Horses of Turtle Island Timeline Draft

Horse Empires Timeline Draft

POD: IOTL the North American horse along with the majority of mega fauna was probably driven to extinction through over hunting, environmental collapse, and possibly disease. About the only mega fauna that survived was the bison, and the moose. In this TL the horse doesn’t get sick, and like the bison enough of them survive to roam the great plains of future North America.

Note: There will be no butterflies outside of the America’s until they contact or are contacted by another continent. Also in regards to the America’s the butterflies won’t really hit certain parts until the domestic horses get to that region. So Olmecs, and Mayas and other well known groups in Central and South America may or may not exist, but once they get the domesticated horse they’re going to be in for big changes.

The languages used will be similar to OTL, I'll be using Native American names with some minor changes, but I'll admit now my language skill is limited so don't expect a lot of details on linguistics in this timeline.
Criticism and questions welcomed.
Enjoy

****
11,000 years ago

Takodee walked behind the hunting party, nervously holding his spear close to his chest, trying to keep it from getting tangled in the small trees. He had hunted before, but only rabbits, ducks, and other small animals, this day he was hunting with the men for larger game. If he helped kill an animal, or better yet killed one himself he would be a man. If he didn’t help, or if they came back empty handed it would be many moons before he could try again. Takodee swore to himself that he would do well.
A cold breeze caused him to shiver, he pulled his simple fur cloak closer to his body with his free hand. The cold Northern winds were coming, and the animals were heading south. The day before Namidee had spotted a herd of horses so large it had taken half a day for it pass by. If they were lucky they would find it or a small herd of horses heading in the same direction. That would keep them well fed throughout the long winter.
Trying to keep up to the other hunters, Takodee didn’t see the root sticking out of the ground. He fell hard, biting his tongue to keep from shouting out. Wincing he got back to his feet, and quickly looked around to make sure none of the men had seen him. As he looked to the side he thought he saw something.
Barely breathing he moved slightly to get a better look. through the underbrush he saw a dark shape, it vanished but was quickly replaced. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it was big, and an animal. Getting to his feet he quietly ran to the other hunters.

The eight small horses walked in single file through the light forest. As they walked they ate the occasional clump of grass, and leaves. The lead mare stopped every few meters to smell the air and to listen for any noises. The last mare in the herd breathed heavily whenever they stopped. Her head hung low, and she didn’t eat any of the grass they passed, her foal followed closely behind but it too breathed harder than the other foals.
The lead mare suddenly stopped and brayed in alarm. The bray became a scream of pain as a thrown spear pierced its side. The other mares panicked and tried to form a circle with their foals in the middle. Thrown spears struck them as they stood looking for an enemy, and tried to protect their young. Human screams and yells erupted from around them..
The screams and smell of blood overpowered the horses, they tried to run. But with the spear wounds, and the trees they couldn’t move quickly. The three uninjured mares only got a few feet when clubs and stone tipped axes attacked their legs, crippling them. As the injured horses died from blood lose, or were clubbed to death by the hunters, the stunned foals were easy meat.

Takodee led the hunters back to camp, carrying one of the smaller foals over his shoulders. The hunt had been successful and he had spotted the horses, he had proven himself a man. He would receive a man’s name, and could now pierce his ears with the bones of his prey.
The eight horses were being dragged or carried by eleven of the twelve hunters. The twelfth hunter held his arm awkwardly and tried not to show pain. His arm had been broken by one of the horses, several of the hunters had bruises, but his injury was the worst.
It had been a most successful hunt.

As they walked a unique virus that had infected the entire herd, and lived in their lungs, slowly died as the bodies it lived off of, grew colder and colder. Its passing went unknown and unremarked, but it would eventually shake the world.
____________

11,000 - 10,000BC: While extensively hunted throughout North America, the horse does not die out. As the land warms up, the horses expand throughout the great plains, deserts, and sparse woodlands of North America.

10,000 - 4000BC: Horses hunted for meat, skin, and bones. Not quite as valuable as bison, they are still seen a vital part of life in North America.

