So which livestock from the old world would be best suit for like in the Andean mountains?
The Sons of Inti Shall Not Perish
- Thread starter King of the Uzbeks
- Start date
So which livestock from the old world would be best suit for like in the Andean mountains?
Donkeys, kyrgyz horses, yaks, mongolian camels. All these animals are well adapted to mountain conditions, alternating cold and heat, drought. They are hardy and good as pack animals.
The Kyrgyz horse has a great sense of balance and intuition, which allows you to effectively move in mountains, on thin paths on steep slopes. The hooves are so strong and hard that they do not require horseshoes. The Kyrgyz horse gives a milk, from which is produced the so-called kumis - a sour milk drink, known for its ability to strengthen the body and improve immunity.
The Tibetan yak almost does not require care, gives a lot of valuable milk, meat and wool. Yak is also excellent as a pack animal.
The Mongolian camel does not require recommendations, this animal would be especially valuable on the roads connecting mountains and deserts.
I categorically do not want to see goats in Tawantinsuyu. These animals eat a lot of greenery and are able to disrupt the ecological balance, which has already happened many times in history.
Sadly, if the timeline is to be realistic, I think they would be introduced, because the Spanish would only see "oh, this is an easily-adaptable, mountain-dwelling animal that gives milk, cheese, fur, and meat. Let's bring it to South America! And then it spreads into the lands of the Tawantinsuyu, and then they adapt it, and yeah.... I can't imagine a scenario where the Spanish wouldn't want to import goats.
I think they would be introduced, as I doubt people have the foresight to know what would happen if goats were introduced to the Tawantinsuyu.
Perhaps this damage can be limited if the Inca have some breathing room and peace while their ecology faces the immediate damage.
I can see how those will become livestock of interest, but only into the far future of this timeline since the Europeans don't even know of these species as of this century. Livestock and plants from western Europe will be the only things coming to their shores for the time being.
Still think Sheep will be the best thing to raise since the species are adapted for rugged and mountainous terrain. With an example being the Big Horn Sheep of the Rockies in North America. So we could see Sheep adapting to the Andes by readopting traits from their mouflon and Urial ancestors.
I don't want to sound condescending or anything but anusim is the Jewish term for those Jews who pretended to convert but did not actually. As opposed to the awkward and evil sounding "crypto Jew" and "marrano" which is basically an n-word (it means pig)
The question is not what animal do best, but what animals do better than the Andeans own livestocks. In this case I don't think any animal used in Europe are better to use in the region than llamas.
Well I will admit that the incorporation of wheels will definitely make it easier to transport good through their road network
Firstly, the original question was "So which livestock from the old world would be best suit for like in the Andean mountains?". So, I answered purely theoretically, in the mode of unlimited flight of fantasy. In OTL, the donkeys were introduced, the rest of the animals I mentioned had not even heard of the existence of such a suitable place for them as the Andes. Hope the Himalandes initiative will move the matter from a dead end.
In TTL, the Incas had a sufficient degree of environmental awareness to start controlling the number of goats and the places of their grazing in time. Therefore, I fully agree with critics, I do not see a big problem in goats. I just do not want to see them, purely subjective. At least donkeys will be, and that's good.
Then, somewhen in the 17th or 18th centuries TTL, the Incas will probably conduct active trade with China and India. The ideological proximity among Tawantinsuyu and Tianxia, will, hopefully, lead to the fact that China will not close their doors before the Incas unlike Europeans. And the mountains of Central Asia and domestic animals living there will cause quite understandable interest.
By the way, a good story for TTL: active industrial and agricultural espionage of Tawantinsuyu scouts in desperate attempts to overcome the technological gap. The Meiji era, but in several centuries.
In TTL, the Incas had a sufficient degree of environmental awareness to start controlling the number of goats and the places of their grazing in time. Therefore, I fully agree with critics, I do not see a big problem in goats. I just do not want to see them, purely subjective. At least donkeys will be, and that's good.
Then, somewhen in the 17th or 18th centuries TTL, the Incas will probably conduct active trade with China and India. The ideological proximity among Tawantinsuyu and Tianxia, will, hopefully, lead to the fact that China will not close their doors before the Incas unlike Europeans. And the mountains of Central Asia and domestic animals living there will cause quite understandable interest.
By the way, a good story for TTL: active industrial and agricultural espionage of Tawantinsuyu scouts in desperate attempts to overcome the technological gap. The Meiji era, but in several centuries.
Thanks for elaborating on your original response.
So we have talked about livestock, but what about fruits and vegetables?
My fantasy slips a little. The agriculture of the Incas is so holistic and effective that it is difficult for me to imagine the plants of other parts of the world in order to supplement seriously and especially to displace autochthonous agricultural crops.
But I'll try. To begin with, it should be taken into account that Tawantinsuyu extends from the north to the south for tens of degrees of latitude, let's grow a variety of plants. And if we add to this the wide altitude and humidity range, then, perhaps, there is no such vegetable or fruit that could not be grown in the Country of the Four Directions.
Of course, in the jungle and wet foothills everyone can grow the whole range of tropical fruits. It is worth noting bananas and coconuts.
Prior to the arrival of spaniards, the cherry tomatoes were already known, and now from Mexico anyone can borrow large tomatoes.
For fruit of the temperate zone, such as apples and peaches, there will probably be demand. The climate of the Middle South of the country will allow to grow fine grapes (like Chilean grapes OTL).
As for vegetables, I'm not a great specialist. I like carrots, cabbage, napa cabbage and beets and would like to see them in TTL.
After a bit of studying botany, I was thinking anything that grows in or close to the ground will be able to survive best.
Does anyone here on this thread have any suggestions for what can grow in Andean mountain range?
I remembered the words of Genghis Khan: "What does not bend, it breaks," and the old wisdom: "One need to stick to the roots to survive". Of course, this is only my perception, sorry.
For me I was left thinking about the meaning behind the metaphor "Down to earth".
Although I did see an unusual rendition of King Lear yesterday, so that could explain it.
On the upside, the Altiplano doesn't exactly have a whole lot of forests for goats to destroy.
It's also had a long history of hooved mammals trotting around, as well as predators to keep the population from exploding.
In Himalaya/Tibet region, I hasn't found something really amazing, like potatoes or quinoa. Some interest is caused by a bare barley (Hordeum distichon, so we would have a good beer and whisk(e)y!), peas, buckwheat. Nothing special, I fill slightly disappointed.
Ok, hope pumas and jaguars would like fresh goat meat.