Kaiphranos
Donor
I recently started reading Guns, Germs, and Steel and Diamond's recurring mentions of New Guinea have got me wondering: is there any way to expand or add to the agricultural possibilities for the native people of the island, to the point where the land could support larger and more organized societies than OTL?
Would rice find a niche for itself if introduced earlier? While I think the existing Papuan package contains a number of starches, none that I've seen mentions of are cereals like rice. New Guinea has a fairly diverse assortment of climates, so it seems like rice should be able to find a home somewhere?
Second, Diamond describes the Papuan diet as being poor in protein, though they seem to have had dogs, pigs, and chickens available to them. From what I can tell, New Guinea has no large native mammals in any way suitable for domestication, so they would need to be imported from Indonesia or other points west.
New Guinea is also home to several species of cassowary--maybe one of these could be added to the selection? (Wild cassowaries are apparently tamed on a fairly regular basis, but not bred in captivity.) I've seen a couple problems with this idea, though:
1. The cassowary diet appears to be more specialized than pigs or chickens, so raising cassowaries may not be as calorie-efficient. (On the other hand, if it's calories from protein that count, cassowary meat may help.)
2. Cassowaries are pretty dangerous, with a nasty kick to them. (Of course, wild pigs can be pretty dangerous too.)
3. Cassowary apparently doesn't taste very good. (Still, better than nothing, and it might be improved in a domestic breed over time.)
Any other thoughts or ideas along this general line? If there's someone out there with more background on the region, perhaps they could suggest some opportunities or routes for crop and livestock transmission?
Would rice find a niche for itself if introduced earlier? While I think the existing Papuan package contains a number of starches, none that I've seen mentions of are cereals like rice. New Guinea has a fairly diverse assortment of climates, so it seems like rice should be able to find a home somewhere?
Second, Diamond describes the Papuan diet as being poor in protein, though they seem to have had dogs, pigs, and chickens available to them. From what I can tell, New Guinea has no large native mammals in any way suitable for domestication, so they would need to be imported from Indonesia or other points west.
New Guinea is also home to several species of cassowary--maybe one of these could be added to the selection? (Wild cassowaries are apparently tamed on a fairly regular basis, but not bred in captivity.) I've seen a couple problems with this idea, though:
1. The cassowary diet appears to be more specialized than pigs or chickens, so raising cassowaries may not be as calorie-efficient. (On the other hand, if it's calories from protein that count, cassowary meat may help.)
2. Cassowaries are pretty dangerous, with a nasty kick to them. (Of course, wild pigs can be pretty dangerous too.)
3. Cassowary apparently doesn't taste very good. (Still, better than nothing, and it might be improved in a domestic breed over time.)
Any other thoughts or ideas along this general line? If there's someone out there with more background on the region, perhaps they could suggest some opportunities or routes for crop and livestock transmission?