____________
Approximately 5000BC

Eyotai stretched her hands high above her head. Cramped and sore from cutting a hole in the thick leather that would be her new poncho, she looked around hoping for a distraction. The smell of campfires, and the quiet noises of the camp didn't interest her. Most of the men were out hunting and the other women were doing the same thing she was. Instead she looked outwards towards the endless prairies, and the slow, clear river that surrounded her home.
A figure appeared on the horizon. Eyotai placed the unfinished leather poncho on her lap and waited for the person to become more distinct. She cocked her head in puzzlement, something seemed to be following the person. At first she thought it was a dog, but the legs were too long. Curious, she stood up and walked towards the person.
The young woman smiled as she realized it was Dyaki, one of the older hunters. He was dragging something behind him, and an animal was following him as well. Eyotai stopped in surprise, the animal was a young foal. She saw a rope was loosely tied around its neck, and it followed Dyaki like a dog.
Running closer she shouted, “Dyaki, what is that horse doing?”
The man stopped and flexed his shoulders. “I killed its mother, and this one didn’t want to leave her. I was ready to kill it to, but I thought of something. It wanted to follow me, and it is too small to eat right now. If we keep it for a while, just a few moons, it can eat the grass and get bigger. Then we can kill it and get a good meal, instead of the scraps we would be eating now.”
She looked at him like he was crazy. “But how will you keep it?”
Dyaki smiled. “Well it didn’t like me putting the rope on its neck at first, but I got it on eventually. It was more interested in following its mother than fighting. Now with a bit of help I can tie its legs so it can move, but not kick us or run away.
Still watching him like he was possessed, the young woman walked with him and the horse back to camp.
_______
Don't worry this is not my version of domestication, just an old hunter thinking ahead, and using what luck has provided him.
 
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Thanks OneUp. I fixed it as soon as you told me.
Got busy with things so I couldn't post this sooner. More to follow soon.

Part 2: Early Agriculture

Excerpt from Prehistory of Minosteca (1)
Written by Professor Rebecca Stanford, Professor of History, New York University, New York, Dominion of Georgia (2)
Published July 3rd, 2009

Chapter 3: Agricultural Advances
Think of the foods you most commonly eat. If your food comes from Europe, Asia, Africa, Yotachua (3), or Lower Minosteca (4), it was probably domesticated around 5000 years ago. If your food comes from Middle or Upper Minosteca, it’s quite a bit younger than that, at least 1000 years younger, often two or even three thousand years younger.
Recent genetic advances and all archeological records have shown beyond reasonable doubt that the agriculture of all but the extreme south of Minosteca was lacking compared to the rest of the world. Whereas Lower Minosteca and Yotachua were growing corn, tapioca, potato’s, arrow root, and most other staple foods between 9000 to 6000 years ago, the rest of Minosteca was still relying on hunting and gathering, with no known agriculture, except possibly tobacco. It wasn’t until 5000 to 4000 years ago that the Eastern and North Eastern parts of Minosteca, began to develop true agricultural practices.
In the rest of the world this delayed development would have seen the Lower Minosteca farmers push north taking the best farmland, due to a consistently growing population, against the much slower and more stable Northern groups. As happened in Asia when the Mandarin speaking farmers simply pushed the still Neolithic hunter and gatherers, further and further south. In Africa the agrarian Bantu people, advanced far to the South against the non-farming tribes in a few centuries.
In Minosteca, despite this disadvantage, after the rise of agriculture, it advanced relatively quickly across the continent. In a mere 2000 years most of Middle Minosteca and a portion of Upper Minosteca, was practicing some type of farming, using plants from all parts of Minosteca. Only in the more Northerly parts around the 49th parallel where no domestic plants could survive at that time, and the majority Great Plains where the prehistoric herders survived through herding horses combined with traditional hunting and gathering, lacked some type of farming.
There are a variety of reasons for this….

1)The common English name for TTL North America. It is a misspelled Cree word for ‘Island’. TTL Northern Cree were one of the first groups met, so through miscommunication the entire continent got called it
2)Yes I called a minor city ITTL New York. Don’t worry about the butterflies, they will be appeased. This New York is in OTL Northern Ontario, which started off as a British colony.
3)TTL’s version of the Maya got the honour of naming OTL South America. It’s a misspelled version of ‘Home’. The Mayan Caribbean Traders were the first South American culture to meet Europeans. TTL’s modern Mayan’s are extremely proud that they got to name the continent for the rest of the world, mostly because it annoys their neighbours.
4)Minosteck is usually divided into three parts. Lower Minosteca- Mesoamerica, Middle Minosteca- everything from Northern Mexico to around the 49th parallel, and Upper Minosteca is everything North of that.

Domestication of major plants and animals in North and South America, 10,000 -2,000

Here’s a list of the major known plants, and animals that were domesticated in North and South America from 10,000 to 2,000 BC, most from OTL. The ones in italics are from TTL, and were semi-domesticated or are considered to be domesticable. Several of these have different dates of domestication. I tried to pick the ones that seemed most accurate or were backed up by more sources. The ones in italics are only domesticated ITTL . I’ll be dealing with agriculture quite a bit in this TL so this could be helpful.
Also there are several more plants and one or two animals (I promise they'll be sensible), but they will be domesticated later. TTL has the Americas more advanced, but not as much as Europeans, so somethings will be slower.

