So, I don't have anything to do at the moment, so let's just summarize ideas in this thread that I think are viable for the timeline...
1.
Lasting Indo-European civilization in Qinghai. Definitely doable, in my opinion.
2.
Papphir (Bappir) evolving into a regular staple of the Middle Eastern diet. Also doable, although I'm not sure if it changes his
3.
Expanded range of Yeniseian languages/peoples. Also doable. They need to adopt horse culture relatively early, which I think works with the butterflied migrations of Indo-Europeans at an earlier period. If Dené-Yeniseian is a valid grouping, we might also have another branch somewhere in Siberia, a Para-Yeniseian, something perhaps between Athabaskan and Yeniseian, that ends up inheriting Mongolia.
4.
Austronesian Sri Lanka. I liked this idea initially, but I now have a different idea involving Sino-Tibetans from the Bengal area. That's as much as I'm willing to say on the matter for now, though.
5.
Indo-European Egypt. I liked this initially, but I think I would rather see a more outward-looking, colonial Egypt instead.
6.
Silk-producing, Basque-speaking empire in Iberia. We can still have a united, silk-producing Iberia, but my recent research on Paleohispanic languages seems to conclude that Basque isn't "indigenous" to Iberia in the sense that it's more ancient than Indo-European there. Demonstrably Basque toponyms and hydronyms are not found in Iberia in Iberia in fact prior to the Roman conquest, and while the ancient Iberian language seems to be related to Basque in some capacity (perhaps in a way similar to how Iranian and Armenian are related), the Iberian peoples do not necessarily predate Indo-Europeans in Iberia, although they do predate Celts (but Lusitanians were
not Celtic). So, this Empire might be Tartessian-speaking, in fact, and its silk will be derived from the cocoons of the Giant Peacock Moth.
7.
Semitic-speaking Sicily, Crete, and Cyprus. I'm now of the mind that a Semitic-speaking Cyprus and perhaps Eastern Crete and Rhodes are doable for awhile, as well as Cilicia and Pamphylia. I am however, much more interested in the prospect of a colonial Upper Egypt controlling Sicily, at least for awhile.
8.
Colonization of South Africa and Madagascar from Iran. This still interests me, certainly. But, it will post-date Dravidian or Para-Dravidian settlement of these areas.
9.
Surviving Sumerian-descendant in Socotra. Maybe, we'll see.
5.
Turkic Manchuria, possibly Korea. It will have to be Para-Turkic, and I will be using the Starostin school's reconstructions of Proto-Altaic for this (I know, I'm sorry).
6.
Tungusic Central Asia. Maybe, but probably not.
7.
Elamite migration into India. This will still be happening, and I would like at least a lasting Elamite-derived Gujarat.
9.
Japanese/Chinese/Indian colonization of Australia. There will be no Japanese ITTL, but perhaps Chinese or Austronesian colonization would be in order.
10.
Mongolic or Para-Mongolic migrations into West Asia and Europe. Doable and desirable. Para-Mongols will be this timeline's Turks, although they might not get as far as Anatolia, as it's kind of something that the Turks IOTL were able to pull that off.
11.
Alphabetic Writing in China. This might start in the Tarim Basin and spread to China later, slowly supplanting the old logographic script the way it did IOTL cuneiform in the Middle East.
12.
Domestic foxes. Doable, and will likely be done. Just, not the way I had initially thought.
13.
Mediterranean "Mandala" system. Also doable, and will probably be done for at least the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.
14.
Alternate gender hierarchies and family setups in the Mediterranean area. Also definitely doable. I'm interested in Developing Sardinia a little more ITTL, and so we'll see what comes out of it.
15.
Earlier invention of the printing press from woodblock printing. This will be done, but I'm not sure where and when. I like to think Anatolia, but then possibly Iran, or the Balkans.
16.
An Elamite Thalassocracy in the Arabian Sea. Yes! Definitely. This is doable and will likely be featured later on, at least for a little while in the Middle Bronze Age, I imagine.
17.
Hmong-Mien South China. I LOVE this idea
@Shahrasayr. We will definitely be going with it.
14.
Balkanized China, United North India. Also doable, and I think this is how I want to play it ITTL.
15.
Northwest Caucasian on the Dnieper/Dniester, possibly up on the Baltic. Possibly as far as the Baltic, but I would like the Northwest Caucasians to evolve into a sort of Phoenicians of the Black Sea, facilitating trade between the Baltic, Black Sea, and Aegean. This does not however necessarily means that there will be Northwest Caucasian-speaking nations on the Baltic.
16.
Hurrian-speaking Empire in Anatolia. Yes, doable, and desirable. I have a lot of plans for this idea, but unfortunately I don't think this empire will last forever.
17.
Slow synthesis of Indo-Europeans and BMAC. Similar to what happened IOTL, but beginning at a considerably earlier date and thus resulting in a development like seen IOTL with the Akkadians and Sumerians.
18.
Hurrian migration into India after the collapse of the IVC. This will itself be followed by a migration of Indo-Europeans from Transoxiana a couple of centuries later in the Late Bronze Age.
What other ideas can we conjure up? Alternate domesticates, alternate agricultural technology, just technology in general? Ideas on philosophy, and religion? As a sort of joke I was thinking of a widespread cult of Satan, with Satan, or rather *Saytān being an epithet of the Semitic god Rešep, thus Rešep Saytān later being shortened to just Saytān. This would be a solar deity, and the hen-theistic cult surrounding him I thought might gain popularity in Egypt and the Levant, and perhaps the Semitic areas of Anatolia. Hell, it may even become a major world religion, at least for a little while
