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So, I just finished reading 1491 by Charles C. Mann. I was intrigued, especially by how Mann describes the Mayan societies and their response to the climate changes that saw most of them collapse. The similarities between the Maya and the Greek City-states are really vivid-Kaan and Mutal as Athens and Sparta, providing one squints quite a bit-are really interesting. Also, I thought his take on how Chichen Itza and some of the other northern cities survived the drought-through trade-was especially enticing for alternate history buffs.

So, let's play magical POD-machine for a minute here. Let's suppose a bit of a double POD, around the same 9th-10th century time frame. Say the war between Kaan and Mutal is a little less apocalyptic, and the southern Mayan city-states survive a bit better in the drought period, through better maintence of their city infrastructure and less grandiose attempts at conquest. They're still weakened, but the Mayan collapse turns more into a sort of mini-Dark Age. Meanwhile, the northern cities, led by Chichen Itza, have another market to now expand their trade in-the southern Mayan territories. Perhaps seeking new goods and markets, they expand their maritime trade and exploration, with outposts in Cuba and maybe even up to Flordia. This might require a weakening of Teotihuacan, so the war doesn't heat up in the first place.

We take this mix and stir in the Norse expeditions to America. Say the first contact with the natives is a bit more succesful, and we have a small, but successful, Norse colony in North America by the time the passageway back to Europe is cut off. The Norse, after a certain point, would probably explore south, perhaps running into Mayan ships exploring north from a out port near Miami. Could we get a succesful, limited Colombian exchange in the 11th or 12th century that would give Central America a shot at competing when Europe comes knocking a few centuries later? I'm not neccesarily looking for superpowers, but a half dozen native kingdoms from Peru to New York could lead to a very interesting timeline. Plus, Norse!
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