10,000 Years ago
Lower Minosteca – Pepo Squash,

9000 – 8000 years ago

Amassona (1)- Manioc (Cassava),
Lower Minosteca- Maize (corn)
Andes- Canna indica, Yacon
Orinoco Basin- Arrow Root

7000 – 6000 years ago
Lower Minosteca- Jicama
Orinoco Basin- Cush-Cush Yam, Tobacco
Andes- Potato, Tomato, cocoa, Oca
Amassona- Chili Peppers, peanuts, tobacco
Eastern Middle Minosteca- Tobacco

5000-4000 years ago
Eastern Middle Minosteca- Pepo Squash, Sunflower, Marshelder (Sumpweed), Chenopod (goosefoot), Little Barley, Jerusalem Artichoke
Lower Minosteca- Common bean, Chili peppers, cotton , Yucca (fibre), Agave (fibre and food), Avocado, Chicle
Orinoco Basin – Cotton, sweet potato
Andes- Quinoa, Avocado, Cavy (guinea pig), Andean Lupin
Amassona- various ground nuts (Pistachios, etc)

3000-2000 years ago

Lower Minosteca - Breadnut, Chayote
Eastern Middle Minosteca- Ground nut (Indian Potato), Florida Arrowroot,
Middle Minosteca Great Plains- Horses
Amassona - Nance, Platonia, pineapple, Muscovy Duck
Andes- Canihua, Llama, Alpaca, Amaranth, Lucuma

1) The Portuguese name for the Amazon Rain Forest.

Sources: Many different ones, but these were the biggest, and I cross checked each of these foods with each other.
-Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
-Eastern North America as an Independent Center of Plant Domestication, Bruce D. Smith, Archaeobiology Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, http://www.pnas.org/content/103/33/12223.full
-Plants for a Future http://www.pfaf.org/index.php
-Single Domestication of Maize http://www.pnas.org/content/99/9/6080.full.pdf+html?sid=8d8228fb-1f19-448e-9d86-233ec3f409b5 (This is an interesting study on corn. Apparently corn spread to the Andes from Mexico.)
-Footprints of Maize Domestion http://www.pnas.org/content/106/suppl.1/9979.full.pdf+html?sid=8d8228fb-1f19-448e-9d86-233ec3f409b5, (Explains where corn originated, and was domesticated.)
- Andean Grains and Legumes http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/grains.html#Canihua


Any comments and/or criticism (polite please), are welcome and invited.
 
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Cool. Well written and appears well researched. I'm following...

Thank you. I have done a crash course in Indian history for the last few months, and I've used wiki (with a lot of backtracking through links) more often in the last two months than I have for my entire life.
 
Thank you. I have done a crash course in Indian history for the last few months, and I've used wiki (with a lot of backtracking through links) more often in the last two months than I have for my entire life.
I hear that, I've read a dozen books in the last 6 months for Raptor of Spain and now I have to start in on India and China (sob). Anyhow, NA Horse stories have always intrigued me since Tad Williams had one of his characters try it in Otherland.
 
Thank you. I have done a crash course in Indian history for the last few months, and I've used wiki (with a lot of backtracking through links) more often in the last two months than I have for my entire life.
I always love seeing timelines about the American Indians. I've been researching the Mayans for countless months, maybe even a couple of years, and actually joined this site just to post a timeline focusing on Mayans, which I've postponed due to lack of interest. Maybe I'll get trying again.

A few points I have about this however, why would a Cree word be used to describe the whole continent? Wouldn't they go with a Mayan word, or some other Mesoamerican/Caribbean language seeing as they contacted these guys first? Anahuac or something like that flows a lot better than Minosteck too, and fits in with the 'A' theme for continents (I don't count Europe). Also, I could be mistaken but I heard somewhere that most American Indians were already agricultural around this time, exceptions being northern Canada, most desert people, and the Northwest. The Plains people were farmers prior to the introduction of horses, which made the nomadic way of life easier. Before that I heard they were semi-nomadic farmers like the Algonquian tribes.
 
I always love seeing timelines about the American Indians. I've been researching the Mayans for countless months, maybe even a couple of years, and actually joined this site just to post a timeline focusing on Mayans, which I've postponed due to lack of interest. Maybe I'll get trying again.

