Howdy all! I've been lurking for years and this topic finally got me off the bench and into the game.
As a native Nevadan I have long thought piñon pine trees were a prime target for domestication. They are hardy trees and thier wild nut yield sustained a small population throughout the great basin IOTL. Since a lot of the sagebrush steppe is used for grazing wild fires have been supressed and people at the BLM are finding that the natural habitat for piñons is extending down into valleys. Could a couple hundred years of domestication combined with careful basin management turned wild piñon stands into vast piñon orchards? Could advanced agriculture in the Great Basin lead to a more developed artisan class that warrant the early discovery and extraction of precious metals? Some food for thought (pun intended).
As a native Nevadan I have long thought piñon pine trees were a prime target for domestication. They are hardy trees and thier wild nut yield sustained a small population throughout the great basin IOTL. Since a lot of the sagebrush steppe is used for grazing wild fires have been supressed and people at the BLM are finding that the natural habitat for piñons is extending down into valleys. Could a couple hundred years of domestication combined with careful basin management turned wild piñon stands into vast piñon orchards? Could advanced agriculture in the Great Basin lead to a more developed artisan class that warrant the early discovery and extraction of precious metals? Some food for thought (pun intended).