influence would only be matched by the contemporary Mound Builders to the east.
Mound Builders next post
 

Skraea

North America
Mound Builders 1
prelude
5,000 years ago
The region where the Mound Builders arose was throughout the eastern part of America and as far west as Nebraska and Kansas.They dominated the Great Lakes,Mississippi River Valley,Ohio River Valley and in-between. Their mounds were complex with monuments,geometric earthworks and large metropolitan areas. Their agriculture was domesticated goosefoot,sunflower,marsh elder,little barley,maygrass,sumpweed,erect knotweed and squash . This timeline is about keeping the Eastern Agriculture Complex viable with domestic animals. Which will happen.
 

Skraea

North America
Mound Builders 2
3,000 years ago
We're at the Woodland period of the Mound Builders. Agriculture is going as well as foraging. One animal valued for hunting was the wood-ox,kin to the polar muskox and might be the same as the western shrub-ox. More docile than the bison,over time they would capture small groups and pen them for slaughter. Eventually,the wood-ox would become a domesticate over the centuries. The wood-ox saw service as a beast of burden. They'd also capture swamp rabbits and domesticate them in the same manner as well as the fleet passenger pigeon.
Up north in the Great Lakes region, a new plant domesticate happened,zizania or wild rice. Already a staple food for the Mound Builders of that area and managed in such a way as to be farmed,the seeds began to be spread throughout the wetlands of the Mound Builder territory.
The manroot= a sweet potato vine was domesticated producing a tuber similar to the sweet potato
Potato bean= another vine that produced edible beans and tubers
Hog peanut=yet another vine with edible roots and seeds
Medeola better known as the cucumber root
American ginseng=similar to Chinese ginseng
Snakeroot,bloodroot,arrowhead,wapato,black cohosh,tuckahoe and wood leek all root crops that contributed towards food security.
2,500 years ago=The Mound Builders expanded into east and central Texas where they domesticated the Texas wild rice,peccary and prairie chicken. They also expanded in Florida,where they met some of the Arawak and through trade gained some of the rodents like agouti,paca and a few others.
In terms of art,they carved stone tablets and learned the secrets of metalworking from Mayan visitors.
 

Skraea

OK, a quick question about the prairie turnip. It was a staple food source of the Great Plains,almost as vital as the bison. I'd love to include it as a domesticate for the western Mound Builders,but it evidently takes two to four years to mature. Would that make it a viable domesticate or not? There's also the little breadroot that was used as well.
 

Skraea

North America
Mound Builders 3
1,500 years ago=
The Mound Builder culture continued to grow and diversify with new tribes tending to assimilate and adapt the Mound Builders tradition. Mound Builders unlike the Cliff Dwellers to west were martial and aggressive with the tech such as bows and arrows,blowguns,bronze and obsidian to back it up. Fairly matrilineal,women had roles in religion,warfare and government,even at times outright ruling the towns. They expanded down to the Gulf Coast and out to the Great Plains,tho with differing customs and dialect.
2,000 years ago=
Mound Builders of the Woodland Era migrated from Florida eastward to Louisiana and coastal Texas where the wild rice(zizania) of Texas was cultivated along with cabbage palm and a cycad called coontie palm. The peccaries and prairie chickens of Texas were domesticated and they kept muscovy duck,ocellated turkey,chachalaca,guan and curassow. From the Arawak and Mayans,they adopted iguanas,hutias,pacas,pacaranas and agoutis. They developed sizable canoes for trade and transport,took to making their dwellings open-air like chickees and readily adopted the hammock.
1,500 years ago=
A schism or disagreement had some leave the valleys in exodus. Some figured,that there may'v been an outbreak of disease,famine,or infighting. These arrived on the outskirts of the Great Plains and built their mounds and lodges for living. There were two important domesticates. The prairie turnip and the little breadroot,both perennials.The prairie turnip took as a minimum two years to fully mature,but they were planted alongside annuals such as little barley,maize,amaranth,sunflower and other plants well known in the Eastern Agricultural Complex. With their wood-ox and peccaries,they could travel fairly easy and spread out farther. Wise water management saved them in times of drought. The wood-ox would prove helpful in farming,both for their manure and because it was discovered they could help plow fields. Another surprising discovery was that their milk was tasty,nourishing and could feed orphaned infants. And of course,their wool was invaluable. And there was yet another surprising domesticate. The giant silkworm,primarily the imperial moth,but there were a few others. Their pupae were gathered and eaten,then some people noticed how strong the silk was and how shiny the cloth was from it. Therefore the giant silkworm saw domestication which spread throughout the Americas. It's also highly likely that the contemporary Cliff Dwellers had discovered this as well.
A few non livestock domesticates in both regions were the grey fox,kit/swift fox,red wolf and ocelot/jaguarundi. Some had also taken to keeping the similar sized bobcat due to respect for their ferocity.
 
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