Re: Alternative histories and paralele universes

Carlos Thompson wrote:

> greath cultures but forgot the rol of burden animals.  Of course, after=
 I have
> an *what if* situation and a conworld, I'll put these new elements in t=
he pot.

One thing to remember is that there are a lot of animals that went
extinct ca. 12,000 BP.  Just keep a few around, such as horses,
mastodons, zebras (yes, Equus simplicidens), etc.  Keep the existing
camelids or add a few of the larger extinct varieties, caribou a la
reindeer, domesticate any of a number of swine, capybara, etc.
Some of these have modern relatives that are resistant to domestication
but given time, will, and the what-if factor, there are/were plenty of=20
candidates for domesticated species.
>=20
> If I'm not mistaken, the first settlement of America occured at the beg=
ining of
> the last gracial period, some 30000 years ago (probably modern human be=
ings

Evidence is growing for that age, especially from Monte Verde but
far from widely accepted.=20

> existed in the Yangtse-Hoangho, Indo, Tigris-Eufrates and Nilo basines =
that
> trigger the formation of greath cultures.  Big rivers that flooded seem=
s to be
> one of them, burden animals another one, a critical mass of people...?
>=20
I would go with a combination of factors that become self feeding
and contribute to each other.  Agriculture, critical mass of people,
abundant resource access (whether through trade or ownership), and=20
being on/near trade routes.  Some of these are chicken or the egg
situations obviously.


> that would have helped where bisons lived.  One of todays most fertil r=
egions in
> the world is the middle USA, I think if the propper conditions of a big=
 river,
> domesticated bisons (buffalo), fertil land and enough people, an cultur=
e could
> have developed.
Several did, the Adena, the Natchez for example.  One of my first
projects was for a group that never got a name of their own, I just
called them the Mississippi River Empire (MRE).  That name survives
today as the Mr=E9, last great enemy of the Nowans and largest city
in Nowapan.
>=20
> rudimentary wheels.
I agree with this one, but there have been a few cases
where wheel use has diminished with the introduction of camels, sorry,
don't remember the name of a very interesting book.

>=20
> When the Conquistadors came, the situation wouln't have been as easy.  =
Viruela
Have the conquistadors go the other way.  Maybe some nice Aztecs running
amuck in Europe.  I read an alternative history novel a few years ago
that had Cortez switching allegiance, helping the Aztecs, who eventually
became the most powerful nation on earth.  Only published in England
I believe, and of course, I don't remember its title either.

PS, How should one pronounce 'Chlewey' and where does the name come
from??
--=20
Brad Coon
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