A few points I have about this however, why would a Cree word be used to describe the whole continent? Wouldn't they go with a Mayan word, or some other Mesoamerican/Caribbean language seeing as they contacted these guys first? Anahuac or something like that flows a lot better than Minosteck too, and fits in with the 'A' theme for continents (I don't count Europe). Also, I could be mistaken but I heard somewhere that most American Indians were already agricultural around this time, exceptions being northern Canada, most desert people, and the Northwest. The Plains people were farmers prior to the introduction of horses, which made the nomadic way of life easier. Before that I heard they were semi-nomadic farmers like the Algonquian tribes.
Thanks for the interest and the comments.
ITTL the Cree are actually met first, by various Scandinavians. So when the trade starts up, limited at first, the assumed name for the Cree's home is used to say where the goods came from.
The Maya are met in the Caribbeans later, as other countries try to get in on the trade. Rather than have a North and South something, they give them two distinct names.
As for the agriculture, what time are you talking about? By 5000BC or 2000BC?
Pretty much all of the Eastern North American tribes were doing some semi-nomadic farming by 1000BC, and they were starting to do it along the rivers of the Plains and the North-Eastern parts as well. As for the rest of North America it was still almost wholly hunting and gathering.
ITTL it follows a similar pattern at first. The South East forms the initial agricultural area, and spreads north and west. But when it reaches the plains it slows down. There is still farming along the rivers, but due to horses, many groups that would become some type of farmers OTL, become herders and later traders/raiders instead. This aspect is going to cause a whole swarm of butterflies.
So things are beginning to change. As things progress you'll see more and more of these changes until you won't recognize the place.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.
 
Central Plains Minosteca
Approximately 4500BC

Tedewai struggled to keep up with the rest of the tribe, but the heavy pack, hot sun, dusty plain and the dry air sapped her strength. As she trudged along behind her mother, who was carrying an even larger pack, she watched the men and boys enviously who only carried their weapons. They were able to walk naked which must have felt wonderful in the heat, she had to wear a hot leather skirt that had become almost unbearably itchy during the long walk. She paused briefly to readjust the leather straps on her shoulders.
“Keep moving Tedewai,” Migemi told her. “If you let us get ahead of you, you’ll have to walk in horse shit.”
They young girl sighed heavily and started walking beside the young man. The smell of the seven young horses he was leading was usually pleasant, but Migemi was right, walking behind and downwind of them in this heat would be bad. The horses were all under a year old, captured in different hunts that had left their mothers dead. Each of them had a strong rope through their noses made of twined silk grass from the West, and they were all tied to a single long rope that Migemi was holding. Some dogs walked beside the horses, not close enough to scare them, but just near enough to keep them from trying to run.
“How long will you have to walk with the horses Migemi?” she asked.
Migemi smiled sadly, “Until my father thinks I have learned how to be patient and not argue with him.”
“You should know not to act like you know better than the elders by now. Wait until you are warrior and then talk to them about your ideas,” she scolded him gently.
“All I was saying is that if we keep the horses for two summers, they will be much bigger and we’ll get more food from them. Why is that so hard to understand?” he said and angrily kicked a stone.
“If we keep them for the winter how will we feed them? They can’t simply stay in one place like we do when there is so much snow. Are we to feed them our food?”
“We could have one or two people follow the horses in the winter as they look for food, away from the camp. Or move further south in the winter. And if the winter is really bad we can simply kill them as we need food. Butchering them after the first snow, while they are still so small is simply a waste,” he scowled as he spoke.
“What if you showed them that the horses could be more useful than simply food and leather?” she asked.
He looked at her strangely. “How could horses be useful?”
Tedewai smiled brightly. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Could the horses carry something?”
Migemi stumbled to a stop. “How could they carry som-. Wait if we tied the ropes around…” his voice got quieter as he mumbled to himself, working out how to do it. Finally he spoke, “We’ll need some help to hold them still, but I think it will work.”
***
Later that day after a short stop, Tedewai walked easily beside the horses wiggling her shoulders happily. The largest horse was whinnying and moving awkwardly as the pack rested on its back. To get it on had required four men, two to hold it and two more tying the bag on, but it had worked. She had even heard some of the women saying they might try to do the same thing.


__________



Results of Genetic study of Minosteca and Yutachua Horses
Today in Science Magazine
July 1st, 1997

After five years of research scientists have confirmed that the majority of domesticated Minostecan and Yutachua horses all came from the same family. They have not released their full papers as of yet, but they have sent out some preliminary details. Through studies of the few remaining wild horses, scientists confirmed that the domestic horse arose from the Midwest along the Missoury River, approximately 3500 years ago.
This has dealt a blow to the theory that the Yutachua breeds are genetically seperate. Although there were some genetic anomalies found in the Pampas Pony. Several genes in the Pampas match Arabian genes. Researchers could not confirm how long ago this genetic exchange took place, but they estimate sometime around 1000 to 1500 years ago. If they can confirm this, it will force a new look at the earliest possible contact between the Old World and Yutachua.
[FONT=&quot]The full details are expected to be released next month.

