Civilopedia work

[Simon_Jester]

Three unique buildings!


MALL (american supermarket)

The shopping mall is a modern phenomenon, dating to the rise of improved, motorized transporation. For the motorized shopper, a typical shopping expedition involves physically driving a considerable distance to the store, entering the store on foot to purchase goods, and then loading them into the car to drive away.

This lends itself to a novel profile for shopping. On the one hand, it is feasible to carry far more goods away at the end of the trip. On the other, it is desirable NOT to have to walk very far. The solution is an evolution of the typical 'market square.' A large assembly of shops and stores is surrounded by an array of parking lots, permitting easy vehicle access to the mall.

It is fairly common for there to be freestanding buildings (often restaurants) or secondary 'strip' malls which consist of a single row of stores with all access between stores being outdoors. These structures benefit from proximity to the main mall, embedded in or outside of the ring of parking lots.

The mall itself may be outdoor or enclosed, and is generally arranged in a series of massive corridors or boulevards, lined with relatively small shops selling food, clothing, electronics, jewelry, and the like. At each end of a corridor will be an 'anchor' store, generally very large in size, selling bulky products- often a department store. The interior is carefully designed to ease the flow of pedestrian traffic and motivate them to shop and spend freely.

Malls have become a major feature of the American residential and commercial landscape, acting as social gathering points and hubs of commerce. While they require a large amount of land and resources to assemble, they also provide a means by which relatively small stores can survive in the changed commercial environment created by the rise of the automobile.


MOUND (mississippian castle)

Today, our archaeological knowledge of the Mississippian valley culture leads us to term them as "Mound Builders," because the great earthen mounds they built under their towns are the most durable reminders of their presence.

These mounds were generally built up out of layered structures of sod, soil and clay. They were generally steep-sided truncated pyramids with wooden stairways to climb the mound. Mounds served a variety of functions for setting apart those buildings with public functions, such as chiefs' houses, large lodges, and sacred architecture.

It was common for mounds to grow over time, with new layers of earthen fill piled onto the ruins of a pre-existing structure on top of its own smaller mound. Some of the largest Mississippian mounds stand up to 100 feet tall representing several layers of successive construction.



OBELISK (egyptian monument)

An obelisk is a tall, pillar-like stone structure, with four sides that slant slightly inwards, reaching up to a pyramidal cap.

The ancient Egyptians and their daughter cultures used obelisks as commemorative monuments. The sides of an obelisk were typically engraved with hieroglyphic carvings. The oldest known obelisk, dedicated to the god Ra and sacred to him, is still in the place it was erected, at the order of pharaoh Senusret I circa 1950 BC.

Obelisks were a very common feature of Egyptian monumental architecture- while difficult to transport, they were less so than any comparably impressive stone monument.

Other cultures impressed by Egypt's ancient civilization such as Rome and the United States of America emulated the obelisk millenia later in their own architecture. Sometimes this was done outright stealing Egypt's own obelisks, such as the Lateran obelisk in Rome. Indeed, both the late Roman imperial era and the European age of colonialism saw a veritable plague of obelisk theft!

In other cases, imitators sought to model their monuments off Egyptian obelisks by erecting their own, such as the obelisk created by Herod I of Israel while that kingdom was under Roman rule. Many modern Western nations make occasional use of obelisks in their architecture to call back to the Egyptians (and, to a lesser extent, the Romans). An example of this type of obelisk construction can be found in the Washington Monument in the American capital of Washington, D.C.

Other cultures which developed a native obelisk-building tradition include the ancient Assyrians and Axumites.

 

[Simon_Jester]

I think these are the last of the new resources...




BISON

Bison are a type of herd animal native to North America and Europe. These ungulates are the largest land animals now living on those continents. They diverged from the main bovine genetic lineage roughly 5-10 million years ago, although interbreeding and crossbreeding makes it difficult to clearly determine lines of ancestry.

Bison are known for a usually placid temperament, with occasional outbursts of aggression. They can run at speeds of over fifty kilometers an hour, and travel long distances at the gallop. Early American naturalists rated them as extremely dangerous due to their habit of building up to a 50 km/h charge and slamming their one-tonne body into obstacles or enemies, using their shaggy, thick-skulled head as a battering ram.

