MigratioNES: The Grandest Tale Ever Told

Lord_Iggy

Tsesk'ihe
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
Messages
24,580
Location
Yukon
Because 'Straight Outta Olduvai' seemed too glib.

There are stories greater than those of individual men and women. There are sagas vaster than the histories of nations, that we so love to imagine and recount. This is not one of these tales, though I have no doubt that, in its telling, we shall encompass innumerable legends, timeless classics and petty dramas.

This is the epic of mankind as a whole, from its humblest roots, to whatever unknown future awaits it. This is a story of cultures, nations of which are only ephemeral expressions.

Let us paint a world together.


Background
This is not a NES that will focus on nations. It will not use different shades of grey to indicate 'civilized zones' or tribal peoples. Colours on this map will depict the presence of different human cultures. As a culture spreads out and loses contact with its different component parts, these colours may drift, but hue similarity will serve as a useful indicator of relative similarity. Conversely, two cultures living in close proximity may find themselves growing more similar, through the mutual exchange of goods and ideas.

Nations, should they appear, will be marked with outlines of grey or black, and cities will be marked with dots, as is the standard for most familiar NESes.

My inspiration for this NES comes from a few sources. One is Daftpanzer's Alternative Timeline Building Experiment, a fantastic experience where players were not nations, but rather, were guiding forces behind different cultures, from the dawn of civilization to a time eerily similar to the present day. We exerted control over our creations only loosely, and watched our cultures unfold across a span larger than any NES ever before. If I can create something half as epic and memorable as that particular project of Daft's, I'll be quite pleased.

A secondary inspiration has been my recent habit of running observer campaigns of Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV. I have enjoyed watching history unfold unpredictably over a millennium of free development. However, I have been frustrated with what I see as shortcomings of the system: namely the static, predictable 'blobbification' of cultures and the lack of dynamic population movements, interactions and developments. In this NES, I hope to make a reasonable attempt at portraying these things.


Rules
Orders will be very simple and should be posted in the thread. Your orders are broad pushes and guidelines, more so than strict orders. You might push a specific group of people in a new direction, brew a conflict, or simply sit tight and develop. You could think of yourself as the mystical gestalt behind a group of people, but you don't have to play the game that way. You can suggest natural boons or disasters, or flit around from place to place influencing events here and there. Like NESLife, you're not required to stay with your lineage for all time, but I suspect that many of you would like to do that, so do as you please. Keep in mind, however, to be considerate and aware of what other people have made. I reserve the right to change or disregard anything that seems too ridiculous, though I'll try to talk to you about it first, so that we can make this collaborative project work for everyone.

Stories and extra details about your people, their ideas, practices, tribes, languages and faiths, will be very helpful, and I will try to incorporate as much as I can into my updates.

The first few updates may encompass hundreds of thousands of years, but they will likely slow down over time, as people become more mobile and developed. It is conceivable that this process might revert, if we manage to lead civilization to ruin and humanity to near-extinction. We are starting off with a species that is effectively Homo erectus, with knowledge of simple stone tools and a rough handle on fire. For now, we are describing the earliest history of humanity, our emergence from the cradle of our species. In the coming hundreds of kiloyears, we may see the rise of the first broad branches in the human family tree. Some may be wiped out or subsumed, such as our own history's Neanderthals, others may evolve in parallel, such as the Flores Man. Perhaps we shall see a world where multiple hominins share the world, or perhaps one shall emerge supreme, at the expense of all others.

Shall we begin?


Update 0

The world is drying. The great forests have retreated, but humans have adapted to life on the ground. With bipedal locomotion, simple language for coordination and strong, tool-wielding hands, humans have proven more than able to thrive in conditions where other great apes have failed. Through a flexible mixture of hunting and trapping, human populations are on the rise. With greater population, however, comes greater competition for limited resources, driving some to war, and others to flight.

Humanity will not rest forever in a cradle.