______

[/FONT] Approximately 4000BC
The large horse looked in Akando’s eyes, it was the oldest mare in the herd, and its withers were chest level to the young man. It snorted, causing him to jump in fright, the horse looked away from him, almost as if in disgust. The other young men laughed and hooted as Akando’s face turned red in shame.
“Come Akando, you said you could do it. Are you afraid now that we’re away from the women?” one of them shouted loud enough for everyone to hear over the laughter.
Akando cursed himself for making the stupid boast. Every boy climbed onto the horses for dares, he’d done it many times. He’d been stupid enough to say he would not only climb on it and hold on, but ride it around the village. Stupid, he thought to himself. He took a deep breath.
Stepping forward, he grabbed the horses’ thick mane. One of the boys grabbed the leather strap that ran through the horses’ nose to keep it from moving. The mare stepped away from him, having some idea what was about to happen, a sharp tug of the leather made it stand still. Bending his knees Akando jumped up, and with the help of his hands firmly holding the mane landed painfully on the mares back.
The mare was used to bags being placed on its back, but the young man was different. It didn’t sit right, it hurt her back. She whinnied in annoyance and started buck, trying to get the annoying thing off of her.
Akando grabbed, one handed, the leather straps that the boy threw at him, his other hand had a death grip on the mane. With a sharp tug he tried to get the horse to stop moving. Snorting the mare stopped bucking, but continued to fidget under him. Trying to get comfortable merely caused the mare to prance, so he stopped moving and settled for gripping her mane more tightly.
“Go,” he told her.
The well trained mare moved forward, much like it would if it was carrying a simple pack. Tensing his legs Akando worried about the way he wobbled on the mares back he tightened his legs, causing the mare to jump forward. He started to fall backwards, quickly he threw his body forward and grabbed the mare around the neck. The mare panicked, and began to run forward whinnying in fright. Akando screamed in turn, and held on, fearing for his life.
Through the noise, Akando believed he could hear cheering from camp. Daring to open an eye, he saw that he was heading out into the prairies. Some of the camp dogs were running beside them barking. One of the dogs got too close and the horse kicked it hard. The sudden kick almost threw him off.
He suddenly remembered that he still had the leather strap in his right hand. He gave it a gentle tug and the horse threw its head trying to get him to stop. Akando pulled it harder, the horse began to move to the right, and slowed down a little. Thinking he had a way to end the wild ride, Akando pulled as hard as he could on the strap.
The horse came to a very quick stop, Akando didn’t.
As the horse turned and jerked to a stop, Akando lost his grip. He felt the air rush past him, and saw the ground rushing up to meet him. Trying to orient himself, he let his body go loose, and put his arms over his face. He hit the ground hard and rolled.
Spitting out sand, Akando tried to figure out if he had broken anything. He knew his shoulders and legs were bruised, but nothing felt too bad. Slowly and carefully he moved his limbs. He felt his battered muscles cramp as he tried to move them, but everything seemed to work. Looking around he saw the mare breathing heavily and watching him warily.
[FONT=&quot]As he got to his feet he heard people cheering him from the camp. Some of the young men were nearly their already. It sounded to Akando that they were arguing about who would ride the mare next.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
_____

The domestication of the horse is well on its way by the early 3000's. People are herding captured foals for a few years, and a few of them are even breeding. But full domestication will take a little bit longer. Right now the horses resemble ponies more than horses, and they are not being bred for special purposes. They are identical to their wild brethren. But with a bit more time, and with stupid teenagers wanting to get out of work and gain glory :), horses are being used more and more for something other than food.

Next up trade and metallurgy. After that society building and the changing of OTL's America's.

[/FONT]
 
Thanks Geekhis. I hope you like this one to.

