Katie88
Warlord
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2017
- Messages
- 276
I'm a student of history. One of the things that made me fall in love with history is the way it is written. I also love Civ IV, and C2C in particular, so I thought it would be a nice idea to write up a C2C game as if it were in a history book. This means that, like history itself, my story will be rather vague and cautious at the start, gaining certainty and precision as time progresses, especially after the development of writing.
I hope that people enjoy it.
A few notes on the game.
I'm playing on a giant map, at immortal difficulty with 10 opponents. Barbarian civs may emerge as the game progresses.
To make things more interesting I've set myself a few rules.
The Early Prehistoric
It is not known precisely when the people who came to be known as the Malians settled in what would become their homeland, but we do know that there is evidence of human habitation from at least around 200,000 BC. It will be well to begin with a brief description of the physical environment that these first inhabitants encountered.
The region around modern Timbuktu was heavily wooded, with mixed deciduous forest and some bamboo, save for an area immediately to the north that was covered with lush grassland, which provided and still provides pasture for herds of bison.
The region is enclosed by the sea to the east, save for a small peninsular, to the north east and to the south. The former two are quite narrow and the opposite shores can be reached in small boats. To the south east it is possible, on a clear day, to glimpse the Sugarloaf Mountain on the opposite coast; while to the south west lies the open sea.
To the west the forest thins out into savannah before reaching the Manding Mountains, which were impassable to ancient man. The region is bisected by several small rivers.
To the north west the terrain is hilly and forested before one reaches the Adrar des Ifoghas, impassable in parts but traversable at several points; there is also an extensive area of taiga, some wooded, with a rainwater basin. On the northern side of these mountains rainfall is much lower, and grassland gives way to plains. Despite enjoying less precipitation, the region is fertile, and barely, rice, hemp and opium grow plentifully.
Many animals are native to the region, including such predators as the brown bear and the cave lion, now extinct, which must have posed a considerable threat to the primitive humans there. Other creatures, such as deer, buffalo and smaller prey such as rabbits, however, afforded these people an excellent source of game, and mufflon could also be found in abundance.
We now turn to their to lives of the prehistoric people. They lived in small groups, perhaps numbering around 50. They ate a variety of grains, mushrooms and fruits gathered from nearby. They also supplemented their diet with shellfish and seaweed gathered from tidepools, but the sea provided only a small portion of their sustenance until the development of more advanced techniques for fishing. Most of their protein came from scavenged and later hunted animals. These animals would be eaten raw, until around 40,000 BC, when evidence of cooking emerges.
Hunting was carried out in small bands, at first armed with just wooden sticks and clubs, then later with stone weapons; trapping was also practised. Diverse techniques were developed and perfected over millennia until one can speak of hunting tactics, with a veritable arsenal of weapons used to snare all kinds of fauna.
The people lived at first in the open, sheltering as best they could from the elements; later caves, tree hollows and even animal burrows came to occupied by men. Humans gradually learnt to build their own shelters, both to house themselves and for other activities, but permanent structures and settlements were still a very long way off. People moved between areas as needed; when resources became scarce in one, they would move to another.
Their tools evolved in various stages. Originally, man used his own limbs or whatever was close at hand. Then, in one of the most important breakthroughs ever, which truly set him apart from beasts, he learnt to make tools, first of stone, this work becoming ever more sophisticated as time went by – a fascinating story that we shall not tell here due to a lack of space – then of wood, and other materials.
We know little of their social organization, but it must have been anarchic and perhaps egalitarian, for there would not have been the economic differentiation that gives rise to rulers nor indeed any need for it at this stage of development. It is believed that a system of seniority obtained, and we may imagine a council of elders who made important decisions for each group. Discoveries by archaeologists have shown that humans with injuries often survived for some years; thus we may assume that the elderly and infirm were cared for. It is not clear how roles were divided by gender, but we may presume that a limit division of labour existed.
What then of their spiritual life? It is clearly very difficult to reconstruct any detailed picture, but a few observations may be made. Man's spiritual life revolved around natural phenomena: the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, trees and plants. Animals too played an important part, and we have evidence of cultic practices involving diverse species, including the badger, lizard, viper and red fox; the eagle and the rhinoceros appear to have had especial significance. Human remains were disposed of haphazardly, and it is only much later that we may speak of ceremonial burial.