Legend
Dark Green: Tropical
Light Green: Temperate
Yellow: Arid
Grey: Montane

The area on the map is the current full range of the human genus. It is an area roughly the size of the continental United States. To the far north are tropical forests, the eastern region has temperate forest (as does the inland sea and several high-elevation areas in the southern mountains), and the yellow area is arid, ranging from dry forests to savanna to outright sandy desert, with the conditions growing more extreme the further west one goes.
 
(I"m not quite sure how you wish orders formated, or really what you want IN them, but here goes)

The Great Drying has, over the course of many generations, pushed many tribes and family-groups both north and east. As such, population pressures in the eastern temperate zone are growing, and eventually people will be forced to migrate in search of land that will support them. This will likely involve a great blossoming along the shores of the Sea.
 
I think I'd prefer if orders are super-direct and brief. Yours work!

For those doing something specific, it might be good to provide a physical description of your early people.
 
Definitely joining. Just a sec- I'll edit something in.

(EDIT: I'm kind of torn on how much realism I should try to create here. If I go too far, then I can't do anything but carefully study actual history. Given this, I'm basically going to assume I can be generous in terms of what kinds of ecological forces I can assume exist. These orders are pending only- I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do things if I can't. Geography tends to dictate social forces in a period this primitive, so if I can't make assumptions about one it's hard to do the other)

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Orders:

Along the most fruitful seas and rivers*, overpopulated tribes learn the art of swimming to adapt. Dangerous predators exist, but they always do- with proper knowledge of their behaviors, they can be evaded. Gradually learning to swim, they also learn the more important skill of being better and better at luring fish to their demise.

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Commentary:

*: The realism of this is questionable, so I figure if I specify the most fruitful this disadvantage is at least mitigated. As long as Lord Iggy is willing to accept what it implies geographically about this vague world, I don't mind which ones this happens to be.

Also, I realize that you can't evolve gills in any realistic timespan. I have aquatic plans, but nowhere near that far.

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Physical Description:
The resulting hominid (and I'd ask somebody else for an appropriate name) has began to adapt to hold it's breath longer and have a shape somewhat more adapted for swimming (though not too much- fish is a supplement, not their whole diet). Also, with a more fish-based diet I figure it's brain would be superior thanks to better nutrition.
 
The humans have found a seeming paradise from the endless desert and scrubland in the form of the inland sea. Unfortunately, others seem to have the same idea and begun violating their boundaries. Overcrowding led to reprisals against the newcomers. A time of alliances, conflict, and self consciousness led to the birth of some of the first organized "religions" or "spiritualities". These organized spiritualities allowed for greater alliances than mere clans, as well as preserved Us-vs-them-ism and help prevent traitors.

These people deified not nature, or spirits, or man, but concepts and mankind's relationship to them. For example, instead of deifying spring time, they would deify the joyous happiness caused by the coming rebirth. And instead of deifying the river, they would deify the hope for a good spring flood. And they believed that their hopes and prayers made such a deity stronger, and more likely to manifest.

The strongest concept-deities is that of "Peace For The Inland Sea/Paradise" and "Prosperity For Our Fellow X" where X is the name of their super group/priesthood/alliance of tribes. Generally, there will be several groupings of such around the Lake, which will be rivals despite recognizing that they, unlike other migrants, share similar spiritual beliefs. Except of course, we are X and they are Y! More prosperity for Y is less for X!

EDIT 1:

Name for the Culture: Fumo, which is "Prosperity For our Fellow ..." (Fumos also works, Fumoto would be unabbr.)
Name for a subclan of the Fumo: Fumo-Rikita would be the "Prosperity For Our Fellow Rikata" which in this case, the Leaping Mongooses.
Name for the Inland Sea/Paradise: Itar
Name for "Peace for the Paradise": Itarva, which is the name for the Spirituality most of the Fumo agree with

EDIT 2:
The name of the outsiders, which are called "War for the Paradise" are called KuKus. Full name is Itarku. Think similar to "Barbar... barbarians"


EDIT 3:

They get better with abstract concepts, communities greater than the family, and us-vs-them-ism?
 
