Yucopia Project (Massive, Collaborative, and Recruiting New)

[treskro]

It works, but then you guys would probably be much more advanced than us by year 0.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Not necessarily, it depends on more than just how long people have lived in an area. And having Ibabaw settled just 5000 years ago doesn't make everyone else much more advanced?


(numbers are thousands of years ago)
This is similar, though Yucopia doesn't seem to have had an ice age that would slow down expansion, at least in the poles.

[Ashroot]

First, cats are far too bendy to ride. Humans can ride horses, camels, elephants, etc. because they all have very stiff and inflexible spines.

Yeah I know. I thought that gigantism would stiffen them up. Also I am certain humans are flexible enough to ride one. Watch the Olympics oolala.

Oh..5000 years. I put down -4800 as the year people started to move to the continent, and -3900 as the year when people reached the southern part of Ibabaw

Thank goodness. I wasn't sure when these people came about so I invented a number.

I would expect rainforest-dwellers to be mostly hunter-gatherers since there is not much open space for farming. Even in the modern age we still have several hunter-gathering tribes living in the Amazon. This would also cut into large grazing areas for elephants, reducing the large population that you seem to want. You don't necessarily need to use real animals though. Maybe in your case you could have some sort of tree/leaf/branch-eating mini-elephant. But again I'm not really sure about having a huge population of them in such a cloistered area.

Is 20,000 huge? The population of people is under 10,000. Also yeah I thought I would have to modify their diet.

So...I'm either ranting or I'm scared of this:

Warriors use this beast to frighten their enemy and crush all in their way. Weapons and supplies are carried swiftly along. They are fearless and strong and make a huge advantage over their enemy. When they go on crusades they are rarely defeated. These beasts are treasured for their strength, memory diligence and their obedience.

Yeah image the carnage. Though I want to make an ally out of you perhaps a team super power.

[treskro]

Nevermind, my people actually settle in -14000, so yours would probably be a bit later.

Huge population, as in there being enough of them so that every single person/family can have one.

[Ashroot]

Nowhere near everyone has an elephant. People have large herds and rent them out to farmers. That is my new plan for them.

[treskro]

Sounds good. You should probably start adding to the wiki.

Also, do you have a language?

[finlay]

Would you get elephants in the steppe/desert?

[Ashroot]

Sounds good. You should probably start adding to the wiki.

Also, do you have a language?

It is barely farther than phonotactics and phonology.

Would you get elephants in the steppe/desert?

Probably not. I intend on avoiding desert areas. I am want them to be sea faring with mild land exploration. Though I might go in the other direction. When the time comes. I like vikings. Raiders who eventually settle down. But I also like the idea of being like the Chinese/Japanese .

Q: Does the sun set in the west or the east? And were is that map that depicts distance because I have no clue how large this area is.

[Lyhoko Leaci]

Post with the map and scale on it: http://zbb.spinnwebe.com/viewtopic.php?p=823369#p823369

Sun sets in the west, as otherwise all the climates would be in the wrong places.

[finlay]

Dude, I'm thinking about myself here. I'll rephrase that:

Would I get elephants in the steppe/desert?

Or 'would one...', I guess.
Also, I know it's not exactly original but we were going to have it as a sorta Americas-analogue and have roughly the same sorts of animals that occur there. But meh, that's not really important, it's just what somebody told me a few pages back, when I was wondering whether to have horses or not.

Plus, you're not going to get a Viking-like civilisation growing up in the rainforest, and I would be surprised to see a China-like civilisation either. You do have pretty much free rein of course, but remember that all the RL examples of rainforest peoples have been tribal hunter-gatherers. You almost certainly won't get large-scale raiders or agriculture, as there is not enough space. In the steppe or the desert you might get raiders, cf. the Mongols. That's what i'm kinda going to go for if I can help it. If you want Vikings I'd move up to the northern part of the continent where it's colder.

Sun sets in the west, by definition (it's basically the only one we have).

[Ashroot]

Dude, I'm thinking about myself here. I'll rephrase that:

Would I get elephants in the steppe/desert?