Part 4: Trading and Raiding in Early Minoteca

Ancient Minoteca Trade Route Discovered
Today in Science (1)
January Issue, 1955

Archeologists near Cortez Folly, in the Republic of Teepachpen (2) have discovered what is believed to be a 5000 year old trading camp. Initially uncovered in 1950 by oil prospectors, the small area has proven a treasure chest of she shells, seeds, copper and gold ornaments, and possibly the earliest wheel discovered anywhere in Minoteca.
Led by Dr. Atali of London University, alongside Dr. Henry Jones of the University of Freeport, archeologists painstakingly analyzed the objects using cutting-edge equipment, such as recently developed Radiocarbon dating, and comparisons with artifacts found across the continent. Through their research, they have discovered the likely origins of over one hundred artifacts, and pinpointed the locations of the hundreds of shells found so far.
The shells are the most convincing proof that this was an ancient trading post. Mostly only broken fragments have been found, but a few beautifully preserved shells have been saved from the sands of time. The most common shells include chowder clamshells from Red Island (3), dentalium from all along the Western seaboard, olive snail shells made into beads from the Southern portion of the Western seaboard. All of these were used as money in numerous early Minoteca societies. 30 carved freshwater pearls believed to be from the South-Eastern Middle Minoteca were also discovered. From their positioning, carvings and the tiny holes drilled through them it is believed they once formed a necklace. If so it would have been almost priceless in a Stone Age society.
While the shells link this site to areas thousands of miles away, the seeds give us the exact dates when this early trade occurred. Dr. Atali used the new process of Radiocarbon Dating (4) on the various seeds and was able to pinpoint the oldest seed to 3400BC, and the very last seed at the site was dropped in 2600BC. These seeds were almost entirely corn and sunflower seeds, but rosehips from the Great Lakes region have also been discovered. Radiocarbon dating places those seeds at 2800BC.
Of course the most interesting discovery has to be the single broken wheel that was found early last year. From the sediment layer it was discovered in the wheel is believed to be 2500 years old, although they are still waiting for more exact Radiocarbon dating measurements to confirm this. The wheel is made from a single round piece of wood, 24 inches in diameter. A small section was broken off of one side, Dr. Jones believes it was broken before it was thrown away, as the missing section has not been discovered. This discovery predates the former earliest wheel by at least 900 years.
Further finds indicate…

1) TTL’s version of Discovery Magazine So they go for more sensationalism and basic info then more scholarly magizines.
2) Approximately OTL’s Mexican province of Tamaulipas
3)OTL’s Rhode Island
4) Radiocarbon dating was discovery at relatively the same time as OTL, and is still considered new exciting and infallible.