Great stuff so far, everyone!

If your people have names for themselves, you should say them, so that I am able to write labels for them on the map!
 
Just to be clear- we're allowed these kinds of small inaccuracies then? Historically, I'm given to understand that true animistic religion emerged well after Homo Erectus, which is why I wanted to make sure I created a change that would lead to increased brainpower.

Apologies if this seems a little rude- I'm new to this, and I need to know what level of inaccuracy is tolerated.
 
Just to be clear- we're allowed these kinds of small inaccuracies then? Historically, I'm given to understand that true animistic religion emerged well after Homo Erectus, which is why I wanted to make sure I created a change that would lead to increased brainpower.

Apologies if this seems a little rude- I'm new to this, and I need to know what level of inaccuracy is tolerated.

Honestly, it's almost impossible to tell through the archaeological record whether homo erectus had anything like religion. The consensus said no, but it said the same thing about neanderthals recently, and that's changed. The problem with that kind of thing is that the burden of proof is on proving that they had it, not that there wasn't religion or beliefs. Unfortunately, the archaeological record is sparse, and organic material that might have been painted and carved does not survive well.
 
Honestly, it's almost impossible to tell through the archaeological record whether homo erectus had anything like religion. The consensus said no, but it said the same thing about neanderthals recently, and that's changed. The problem with that kind of thing is that the burden of proof is on proving that they had it, not that there wasn't religion or beliefs. Unfortunately, the archaeological record is sparse, and organic material that might have been painted and carved does not survive well.

I suppose I'll go with that. Honestly, I have a whole "Constitutionalism" plan that I want to go with (I'm making fun of it in "Imperial Die", but I like the idea of a country where a Constitution is strict or literal), but I need more brainpower before those sorts of things become possible.

I also have some story plans, but they'll only work when humans have a bit more brainpower to work with.
 
Right now brainpower is fairly low and language is fairly simple, though it probably won't remain that way for long.
 
As the world dried, the Tiryap looked to the changes with fear. Changes in the cycle of wet and dry, in the retreat of the trees and the increased competition for dwindling water and game sources, of the erraticism of starving rival predators who will turn to human flesh: These were all signs of the displeasure of the sky and the land.

The Tiryap went south, into the mountains, and further past, following the green as it retreated beyond the horison. As they forgot the ancestral land from which they came, they carried with them one memory: A green land blasted to desert because of their ancestral wrongs.

Actions:

The rise of a fear and appeasement-based shamanic tradition and wearing of animal antler headdresses. Melanin reduction due to adaptation to southern regions with less direct sunlight. Go faaaaar south.

Organizationally small bands with large territories, primarily big-game hunters with stone-tipped spears. Very little culture to speak of outside bone-carving and ritualistic cannibalism. Extreme xenophobia towards non-Tiryap.
 
Alright then. If Thlayi's move and Terence888's move is allowed then I'm amending mine. I'll keep mine up for historical record purposes, but I'm putting a new one in.
 
I already wrote your swimming people into the update, although if you really want to do something different, I'll let you do a second thing this update since I was apparently not clear enough on what people can do!
 
I already wrote your swimming people into the update, although if you really want to do something different, I'll let you do a second thing this update since I was apparently not clear enough on what people can do!

Never mind then, I'll let it go this time. I'll just figure something out for next time. It's great that the update is coming along so quickly.
 
Gefo saw the water get smaller and smaller, retreating to the great sky. Upon reaching a small area where the water had gathered, Gefo saw a larger gathering of water, moving towards the translucent hills, which he then followed. Looking behind at the small burrow he made in the esker, Gefo continued forward with the blessings of the "all-knowing mover," and to one day reach the abode where all the water was flowing.
 
Branching off of Thomas' Apalo migration to the east (now present, per my understanding, in the great river valley), a secondary branching migration, thus named Beta-Apalo will, through following the rivers to their mouths, find hilly, cooler terrain to their liking and travel further south and east than the main migration group. As they move farther and farther south, they'll diverge in the colder climate with an emphasis on endurance and body-fat that ladies just can't help but covet.

