The Lands of Nuts and Deer - a TL about domestication of black walnut by Native Americans starting in 9000 BC

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 1 - Hunters, Gatherers and Nuts

North America of 9000 BC was a land of hunter-gatherers. The descendants of the brave people who once crossed the Bering Strait several thousand years earlier have since then spread like ants throughout the whole continent and another one south of it. They were the apex species of that land but not yet masters of it.

Their lifestyle was that of hunter gatherers - they would make a camp in one area, hunt animals and gather plants from that area and when it became depleted, they would move somewhere else. That has been the way of life since time immemorial. Everyone lived like this and it seemed like nothing is ever going to change.

But it is going to change.

Around 9000 BC a small band of hunter gatherers - numbering no more than 20 people in what would in ATL be known as southern Ontario - decided to to make their camp next to a large mature tree of the Juglans nigra species, also known as black walnut. The tree provided easy and plentiful nutrition - and the band was happy with it. When the nuts became depleted, they would move to where another such tree would grow - and in their are there were plenty of them. Sometimes they would choose an area close to a water source so they could both collect nuts and fish. Slowly they tied their living to the black walnut.

 

[alpha]

Looks interesting keep GOING!

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 2 - The Black Walnut

The Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) is a species of a tree native to what would be known ATL as the United States. It grows in well lighted areas and in ATL would be considered a pest species. It starts to produce 5-10 kg of nuts at age 8-10 and reaches peak productivity at age 30 with yield between 30 and 150 kg every other year although it tends to have variable yield. It's nuts are tasty and can be used in a myriad of ways - eaten raw, roasted, fried or turned into flour which could then be used for baking bread or sweet cakes. The trees lives to an average age of 130 years during which it continues to give yields.

The nut was a part of Native American diet for thousands of years but soon it will be taken to a different level

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 3 - The Black Walnut Makes an Impact

The black walnut eaten by members of the small hunter gatherer group made a small yet significant difference. The collected nuts provided a caloric boost with a small expediture of energy and it suited the lifestyle of the group. After some time the practice began to spread. By 8500 BC the practice of moving between black peanut trees and camping next to them became widely practiced by people of that area. It made an intellectual impact as well - people started creating mental maps of where various trees were located, including locations of particularily large and well-yielding trees and would travel between them annually.

Some time afterwards - about 8400 BC - a practice of "helping" the yields developed. After exhausting a tree's yield, people would one or more often multiple seeds around the tree they collected the nuts from. When they returned to the area several years later, not 1 but 2, 3 or sometimes 10 trees were waiting for them. Each would initially make a small yield but one that would grow every year. The practice started to spread and was common by 8200 BC.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 4 - An Even Bigger Impact

It was then, around 8200 BC, when the practice of helping the yields went a step further - instead of planting new trees next to existing ones, the Indians would plant them in a completely new area. During the warm months of summer they would bhunt down animals in a large area of forest, gather the plants that could be eaten and then burn it down. The unproductive trees would turn into ash which would then fertilize the newly growing walnut trees. The natives were slowly turning from hunter gatherers to creators of managed plantations of walnut trees.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 5 - Spread Begins

Around 8000 BC the proto-farming practice of planting groves of walnut trees bore the fruit of higher population density. The walnut tree did spread somewhat to the north the main potential of expansion land to the south and east.

Forest accounted for over 90% of the eastern half of North America. Very few people lived there - one could walk for weeks days without seeing a human being. Their population density was limited by two factors. The first is that hunter gatherers can only harvest a certain portion of the land's wildlife. If they kill too many animals or pick too many plants, population collapses and takes a longer time to recover. Innovation does not pay.

The second one is the amount of food available in winter. Meat and fish need to be dried or smoked in order to last and most fruits or berries do not keep well. But nuts do. Once picked they can be eaten for years afterwards

 

[Mechadogzilla]

Good start! From my limited knowledge botany, this is a pretty plausible start to an Alternative Domestication TL. Interested to see where it goes.