While American and European bison are are broadly similar, there are noticeable differences of detail. American bison, in particular (descendants of hybrids between yaks and the now-extinct Central Asian steppe bisons), are easier to tame and have a stronger preference for open terrain (European bison live in more wooded areas, as a rule). American bison thrived in the conditions prevailing in America at the end of the Pleistocene.

The end of the Ice Age, changes in North America's plant biomes, and the mass die-off of the continent's large animals allowed bison populations to grow rapidly. The bison began filling in ecological niches left empty by the extinction of creatures such as horses and the woolly mammoth. They also thrived on the open grasslands, steppes, and scrublands of North America's central plains. The resulting herds of bison became a major source of meat for native American hunters.

The arrival of Europeans with rifles resulted in the near-extinction of American bison in the 1800s. This had severe harmful effects on the ecology of the Great Plains, resulting in the loss of native grasses (a contributor to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s), loss of topsoil, and troubles with water supply and winter conditions that result from trying to introduce European cattle to take the bison's ecological place.

Extermination of the bison also devastated the domestic economy of the Plains Indians who relied on them for food- and this strategy was deliberately pursued by the United States' army and government. Roughly fifty milllion bison were killed off, and at its lowest point the buffalo population had dropped to an estimated 540 individuals.

Today, greater ecological consciousness, and domestic ranching of bison, has allowed American bison populations to rebound to roughly 150 thousand. The species is no longer considered 'endangered.' Bison also serve as a viable type of domesticable cattle, although the details of their anatomy and behavior require special accomodations not found in the usual domesticated bovine species.



SEAL

Seals are a type of marine mammal found in a wide variety of climates and ecosystems around the world. They diverged from the ancestors of modern bears, pandas, skunks, and weasels roughly fifty million years ago.

Seals are well adapted to acquatic life, with streamlined bodies and limbs that have evolved into flippers and tails, along with thick blubber to remain insulated against the cold (since seals mostly favor arctic waters). However, seals do come ashore onto beaches to molt, to breed, and to escape from purely aquatic predators such as sharks.

Most seals live primarily on a diet of fish and marine invertebrates, but some prey on other large vertebrate animals such as penguins and other seals.

Seals have been actively hunted by humans in the Arctic and Antarctic regions since prehistoric times, along with the other areas where seals naturally range. Seals are prized for their meat, blubber, and fur, and in some cases the ivory of their tusks. Seals are sometimes captured and used as performing animals.

As with many large animal species, industrial hunting of seals has resulted in major population crashes, particularly in cases where humans take advantage of the seals' vulnerability on their spawning beaches to 'club' them. A seal on land is extremely vulnerable to land-based animals, particularly armed humans. Some seal species are now extinct as a result of excess hunting, and many others are still endangered due to habitat loss and pollution.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Two buildings!



SCHOOL

A school is a facility or institution intended to teach groups of children, instructing them on knowledge of varying types and levels of difficulty.

Most knowledge in ancient societies was passed on from parent to child or from master to apprentice- or both. However, for certain purposes schools have existed since ancient times as a logical outgrowth of the business of 'tutoring-' scholars who teach the young a variety of general knowledge for a living, often catering to the rich. Tutoring is particularly suited to subjects like philosophy, music, literature, and public speaking, which were common subjects of the early schools of classical Greco-Roman society.

As the body of cultural, philosophical, and technical knowledge grew, it became impractical for scholars to learn full-time under the tutelage of a single master scholar. Highly skilled philosophers, orators, and artists generally lacked the time or inclination to teach the most basic skills of their craft to novices. This led to the foundation of more and more schools, ranging from universities that taught advanced studies, to private schools where the children of the elite could socialize en masse while learning that which cultured members of society were expected to know.

In the 19th century, the trend evolved further in the Western world with the rise of 'public education:' state-funded schools where large cadres of professional educators taught the massed children of the entire population skills such as literacy, mathematics, and the rudiments of science, culture, and politics. These institutions have evolved greatly over the course of the modern era, and the question of how to provide high quality education to the masses has become an ongoing subject of hot debate in much of the developed world.



TAVERN

A tavern is a place of business where customers gather to drink alcoholic beverages, and typically where they may be served food or rent temporary lodgings.

The tavern as such is primarily a European institution, whose name derives from the Latin "taberna" meaning a shed, workshop, or stall- although comparable establishments exist in almost every society.