(the name is temporary, just for ease of noting where it originated)
 
By the way, Novice_Writer, do you have a name for your Swimming people? Right now I just refer to them as swimmers, and the Fumo call them 'Kuku', but what is their name for their own people?
 
Update 1: 500 000 Years
On the coasts and rivers around the Itar Sea, Kuku 'Swimming Men' have diverged physically from their cousins. With smoother-skinned bodies, fat distributions ideal for warmth and buoyancy, larger feet and long, grasping fingers, these distinctive people have come to dominate much of the inland sea. However, their dominance over this region is far from uncontested.

Fumos, while having much more in common physically with their terrestrial ancestors, have come to develop clan associations that, while still very simple, are a step above the rest of humankind. The faintest beginnings of social stratification are present in Fumo culture, with ritual-keepers holding slightly more influence within their clans, on average. The relative sense of shared identity held by the Fumos has allowed them to largely drive out the Mukus, and provide some resistance to the 'Kuku', the term they use for the swimming men.

Mukus, or Myukyap in their own language, distant relatives of the Fumos, have generally been pushed back into inhabiting the marginal areas around the Itar Sea. Others spread even further across the south, in one of the first great migrations of humanity. They were the initial wave to settle this area, though in recent times they have been pushed out by newer migrants.

The Tiryaps are genetically a brother people to the Myukyap, but share definite cultural influences with the Fumos. They emerged as a second wave of migration into the south. With an influential shamanic class, clad in animal fetishes and partaking in cannibalistic rituals, they moved into the great mountains, discovering temperate highlands, exterminating the earlier-arrived Myukyap people and securing the pleasant dales for themselves. While the bulk of the Tiryaps live in the mountains and the plains immediately to their north, some have migrated further into the south, crossing the great east-west range and discovering land of temperate steppe and mixed forest. Southern Tiryaps are among the palest of humans, having lost a great deal of melanin to deal with the reduced sunlight present at higher latitudes.

Geographically, the greatest strides have been made by the Apalo wanderers. Emerging from the same stock as the Fumos, Apalos are a hardy and mobile people, tolerant of heat and possessed of great enduranc. Triggered by population pressures, they have escaped the Itar Sea, becoming widely dispersed to the north and east. In the far east, they have grown numerous in a rich river valley, which has come to be known as Gefo after a legendary early Apalo who was one of the first to the region. On the banks of these rivers, they approach population densities comparable to those around the inland sea. In the north, beyond the broad savannas, populations of Apalos have begun to penetrate into the thick tropical forests that, hundreds of thousands of years ago, retreated northwards. Here, they find many dangers and frightening beasts, but many bounties as well.

The Amalyaps are southeastern Apalos, who interbred with earlier-arrived Myukyap. They share the southern Gefo river with a mixture of their two parent peoples, but the bulk of the Amalyaps have expanded into the arid highlands of the southeast. They are hairier and stouter in form, granting them an edge in these harsher regions.

Spoiler :




Legend
Dark Green: Tropical
Light Green: Temperate
Dark Orange: Mediterranean
Light Orange: Arid
Yellow: Desert
Grey: Montane
 
By the way, Novice_Writer, do you have a name for your Swimming people? Right now I just refer to them as swimmers, and the Fumo call them 'Kuku', but what is their name for their own people?

I know this sounds weird, but I feel a bit dirty giving them a name because it feels so realism-defying. Realistically, there should be hundreds of languages across the world and several for the swimming race each with different names.

If there must be a universal name, however, I think their name should definitely translate as "Swimmer" in their own tongue, against a name which translates as 'Walker" for outsiders.

If it's alright, I'd like to request that the largest single name for them is the Cao*, but this doesn't represent what all of them call themselves as even between areas the size of villages there would be some linguistic diversity.

*: Pronounced like the Chinese word, as in Cao Cao. I don't think this would necessarily be within Homo Erectus's dialect, but a real world would be nice.
 
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