WI: Civilisation in the Pampas

[RedBeret]

For those who don't know, the Pampas are a lowland region of South America perfect for agriculture. Large and covering over 750,000 square kilometres, they're flat, bear a temperate climate, have fertile soil and rainfall patterns evenly distributed throughout the year. In other words, a perfect region for agriculture, which is indeed what they are mostly used for today.

Yet in spite of being one of the best areas in South America for the development of civilisation, there was one thing that hindered it, one thing that ensured that when Europeans arrived, all they found was tribes of nomadic hunter-gatherers: a lack of plants to be domesticated.

So, my scenario is this: what if this hadn't been the case? What if agriculture and civilisation had developed in the SA region where it was seemingly best suited? And just what would the consequences of that be?

Pampas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[MrWillis]

I imagine a very strong culture group of various city-states would form there first, then a consolidation of an Empire forming around the Rio De La Plata and expanding from it, if mimicking the history of the empires of South America. As this land is much more suited for agriculture, the population of this Empire could easily eclipse the population of the Incan Empire at its height. However a more urban population might make them more suspectiable to disease, which killed much of the other natives of the Americas. I doubt war would come between the Inca and this Empire, as the Andean Mountains provide a natural border between the two, alongside the distance between the two making border friction being a nonexistent possibility.

The Spanish who arrive to Rio De La Plata do not find a bunch of hunter-gatherers, but instead an empire with tens of millions of people. If this Empire responds much like the Charrua hunter-gatherers first did upon meeting the Spanish, killing Juan Diaz de Solis according to one priest, the Spanish conquistadors would be caught in a brutal war with to conquer them. Or the Spanish could cut their losses, instead opting to make them a client-state giving the tribute to the Spanish via force. Maybe even just leaving them be, however I highly doubt that.

If the Spanish were to conquer these people, I guess the demographics coming this population from would match like that of Mexico and the western Pacific South American countries. Except this province has a fierce independent streak that would cause Spanish to leave much earlier in this timeline as opposed to ours.

This is my best conjecture I made within half an hour.

 

[Glory2Cabinda]

But what would this people be eating?

 

[AltoRegnant]

But what would this people be eating?

Some form of Corn probably, since it grows all over the western hemisphere and honestly this is the first time I've heard of it not being able to be cultivated in the Americas

Snip

I think That depends on how much gold they flaunt. If they use some other thing for their opulent pyramids and yet another thing for currency, Spain MIGHT just try for conversion to save resources. That's a big MIGHT though

 

[Plateosaurus]

Likely domesticates for this Pampas culture would be guanacos, and cavies or guinea pigs just like the andean cultures, maybe even deer, peccaries, or rheas. Certain canids like the pampas foxes or bush dogs would also be good candidates.

Speaking of the Andes, its possible that depending on when this Pampas culture emerges, it could butterfly away the Incas as we know them.

 

[Richard V]

This culture would likely be seeded by the Andean civilizations. Which means corn and potatoes, with domesticated camelids.

 

[M79]

There are reports of an ancient road that ran through the northernmost Pampas to connect to the Atlantic for whatever reason near or south of Sao Vicente in OTL Brazil. Make the report true and make the dissemination of agriculture along the road as a side effect of its use.