South Eastern Minosteca, close to the Central Plains

3000BC
A horn sounded from the woods, a long, deep sound, that could only just be heard in the tiny village. People in the field of sunflowers and goosefoot ran towards the village seeking protection behind its simple barricade. Some carrying their digging sticks, others dropping what they had and running. The people in the village grabbed their weapons, bows and arrows, stone tipped spears, flint axes, even simple clubs, and headed for the wall ready to defend their homes.
A young boy ran behind the others, half naked he had been preparing for the nights ceremony where he would become a man. He tried to hold his white leather leggings up while he ran, he hadn’t had a chance to do them up properly. His rabbit skin robe, painted green on the inside wrapped around his feet causing him to stumble. In his right hand a copper dagger from the North flashed in the sun.
More horns sounded this time from the village. As the last people from the field made it behind the piled wooden logs, five men moved a wooden tied together with thick ropes of mulberry bark to cover the entrance to the village. Then men and women braced it with specially cut logs, making a barrier more formidable then the rest of the wall. The villagers at the wall prepared their weapons, waiting to see why the alarm had been raised. The younger children were moved inside the single all wooden building in the center of the village by the old women. The young boy wasn’t suppose to be at the wall, but he was just old enough that the people ignored him. Half the grown men were hunting the horses and buffalos in the prairies, everyone who could carry a weapon was needed if this was an attack.
The boy was comforted by the weight of the copper dagger. It was the only one in the village. They’d traded many pearls, shells and clothes for it. All young men got to use it the day they became an adult. He was lucky to have it, otherwise he’d only have a wooden club or stone axe, neither of which was as good as the knife. He had been told that the knife had been melted from a stone. No one in the village or any of the nomads had been able to tell him how rock could melt, only that great magic had been used.
An old man hobbled over to him, using a spear as a cane to help him move faster. “Here, take these,” he said handing over a bow and a quiver of arrows. “Your eyes will see the enemy far sooner than mine will.”
The boy couldn’t speak, so he merely smiled and nodded his thanks. He quickly tied the quiver to the belt around his waist. The smooth wood of the bow was as comforting as the knife. His heart jumped as the horn blew again from just within the trees surrounding the village and field. Looking closely he could see a figure on a horse.
That’s the enemy,’ he thought. The few horses the village had were with the hunters, waiting to be loaded with meat and skins from their hunt.
The enemy’s horse walked out of the forest. A simple blanket covered its back, providing some comfort for the rider. The rider held a rope in one hand that led to a bone inside the horses’ mouth. The enemy was tall and lean. He moved easily with the horse, more gracefully than any of the farmer/hunters of the village. He was naked except for a belt that held an axe, and a war club that hung around his neck. His face was painted black, with red makeup covering his chin. In his free hand a bloody head was held by its long hair.
Someone from the village shouted that the enemy was at the gate. The villagers who had been guarding the other walls of the village ran to gate, leaving only a single watcher on the other three sides.
The horn sounded again.
The man stopped just outside of bow range. “I give one chance,” he shouted in a heavily accented voice. “Give food, prize, and woman. We leave. Do not give, we kill.”
An arrow from the village answered him. The boy watched the arrow. He brushed his hand against his chest, touching the carved pearl necklace around his neck, begging the air spirits to help the arrow hit the monster. The enemy flinched, as the arrow flew past him, almost hitting his stomach.
With a loud cry the horseman grabbed his axe and pointed at the village. The woods seemed to erupt as dozens of men ran towards the village waving weapons, screaming to kill the defenders.
The villagers released their arrows, trying to kill as many of the enemies as they could before they reached the low barricade.
Some of the attackers fell, but most of them ducked and dodge the pitifully few arrows that fell amongst them. The horseman watched and then charged the barricade, leaning as far forward on the horse as possible to avoid any arrows. A few of the attackers stopped briefly to fire their own arrows.
The villagers loosed their arrows again, the enemy outnumbered them and they had to kill as many of them as possible. The boy used his bow as well, but the fear made him shake. He couldn’t tell if his arrows hit anyone. He couldn’t see anything except the enemy in front of him. Despite having his family and friends all around him, he was alone against the foe. The bow and the knife brought no comfort.
The horse went down as several arrows pierced it chest. The rider smoothly jumped off the horse and rolled along the ground. Seemingly without effort, he got back to his feet without slowing down and charged the wall, yelling a challenge at the defenders.
The boy thought he heard a scream behind him, but he was too busy trying to grab another arrow. He gave up and tossed the bow to the ground, holding his knife in front of him he prepared to stab the attackers who were almost at the barricade.
The attackers reached the barricade led by the now horseless leader. The barricade shook as they tried to jump over it. The defenders stabbed at them with knives and spears, or swung clubs and axes at any enemy they could reach. But there were too many for the defenders. The defenders could injure or even kill one attacker, but another one would stab at them with their own spear or climb over the barricade. The enemy was hurt but they weren’t stopped.
The boy stabbed a mans’ hand, causing him to scream and fall over the barricade. The old man beside him quickly stabbed the stunned enemy with a spear. Smiling the old man turned and rammed his spear into the gut of a naked warrior as he tried to jump off the wall. The naked man fell on the old man with a scream of pain. The boy heard bones crack as the old man scream in pain.
Without thinking he bent over trying to help his comrade. As he did he saw more enemies running from the back of the village. The boy realized instantly that the enemy at the gate was a decoy. The enemy had so many men they could attack from both sides at once. The new enemy raced into the melee screaming for blood.
The boy panicked and climbed over the barricade trying to escape.
He never felt the spear.


___
Everyman’s Critic
June 15th, 2002
I just watched the so called ‘Epic’ Journey to the South, and I just have to say, SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!
For those of you who’ve been under a rock for the last three years, this is a movie adaptation of the semi-mythical journey that occurred in 3000BC.
Now for my first complaint, they could at least have used the true name “The Travels of the Five Brothers”, but no they had to rename it after a story from China. Come one guys, I know the original title isn’t exactly great, but show some originality.
That unfortunately is not the biggest sin of this movie, if it was I’d sit back and enjoy it after a derisive laugh. But no it gets worse. We have what, twenty or thirty different variations of this story. Most of them are really good, lots of fighting, an epic quest of discovery, sex, fighting, mythical creatures, fighting, brothers bonding together, fighting and sex at the same time when they see the ocean for the first time, more fighting, and some pretty cool death scenes.
So what did the writer do?
He threw away all of the mystical stuff, toned down the fighting, and made it into a romance.
WHAT WAS HE THINKING??????
Nowhere in the original does it say anything about falling in love with a desert maiden. It has the oldest brother boinking a hot Olmec princess, and some sort of half human succubus that really likes the youngest kid. But nowhere in the hundreds of pages in any of the versions does it talk about love.
And the whole epic journey that was suppose to take 12 or 20 years, going from Upper Minosteca all the way down to the southernmost point of the continent. Gone. Now it’s just a quick romp down south and returning home to their wives, except for the oldest brother who stayed with the Desert woman.
I could go on about the bad acting, the bad directing, and the totally inappropriate costumes, but I have to go scrub my brain out with bleach now.
Take my advice this ‘EPIC MOVIE’, is an epic failure.
0 stars
_____

