WI: No Natives in the New World

What if the Americas had no human civilizations or populations, and only contained the other natural fauna and animals of the continent?

That's a fascinating geographic POD. For one thing, Homo erectus may well continue to exist in the New World. Additionally, megafauna will probably continue to exist across much of the Americas.

There's another, lesser-known change. Climates will change from OTL across the world. Native Americans brought huge changes to the landscape of the Americas, and specifically, thinned out forests considerably. This lack of a carbon sink will raise worldwide temperatures some for the entire time that there are no people in the Americas.

Cheers,
Ganesha

P.S. I just remembered that Turtledove wrote a book on a very similar subject. It's called A Different Flesh. Here's a link.
 
That's a fascinating geographic POD. For one thing, Homo erectus may well continue to exist in the New World. Additionally, megafauna will probably continue to exist across much of the Americas.
Homo erectus? They never made it to the Americas.
 
Homo erectus? They never made it to the Americas.
I second, not even the (pure bred at least) neanderthals made it to the new world as far as current evidence suggests. Perhaps the Denisovans could make it though with a little help.
Otherwise Ganesha is correct, that is a very interesting POD that will effect things including climate, however I think that predicting exactly how it will effect climate is a different issue (for example, it means darker coloured trees than the relatively reflective grass (i.e. Albedo effect)), that part of this timeline would be almost impossible to tell, if you were to do a timeline I would suggest leaving climate out of it (although perhaps you could get rid of major changes like the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period).
Megafauna is also a correct assumption, it would make it very interesting when the vikings come over (assuming they are not butterflied), and with a different climate (i.e. specifically no little ice age) they would continue to develop colonies in the new world. Perhaps the vikings create an empire in the empty wilderness. They could take Labrador/Quebec/Ontario/North-West Territory's virgin forest for ship building much like what happened later in OTL. The Vikings would be unhampered especially if they can keep as much power away from their neighbours.
Portugal, England, France, and Spanish Kingdoms could fight over the scraps (most likely central and south america). But then again, they had enough trouble at home.
I don't think the fate of megafauna would be as bad as OTL it is more likely to be like OTL buffalo when the settlers came.
http://rvtravel.com/blog/chuck/uploaded_images/Bison_skull_pile,_ca1870-772015.png
But hey at least we still have those.
 
There's another, lesser-known change. Climates will change from OTL across the world. Native Americans brought huge changes to the landscape of the Americas, and specifically, thinned out forests considerably. This lack of a carbon sink will raise worldwide temperatures some for the entire time that there are no people in the Americas.

I think there's an informal agreement among pre-Columbian enthusiasts on this board that, as ASB as it is, this actual effect on history is to be ignored for story purposes. After all, if anyone actually followed through with this consideration, Columbus, Cortez, Leif Erikson, and many of the great figures of European contact with the New World would be butterflied away. It's just so much more fun to have them exist.

To answer OP, this means that European settlers will have to import a lot more food and seeds, and will be at greater risk of starvation because they won't have any native populations to trade with/rob from. On the other hand, entirely virgin land means no need for war to take it, and (possibly) more megafauna species means more meat to hunt and fur to trade. Assuming history goes like OTL, settlement begins with the Greenland Norse since no natives exist to drive the 'Vinland' settlers away.
 
Assuming history goes like OTL, settlement begins with the Greenland Norse since no natives exist to drive the 'Vinland' settlers away.

Well I think it more likely would begin with Siberian people on the east coast of Russia crossing the Bering Strait and colonizing Alaska. Such as the Koryaks.
 

Perkeo

Banned
To answer OP, this means that European settlers will have to import a lot more food and seeds, and will be at greater risk of starvation because they won't have any native populations to trade with/rob from. On the other hand, entirely virgin land means no need for war to take it, and (possibly) more megafauna species means more meat to hunt and fur to trade. Assuming history goes like OTL, settlement begins with the Greenland Norse since no natives exist to drive the 'Vinland' settlers away.

I see no problem regarding the food. Settlers can hunt, and as soon as they start harvesting their seeds, they'r doing fine. One or two settlement that were successful IOTL will fail, but as you already said, there are advantages AND disadvantages. The biggest Problem is: I see no way to remove pre-Columbian settlements. The land bridge to Asia can be removed, but seafaring had simply been available for too long. SOMEONE had to arrive before Columbus, and as you said, that someone would have stayed on an entirely virgin land.
 
with none of the original human species, could you have another develop more in their place?

If you're asking if another hominid species could develop independently, no, it isn't possible. There aren't any apes in the Americas for them to evolve from.
 
No natives means that the species domesticated OTL no longer exist. No corn, beans, cassava, potatoes, and sweet potatoes mean that the Old World population is much smaller. The cuisines of Italy, Southeast Asia, India etc would be unrecognizable. Ireland and Northern Europe no longer have a staple food source capable of sustaining the explosive population growth that occurred OTL. Areas in China to marginal for wheat or rice stay unsettled by the Han.
No tobacco means that Europe lacks a valuable incentive to establish colonies in North America after they discover there is little gold there. It will probably take the Spanish much longer to find deposits of silver, provided they actually venture to the Americas. Without American silver flowing into China, the entire outcome of European-Chinese relations changes.
 
If you're asking if another hominid species could develop independently, no, it isn't possible. There aren't any apes in the Americas for them to evolve from.

no...i was askign could another othe spcies, homnid or not, could...and im not talking about full sentience like humans got, but mabye something nearing the stage...
 
no...i was askign could another othe spcies, homnid or not, could...and im not talking about full sentience like humans got, but mabye something nearing the stage...

Humans were already evolved when they crossed into Americas. I think the window is way too short for another species to evolve into anything much more than what they were. How long ago was it that Humans crossed into the Americas? Like, a couple tens of thousands of years. You aren't going to get a counter species in that short a window. Evolution like that takes far longer.
 
If you decide to do this on the condition of no changes to Old World history until second millenia contact, this has lots of effects. There's no already mined New World gold to propel the Spanish to become such a dominant European power, and no treasure ships for English pirates to attack. That might eliminate the necessary capital that kickstarted the industrial revolution. It would also mean Westward travel is probably given up on, and Eastern competition heats up a lot more for the Europeans.
 
The most obivous thing that would happen without humans is no corn :(
I like corn! Corn on the cob and corn bread. Corn is good in stew too.

Also, no Lacrosse. Guess what? I happen to like Lacrosse....
 
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