Taverns provide social gathering places for the local population, and often serve as centers for the enjoyment of recreational drugs. Traditionally this means alcohol, though tobacco became a favorite after the Columbian Exchange, and in many parts of the world "coffeehouses" and "teahouses" replicate the functions of an alcohol-selling tavern, either alongside or in place of such a business, for those who do not consume alcohol (such as most Muslims).

Taverns also represent a step up in the availability of lodgings for travelers, which makes it more practical for people to take long journeys for commercial, educational, or religious reasons.

 

[Simon_Jester]

Three elite units!



ANSAR

'Ansar' is an Islamic term referring to 'helpers-' the citizens of Medina who assisted the Prophet and his followers after they escaped Mecca and took shelter in Medina. They were early adherents of the new Muslim religion, and followed Mohammed in battle during the founding period of the faith.

The term became widely used throughout the Muslim world. In Arabic culture it refers specifically to those who are descended from the original 'helpers,' and sometimes denotes a certain nobility of one's lineage.

In modern times, the word has also been used by religious fundamentalist groups seeking to revive the notion of a special select group of 'helpers' upholding the Muslim faith against unbelievers, by force if necessary.




ASVAKA

Asvaka is a Sanskrit term for nomadic horse-riders, who lived in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Iron Age. Alexander the Great encountered them during his campaign in India in 327 BC, and they fought against him very fiercely.

Among the people of India, the inhabitants of this region had a reputation for breeding excellent war horses. This practice bore fruit for the Kushan peoples during the rise of their empire in the first centuries AD, providing them with powerful and highly mobile cavalry.



AUCAKPUSSAK

The aucukpussak were the elite guard of the Inca army, including the strongest combat units and the personal bodyguard of high-status Inca personages.

The Inca practiced conscription, but the elites were drawn mainly from the area immediately around the imperial capital at Cuzco. Thus, they formed a special, highly reliable force that could be trusted to protect the person of the sacred Inca emperor, or to put down rebellions by other, outlying tribes.



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On another note I can't even FIND any clear references to 'Aaivu' or 'Amayxoxo.' Not in the sense that I can't find detailed military histories- but in that I can't even find out an unambiguous statement of what the words are supposed to mean. So I can't really do anything for those.

 

[Xyth]

I think these are the last of the new resources...

Only one lacking an entry now is Shellfish, though some of the BTS entries are pretty pathetic (e.g. Pig) and should probably be improved at some point. Low priority though.

On another note I can't even FIND any clear references to 'Aaivu' or 'Amayxoxo.' Not in the sense that I can't find detailed military histories- but in that I can't even find out an unambiguous statement of what the words are supposed to mean. So I can't really do anything for those.

This wikipedia page has a lot of info about the Chola Navy. Should be a good place to start for both the Aaivu and the Dharani.

The Amayxoyo were Caddo warriors, the Caddo being one of the peoples descended from the Mississippians. I couldn't find very much about them at all. For civs like the Mississippians, making use of vague references like this is the best I can do.

 

[SOV]

HI, a potential civilopedia entry with more info on the Mississippian archers:

Amayxoyo

The Amayxoyo were Caddo warriors renown for their bowyery. Archaeological records of Caddo bowyery start around 1000 A.D. with longbows crafted using Osange orange wood (Maclura pomifera), a tree that grows exclusevly in southeastern US. The wood of this tree is renown for being among the best for making longbows, claimed to be second only to the wood of the English yew.

Testimony of Mississippian warfare was left by the Hernando de Soto expedition which fought the Mississippian in one of the bloodiest battles involving Native americans in the US.

After an attempt to kidnap a Mississippian chief Tuskaloosa failed, Spanish and Mississippian forces met at the battle of Mabila,on October 18, 1540. Where 600 Spaniards sought to take the heavily defended village of Mabila, situated on a plain and with a wooden palisade encircling it, with bastions every so often for archers to shoot their longbows.

After 9 hours of battle the Spaniards finally captured the village killing over 2500 of its inhabitants. The Spanish suffered over 200 Casualties (dead or wounded). The Spanish witnesses recognized the defenders fought ferociously, and it is remarkable that the Mississippians were able to inflict such heavy casualties, despite the Spaniards having huge technological advantages such as metal armor, horsemanship and gunpowder.


Feel free to edit it. I Hope it works. I will be glad to collaborate with other Civilopedia entries if just let me know which ones are you working on in order to not duplicate efforts.