With the domestication of the horse the continent of Minoteca became open for trade, and raids. The vast central plains, the Great Basin, and even the deserts of Mexico could all be traversed by the horse. Whereas in OTL people traveled extensively, seashells found thousands of miles from the ocean, numerous stories of people traveling to the end of the world, and virtually every Native tribe knew North America was surrounded by water, it was very slow, and difficult.
The horse would allow people to travel more quickly, and to virtually every part of the continent. Only the Northern boreal forest, the Northwest region behind the Rocky Mountains, and the swamps in the Southern areas of the Southeast would pose a serious problem. As for the boreal forest and the swampy areas, they have so many rivers that horses could get ideas and different goods to the edges of them, and then canoes could spread them from there.
It wouldn’t be instantaneous, but if instead of taking several years to get from one end of the continent to the other, it took only 2 or 3, it would definitely help the spread of ideas, and innovation. So if the Copper people (will talk about them in the next update) develop a new way to shape copper, it could spread to the tribes in California that also have access to copper. IOTL a single adventurous young man, or a small group of them, with little specialized knowledge would walk for years with only the clothes on their back and some weapons. ITTL an entire tribe or large group of men, could move throughout the continent with all of the combined and specialized knowledge they learned along the way, and all the supplies a large group of people need to survive.
Also as the story showed, raiders would be an increasing problem. Yes there were battles in OTL, but most of the time the raiders and enemies would be from people in the same area. Unless a tribe was migrating for whatever reason, the enemy was known, and often similar to the other groups in their area. With horses nomads could travel over a huge area, trading or pillaging as they went. The more sedentary tribes would have to be better prepared to deal with them. Instead of meeting a new enemy once in a lifetime, if that, a new enemy might appear every few years. They would have the choice of either becoming nomadic as well, hiding, or building defenses. Defenses make it so they are even more sedentary, which would make them less able or willing to pack up and leave if the food supply becomes scarce.
So in TTL by the late 2000BC people are traveling more, ideas, seeds, and goods are being spread more widely, and towns are being set up about a 1000 years earlier than OTL.
Sound reasonable? This is the part that I would like a lot of feedback on if possible.

Edit: To clear something up. The prairies are going to be very nomadic. A few big towns may survive along the rivers but for the most part the entirety of the central plains will be herding only. The groups on the edge of the prairies in the parkland areas will set up defensive towns. So expect civilization to arise along the edges of the plains and work their way into the deeper woods and swampy areas to avoid the nomads.
And the nomads will be traders, raiders, and herders. Depending on the situation and group.
 
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pretty good so far.

One thing that the horse did OTL was to kill agriculture on the Great Plains. Before the horse, there were lots of agricultural villages on the various rivers. The Mandans are the most famous, perhaps, but the horse-barbarian raids put an end to them. More or less like your last post shows - but you then say "Defenses make it so they are even more sedentary, which would make them less able or willing to pack up and leave if the food supply becomes scarce." and I'm not sure that follows.

Think of e.g. the Ukraine. It was largely nomad territory until new agricultural techniques (and gunpowder) gave farmers an advantage over nomads.

Exchange of ideas and maybe seeds should, as you say happen more, especially if the nomads in the middle are more interested in taxing traders than killing them.
 
pretty good so far.

One thing that the horse did OTL was to kill agriculture on the Great Plains. Before the horse, there were lots of agricultural villages on the various rivers. The Mandans are the most famous, perhaps, but the horse-barbarian raids put an end to them. More or less like your last post shows - but you then say "Defenses make it so they are even more sedentary, which would make them less able or willing to pack up and leave if the food supply becomes scarce." and I'm not sure that follows.

Think of e.g. the Ukraine. It was largely nomad territory until new agricultural techniques (and gunpowder) gave farmers an advantage over nomads.

Exchange of ideas and maybe seeds should, as you say happen more, especially if the nomads in the middle are more interested in taxing traders than killing them.

Sorry I wasn't clear enough. The more sedentary towns would be on the edges of the prairies. The prairies themselves will be the home of the nomads.
And the nomads will act kind of like the vikings at first. Sometimes trading, sometimes slaughtering, but quite often acting as middlemen, especially with the bigger towns.
As time goes on they'll vary between traders, pillagers, and ranchers.
 
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