I hope that people enjoy it.
A few notes on the game.
I'm playing on a giant map, at immortal difficulty with 10 opponents. Barbarian civs may emerge as the game progresses.
To make things more interesting I've set myself a few rules.
- I must always at least break even, except where this is impossible.
- I cannot found a new city unless I am at 100% science (or espionage, culture, etc.) and at least breaking even.
- Outside of the prehistoric era, I must research every technology on each line before proceeding to the next.
The Early Prehistoric
It is not known precisely when the people who came to be known as the Malians settled in what would become their homeland, but we do know that there is evidence of human habitation from at least around 200,000 BC. It will be well to begin with a brief description of the physical environment that these first inhabitants encountered.
The region around modern Timbuktu was heavily wooded, with mixed deciduous forest and some bamboo, save for an area immediately to the north that was covered with lush grassland, which provided and still provides pasture for herds of bison.
The region is enclosed by the sea to the east, save for a small peninsular, to the north east and to the south. The former two are quite narrow and the opposite shores can be reached in small boats. To the south east it is possible, on a clear day, to glimpse the Sugarloaf Mountain on the opposite coast; while to the south west lies the open sea.
To the west the forest thins out into savannah before reaching the Manding Mountains, which were impassable to ancient man. The region is bisected by several small rivers.
To the north west the terrain is hilly and forested before one reaches the Adrar des Ifoghas, impassable in parts but traversable at several points; there is also an extensive area of taiga, some wooded, with a rainwater basin. On the northern side of these mountains rainfall is much lower, and grassland gives way to plains. Despite enjoying less precipitation, the region is fertile, and barely, rice, hemp and opium grow plentifully.
Many animals are native to the region, including such predators as the brown bear and the cave lion, now extinct, which must have posed a considerable threat to the primitive humans there. Other creatures, such as deer, buffalo and smaller prey such as rabbits, however, afforded these people an excellent source of game, and mufflon could also be found in abundance.
We now turn to their to lives of the prehistoric people. They lived in small groups, perhaps numbering around 50. They ate a variety of grains, mushrooms and fruits gathered from nearby. They also supplemented their diet with shellfish and seaweed gathered from tidepools, but the sea provided only a small portion of their sustenance until the development of more advanced techniques for fishing. Most of their protein came from scavenged and later hunted animals. These animals would be eaten raw, until around 40,000 BC, when evidence of cooking emerges.
Hunting was carried out in small bands, at first armed with just wooden sticks and clubs, then later with stone weapons; trapping was also practised. Diverse techniques were developed and perfected over millennia until one can speak of hunting tactics, with a veritable arsenal of weapons used to snare all kinds of fauna.
The people lived at first in the open, sheltering as best they could from the elements; later caves, tree hollows and even animal burrows came to occupied by men. Humans gradually learnt to build their own shelters, both to house themselves and for other activities, but permanent structures and settlements were still a very long way off. People moved between areas as needed; when resources became scarce in one, they would move to another.
Their tools evolved in various stages. Originally, man used his own limbs or whatever was close at hand. Then, in one of the most important breakthroughs ever, which truly set him apart from beasts, he learnt to make tools, first of stone, this work becoming ever more sophisticated as time went by – a fascinating story that we shall not tell here due to a lack of space – then of wood, and other materials.
We know little of their social organization, but it must have been anarchic and perhaps egalitarian, for there would not have been the economic differentiation that gives rise to rulers nor indeed any need for it at this stage of development. It is believed that a system of seniority obtained, and we may imagine a council of elders who made important decisions for each group. Discoveries by archaeologists have shown that humans with injuries often survived for some years; thus we may assume that the elderly and infirm were cared for. It is not clear how roles were divided by gender, but we may presume that a limit division of labour existed.
What then of their spiritual life? It is clearly very difficult to reconstruct any detailed picture, but a few observations may be made. Man's spiritual life revolved around natural phenomena: the sun, the moon, the stars, the rivers, trees and plants. Animals too played an important part, and we have evidence of cultic practices involving diverse species, including the badger, lizard, viper and red fox; the eagle and the rhinoceros appear to have had especial significance. Human remains were disposed of haphazardly, and it is only much later that we may speak of ceremonial burial.