I am not aiming at you.My area is roughly just over/under the size of India. Now that I know what to expect I have a good Idea of what to do.

[finlay]

No, ME, would **I** get elephants in the desert? Would **ONE** get elephants in the desert? I don't care what you're doing, and you're not answering my question that way. Do elephants exist in the desert or do they confine themselves to the jungle/savannah?

[Ashroot]

Maybe. It depends on what the people north of me want. Though I think it should be changed to mamoth and I have a hairless version with shorter tusks. The sibarian tiger would've migrated from the far north coming to look more like Asian tigers. Jaguars already live here so I will do away with cheetahs. I will work on un-domesticated animals next. I am thinking deer, pigs, and turkey, some form of bufalo.

[treskro]

No, ME, would **I** get elephants in the desert? Would **ONE** get elephants in the desert? I don't care what you're doing, and you're not answering my question that way. Do elephants exist in the desert or do they confine themselves to the jungle/savannah?

I doubt it, at least not elephants as we know them. You might have something similar, but smaller, and has some kind of adaptation for an extremely dry climate.

Maybe. It depends on what the people north of me want. Though I think it should be changed to mamoth and I have a hairless version with shorter tusks. The sibarian tiger would've migrated from the far north coming to look more like Asian tigers. Jaguars already live here so I will do away with cheetahs. I will work on un-domesticated animals next. I am thinking deer, pigs, and turkey, some form of bufalo.

The diversity is feasible in the rainforest, but again you won't be able to have even medium size herds running around in the rainforest as there is just not enough space.

[Astraios]

First, cats are far too bendy to ride. Humans can ride horses, camels, elephants, etc. because they all have very stiff and inflexible spines.

Yeah I know. I thought that gigantism would stiffen them up. Also I am certain humans are flexible enough to ride one. Watch the Olympics oolala.

How gigantic are they, exactly? And it's not that humans aren't flexible enough to ride a cat at all, I didn't take issue on that. It was more the fact that, to be ridable, a cat would have to develop stiff, straight legs and spine, in order to efficiently support the weight of its rider. Such a development would take hundreds of thousands of years' worth of broken cat bones, not to mention the years spent domesticating the cats in the first place - and after all of that, the final, ridable cat will no longer be stealthy, or able to climb trees. It will be just like a predatory, cat-shaped horse. And, BTW, there's a reason Earth-humans haven't domesticated any gigantic predator - we're physically weak and highly edible. What's to stop an enormous tiger from biting its rider's head off when it gets peckish?

[Ashroot]

Let's look at riding a big cat as an art form. Only the most skilled and most flexible can ride them. When I said they were stiffened I meant they couldn't bend as much in the middle.

How gigantic are they, exactly?

They are about twice the size they are normally. I have to work on social structure now.

[Amuere]

I've got my language page started on the wiki, but I'm still sorting out what my people will be like. Since most of my sphere is savanna, I'm not sure what to do with it. Right now, I'm using the Maasai as a cultural inspiration for the Alajean culture I want.

Also, Cockroach your Tll-ikish people have developed writing, correct? I'd like to work out something so my people use a variation of your script, if that's ok with you.

[treskro]

http://yucop.wikia.com/wiki/History_of_Ibabaw
pewpewpew

Though in the future, moko, we should discuss the wars first before posting.

[communistplot]

Sowwyz. >.< Well, I'll make sure to send you a note next time. =D I'm thinking of a Japan/Rome/China type development of the Garo people.

[Ashroot]

Geology

The surrounding land is Rain Forrest. Redwoods dominate the landscape. The soil is mineral rich with rare pockets of arsenic and lead. Other metals can also be found in the area. Soil acidity is an issue as it harms agriculture. A plethora of herbs flowering plants and trees grow in the area. It is best described as a mash of California, the Sierra’s and the Amazon.
History

Early History
ℇsʊɡ Keɹoɹhu Keme

The world was brought together by a series of tribal wars. When the seven villages stood with only a fraction of their original numbers they knew that it would be wrong to kill off all men. They are all under the impression that they are the only living humans so they set aside their differences and set up a new village for new beginnings. They chose the highest mountain in the land and built their city on it. If you can call a city with less than 500 people a city.
They formed an “army” developing advanced fighting skills and animal partnerships.