 

[Night Gaul]

Interesting start.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 6 - The March of Proto Gardeners

Around 7800 BC the proto gardeners of southern Ontario were marching eastwards and southwards, reaching territory of ATL Michigan and New York, burning patches of forest and planting groves of walnuts along the way. Some of their technology improved - they would carry large bags of nuts which they would strap to leather belts or wooden frames carried on their backs. Sometimes they would make a single large bag and strap it to their shoulders. Sometimes they would mix crushed nuts with honey or fat, turning it into an extremely dense source of calories - just a bowl of it was enough to provide calories for the whole day. With those tools they marched forward or more precisely, westwards and eastwards.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 7 - The Map of Northern Proto-Gardeners in 7500 BC

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 8 - The first Semi Sedentary Proto Gardeners

Between 7500 BC and 7000 BC the first semi sedentary proto gardeners emerged. They would no longer move across a wider area but would travel exclusively between several walnut orchards - usually between 3 and 10. The highest number ofsuch groups was in southern Ontario and southern Michigan but they were expanding down south as well.

North America ca 7000 BC

 

[mrmandias]

Interesting stuff.

Out of curiousity, why black walnuts and not chestnuts?

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Interesting stuff.

Out of curiousity, why black walnuts and not chestnuts?

No idea. I just looked up that they are more nutritious so I choose them.

Do you think chestnuts would be a better choice? Black walnuts give 650 kcal per 100g and chestnuts only 210

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Guys what other domesticates should I introduce in the next 1000-2000 years?

 

[Bountifulauto82]

Guys what other domesticates should I introduce in the next 1000-2000 years?

This would not be for a while but could a domestication of Bison be possible? They were too ornery to be tamed IRL but perhaps a more established agricultural society in North America would be able to tame them. Other than that as it spreads into the plains you are likely to see some kind of grain be domesticated.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

This would not be for a while but could a domestication of Bison be possible? They were too ornery to be tamed IRL but perhaps a more established agricultural society in North America would be able to tame them. Other than that as it spreads into the plains you are likely to see some kind of grain be domesticated.

I thought about plants. Reindeer will be domesticated but it is going to take a while until more heat tolerant species are bred

 

[mrmandias]

No idea. I just looked up that they are more nutritious so I choose them.

Do you think chestnuts would be a better choice? Black walnuts give 650 kcal per 100g and chestnuts only 210

Nothing wrong with a black walnut timeline at all. But chestnuts are probably a better staple crop than walnuts. Black walnuts I think might make you sick if you eat too many of them, they have some interesting organics in them. Also at least today black walnuts are more finicky about their growing conditions than chestnuts are. Commercially chestnuts can be grown in most areas with semi acidic soil and decent water. But black walnuts are recommended for rich soil in river bottoms.

Black walnuts are calorically more dense than chestnuts but chestnuts are more productive, about 2-3x more, so that is a wash. Chestnuts grow slightly faster.

However, if you want reindeer domesticates, you should definitely stick with the black walnuts. Chestnuts are more southerly.

There is a southwest Walnut that could be hybridized with the black walnut to allow walnut culture to spread to irrigated areas in the southwest.

 

[Otto Kretschmer]

Nothing wrong with a black walnut timeline at all. But chestnuts are probably a better staple crop than walnuts. Black walnuts I think might make you sick if you eat too many of them, they have some interesting organics in them. Also at least today black walnuts are more finicky about their growing conditions than chestnuts are. Commercially chestnuts can be grown in most areas with semi acidic soil and decent water. But black walnuts are recommended for rich soil in river bottoms.

Black walnuts are calorically more dense than chestnuts but chestnuts are more productive, about 2-3x more, so that is a wash. Chestnuts grow slightly faster.

However, if you want reindeer domesticates, you should definitely stick with the black walnuts. Chestnuts are more southerly.

There is a southwest Walnut that could be hybridized with the black walnut to allow walnut culture to spread to irrigated areas in the southwest.

I guess with enough time for breeding black walnut varieties that are more versatile will emerge

BTW I so far have no clue about what societal evolution of a nut based civiliation will be like

 

[mrmandias]

Greece was olive based to a degree. Maybe that can give you some clues.

 

[Deleted member 147978]

English Walnut consumer here, pretty spanking TL you put on @Otto Kretschmer. Keep up the good work, hon!