The Lands of Nuts and Deer

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 16 - The City States

By 3000 BC all people in the Gardener territory have long switched to full time gardening lifestyle. The small artisan villages turned first to small towns then to larger towns then to cities.

The largest of those cities was a city of 30,000 people located at the southern shore of Lake Erie. It was surrounded by a ring of walnut growing villages to the west, south and east and fishing villages to the north. The city was rich, with a large market, was surrounded by extensive rammed earth fortifications and a road network connected it to nearby towns and villages. In the country there were 14 cities over 10,000 people and over 40 between 3,000 and 10,000.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 17 - The Wheel, The Deer Wagon and The Chariot

In 2600 BC the GardenerCivilization witnessed the first large scale usage of deer-drawn wagons. The wheel was known before for several centuries but was never used in any practical way, being limited to toys and ceremonial objects. The civilian version - the deer drawn wagon - found usage in agriculture and long distance travel, hauling crops, consumer goods and people across great distances. The military version - the chariot - was employed by many city states as a elite unit in warfare.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 18 - Reed Boats and Reed Armor

Around 2500 BC the Gardeners were in possession of mature technology for building reed boats. The boats were usually made of dried specimen of Phragmites americanus or Typha latifolia and would crisscross lakes, travel down rivers as well as coasts of America. The boats were cheap, made of easily available material and everyone who lived next to a body of water could afford to have one. Larger ones were equipped with a square sail usually made of animal skins. Other types of boats in usage included wooden plank boats and dugout canoes.

Warriors would weer reed armor made of thick alternating layers of dried reed. It would provide a good protection for it's price especially if worn over thick clothing. Most warriors were equipped with it while elite retinues were equipped with bronze armor.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 19 - The Missisipi-Missouri-Ohio Trade Route

Trade in the Walnut Civilization of 2500 BC was conduced both by road and by water. Road transport was slow and cumbersome - roads had to be paved either purposely or through continuous usage, the road could be dangerous and the amount of goods that could be transported that way was limited. River transport on the other hand was faster, cheaper and more efficient - a reed or wooden barge with a square sail could transport several times more goods than a wagon and id did not need deer. A wide trade network formed in the Nut Civilization based around the three-pronged network of three rivers - the Missisipi, the Missouri and the Ohio - with other rivers like the Potomac or the Tennesee - also playing a major role.

Chapter 20 - The Iron Age

The Nut Gardener Civilization has known copper for two millenia and bronze for a millenium. They have also known iron for several centuries but never used it before. They were familiar with this strange metal that looked like silver yet was stronger than bronze and more ubiquitous than copper, silver or gold. It could not be smelted when heated to a high temperature, it would become malleable yet it would not melt even in the hottest bronze furnaces.

It all changed circa 2000 BC when a curious system of smelting iron was developed somewhere in the Apallachian mountains. It remains unknown whether it was an invention of a single witty smith, a small group of smiths working together or development over a longer period of time - but it did work. The system included a small furnace using a system of tubes or canals to feed air into the burning chamber which melted the iron ore. At first the stuff made of iton was primitive - spear and arrowheads, small knives etc. But they did get more complex quickly. The Gardener Civilization entered the Iron Age.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 21 - Westward Expansion and Bison Hunting

The Nut Civilization kept expanding westward - as one goes west, climate becomes increasingly drier and black walnuts do less well - hence expansion has tended to follow rivers where extensive irrigation works have been built to support walnut orchards. By 2000 BC the Nut Civilization has colonized the Arkansas river and reached the Colorado river and kept expanding westward. In less watered soils beans and paw paws were cultivated more often. Herds of deer were also grazed in the wide expense of the Great Plains.

One animal that has suffered greatly from the expansion of civilization was the American Bison. A large herbivorous mammal, it was very prized for it's thick fur and the very large amount of meat it provided. At the same time it was an aggressive beast not capable of being tamed or domesticated. Hence, hunting started to take a toll on it's population.

The largest city of 2000 BC exceeded 100,000 people. It was a major trading settlement at the confluence of Missisipi and Missouri rivers and was in itself an important city state. Many more cities in the country exceeded 50,000 people, even more 20,000.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 22 - The Turkey, The Northern Goshawk and The Fox

The same period saw the domestication of several new species - wild turkeys, northern goshawks and foxes.

Wild turkeys became a prized source of meat. Fed on nuts and plant material, they provided ample calories, supplementing fish, deer and bison meat. They were also kept for eggs. Freshly domesticated ones laid between 4 and 17 (ususally 9-12) eggs but with time that number increased. The northern goshawks were domesticated to aid in hunting small animals, they would also feed on small birds and rodents that threatened the walnut groves. Foxes started to be kept as pets as well as guardians of groves. They were also used for fur.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 23 - The Travels of the Gray Cloud

Gray Cloud was a farmer and a part time merchant and fisherman in a region that would be known ATL as Louisiana. He lived next to a fairly large city of 18,000 in which he would sell his crops and handicraft. He owned a house next to the delta of the Missisipi river from which he would sometimes draw water. He owned several reed boats, including a large one capable of sailing on rough waters.