A group of men formed the first academy of knowledge. Together they unified the languages and formed a writing system. The language was to be revised every ten years according to what the people had done with it. They sent it out into the village and set up a public school and a military school. The public school was for minimal teaching of adults. The military school was for young children. The arts of riding, archery, climbing, fighting, reading, writing, and religion were taught.

The villages’ shaman joined together and wrote there recipes and techniques in a medicinal journal with pictures of the plants. This was inspired by women deciding to write down their recipes for the first annual feast know as ɪɹɒt Keme, good time. The recipes were shared so that as many women as possible could make a type dish from a different tribe. Thus was born the culinary arts.

The mountain was covered in clay that was found to harden when exposed to the high heat of the community fire. The people first thought it a pain since it always dried uneven and rough. It made removal of ashes hard. But later kids had found that when you through the mold slightly dried mud into the fire after the weekly pit cleaning the molded clumps where hard and were made into marbles. After a mom found a net full of them and inquired how they were made and what mud they used the people’s natural inventive instinct took over and she experimented and made the first bowls and jars and plates that didn’t burn when exposed to fire. After word of this art spread through the village, it led to the creation of the art of ceramics.

It has taken roughly three hundred years to reach the time period were I will actually work on more direct aspects of culture. Please tell me if this is too outlandish and interesting.

[treskro]

Wait, why do you need a strong army with riding beasts if you have one society who thinks they are the only people who exist in the world?

Also, isn't it a bit early for public/military schools? Aren't they supposed to be trying to survive in the rainforest?

[Ashroot]

They just came out of a bloody war. Most of their race has been wiped out. The last remaining people band together, trying to not settle their differences but except them. Most of their culture is gone so they try to maintain it though bringing a more permanent form of recording history, writing. The people then ask all of the villagers what they know and remove or correct what is wrong or vastly different from the others of their past tribes. This brought about, “This form, who to know?” They decided everyone should have access to history, current events and the arts. Hence schools.

Let’s instead think of the “Army” as an arts academy. Science hasn’t been invented yet so you have the arts. Self-defense and hunting are taught here so I called it an army. My bad.

What kind of notes do your elephants carry? For example, do you have a writing system, has paper or something similar been invented yet, and if not, what are you writing on?

Let's go with what was used by the Chinese, planks of thin wood.

[Astraios]

Let's look at riding a big cat as an art form. Only the most skilled and most flexible can ride them. When I said they were stiffened I meant they couldn't bend as much in the middle.

Please don't insult me by assuming I don't know what "stiffened" means. Whether you look at riding a cat as an art form, a necessity for war, or a religious exercise doesn't change the fact that what you suggest is highly improbable.

[Cockroach]

Go right ahead Amuere! Take whatever you want. If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

The history of Ibabaw that's posted isn't what I'd planned for. I wanted the Chäng to be uncivilized at least until the 200 or so (the equivalent of earth 500AD). Looking at the map though, that seems kinda unlikely. I'd hoped for them to be more like Aborigines or Indians, but I think now it would be better if they were like Germans, latecomers to civilization. I'll have to think a little.

[treskro]

Go right ahead Amuere! Take whatever you want. If you have questions, feel free to PM me.

The history of Ibabaw that's posted isn't what I'd planned for. I wanted the Chäng to be uncivilized at least until the 200 or so (the equivalent of earth 500AD). Looking at the map though, that seems kinda unlikely. I'd hoped for them to be more like Aborigines or Indians, but I think now it would be better if they were like Germans, latecomers to civilization. I'll have to think a little.

What if they develop as an independently functioning state within the empire?


@Ashroot
I'm not saying it's bad or anything, maybe just possibly a bit too much to hope for in humans at this time. Especially since they're living in the forest, territory and space will always be an issue worth fighting about. People need some kind of cultural stability in regards to food and shelter before (some) of them will be willing to devote full time to the arts/writing/history.