He has since heard of a land to the south tha is even warmer than the place he lived in. Apparently they call themselves Maya and live in small towns, much smaller than the one of the Gardeners.. They persist off a diet of seeds from a strange grass and have no deer for carrying baggage and pulling wagons.

The largest boat owned by the Gray Cloud was easily capable of carrying several people. He decided to take with himself three friend - the Howling Wolf, the Swift Deer and the Brave Lynx. Together they sailed south, not knowing what to expect

One of the boats owned by the Gray Wolf

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 24 - The Gray Cloud and His Company Reach The Mayan Land

In not a long time the Gray Cloud, the Howling Wolf, the Swift Deer and the Brave Lynx reached the southern lands. They had armor and weapons but decided to keep them inside their ship.

On the beach they were approached by several men who appeared to be wearing armor quite similar to the one osed by most Gardeners and had weapons that did not resemble the metal ones of the Gardeners and in fact, appeared to not be made out of metal. The newcomers showed off some of their goods - nuts, metal tools and decorative items. They were then taken to a small village - one numbering possibly a hundred people - and taken to the village elder.

The language of the Maya did not in any way resemble any of he languages of the Gardeners but nevertheless a deal was reached. The traders exchanged some of their goods for gold and then sailed home. That would be the start of the trade route across the Bay of Mexico that would benefit both sides. The route would spread iron metallurgy and deer husbandry far south.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 25 - Colonization of Southern Islands.

To the south lay multiple islands, some larger and some smaller which previously had been inhabitated exclusively by hunter gatherer populations. By 1900 BC the Gardener Civilization had establish first trading posts on an island known ATL as Cuba and two decades later first trade posts were establish on what would become Hispaniola in another timeline. The trade posts grew quickly and became cities and by 1800 BC both islands were assimilated into their civilizaed neighboots. Naval technology progressed, allowing larger and more capable ships to easily navigate the open seas. Next came the islands known ATL as Jamaica, Puerto Rico and several islands to the south of it. They indirectly linked the continent of the Gardeners with another great continent to the south. The civiliization which had drastically changed one continent will now change another one.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 26 - Gardener City States, the Eastern Chiefdom and West Coast Settlements

In 1500 BC the Gardener Civilization has reached the West Coast of the continent. Due to distance and difficult geography not a lot of people went to those areas. The settlement was limited to small trade posts numbering no more than 50 people located along rivers. There they met people similar to them who lived like the ancestors of the Gardeners - they would gather acorns falling from big oak trees and then consume them. The Gardener explorers introduced them to walnut cultivation and sold them specimen of domesticated deer.

The Gardener civilization was divided into approx 30 large city states. Each of them despite the name, consisted of numerous cities connected by roads and rivers. The largest of those city states was Eastern Chiefdom encompassing ATL states of Deleware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachussets and New Hampshire. It's capital had 200,000 people and the country was well connected by roads and the ocean coast. It possessed numerous trading stations in ATL Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and was a major importer of furs and fish. It had a professional standing army most well known for it's skillful usage of archers and crossbowmen.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 27 - Steel

By 1500 BC the Gardener civilization has significantly improved their ironworking technology, being capable of forging high quality steel. The improvement was in no small part thanks to a large network of craftsmen spread across the land, sharing experience and skill across vast territory. The ironworking of the Gardeners was at the time the most advanced in the world or more precisely, still the only one present.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 28 - Deer Riding

By 1100 BC the breeds of White Tailed Deer kept by the Gardeners became large enough to be ridden by an adult human being. By 1000 BC deer riding had spread across the entire civilization. In militaries deer riders replaced chariots and in civilian usage they partially replaced wagons - a messanger riding a particularily athletic deer speciman could cover over 100 km in a single day, a deer driven cart or wagon can cover perhaps slightly more than that. The sexual dimorphism of domesticated deer decreesed, females being just slightly smaller than males.

The deer riding archers of the Eastern Chiefdom became the most feared deer riding force in the entire region.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 29 - Wild Rice

In 1000 BC the American Civiliation added another crop to their arsenal. Zizania palustris, also known as wild rice, is a wetland plant native to much of North America. The Americans began to cultivate it in places where nuts could not grow - shores of lakes, rivers and marshes. A productive plant, it increased the area of cultivated land even further. Sometimes people would create artificial paddy fields and ponds to make it grow.

[Otto Kretschmer]

Chapter 30 - Writing

All civiliations develop writing sooner or later - life gets easier if you can record stuff on permanent material. The American Civilization was no different.

The first American system of proto writing was present ca 3500 BC in the Missisipi region. It had evolved into a proper logographic system by 2700 BC and ideographic by 2300 BC. The system was very imperfect - most American languages are polysynthetic or agglutinative and ideograms suit them poorly.. This prompted the whole system to evolve so that some simplified glyphs began to be used to denote individual sounds. At the same time logograms simplified to ideograms, creating the American Mixed Script - a mixed ideographic-alphabetic system used to writing a variety of American langauges. The most popular writing material was birch bark although wood and deer hides were also used.

[oscssw]

I have enjoyed reading your AT Jan. Thanks for posting it.

I remember writing Birch bark letters home when I was at summer camp. Good times. Great memories.