Originalia

Originalia is one of the world's eight continents consisting of mainland Originalia and the neighboring islands. Originalia, particularly central Originalia, is widely accepted as the origin of humans. Around the time of humanity's rise, Originalia was undergoing desertification.

~9500 Years After the development of Agriculture
Áranḍaxív Early Bronze Age

Encompassing:

Material culture:

Society/Politics:

Diet:

Œkhii Early Bronze Age

Encompassing:

Material culture:

Society/Politics:

Diet:

Xáṣvaqêm Early Bronze Age

Encompassing: Hǽynigoṣ, Kòṇdu, Myèrnikèm, Qhápgoṣ, Zaghāj

Material culture: Xáṣvaqêm houses are commonly built of fired mud bricks and wood obtained from cedar forests that grow in the mountains while more affluent housing incorporates gypsum plaster. Less affluent areas have smaller homes which are built using mud bricks of poorer quality. Gold and silver are much desired precious metals that are imported from the other side of the eastern mountain range. Both are difficult to obtain due to the high cost of importing it from the other side of the mountain range. Ivory obtained from hunting elephants is the main luxury of the Xáṣvaqêm and is used to make artworks and religious idolatry. Pottery is produced using potter's wheels, usually painted with different bands of color which represents the surrounding landscape. Pottery is commonly used as storage vessels for honey, milk, water, and wine. Irrigation canals are commonly utilized for farming, though other cities don't use them in areas where rivers are not present. Cities are centered around marketplaces where trade goods from other cities are imported and traded. Linen makes up a large portion of clothing used daily in the cities.

Society/Politics: Each city is independent from each other, each having their own king. There are social castes, none are linked by economic status. Priests and priestess make up much of the literate in cities. Female priests are responsible for performing elaborate rituals to the gods, and are recruited from the highest ranking families. Male priests are responsible for sacrifices and managing temples on the behalf of the gods. Merchants use cattle caravans to ship in valuable goods such as gold and silver from the Áranḍaxív. Warriors use bronze-tipped spears, and round, leopard hide, shields in battle. The bow and arrow is starting to become popular among the warriors. Each city has a patron god or goddess that is worshiped at temples or shrines. Ġabtís, the god of creation, is worshiped in every city. Amaqêm, the goddess of nature, is the patron of farmers, who pray to her for plentiful harvests.

Diet: Barley is commonly consumed in the form of alcoholic beverages, bread, and in a cooked state. Bitter vetches are used as animal feed for cattle, goats, and sheep. Cheese produced from milk is popular among the Xáṣvaqêm, especially sheep cheese. Flax is consumed as dried seeds, but is more commonly used to produce linen cloth. Grapes are fermented to produce wine at primitive wineries and are stored in clay, ceramic jars for later consumption. Milk from cattle, goats, and sheep is sweetened with honey and is consumed as a sweet beverage. Meat from animals is cooked in hearths and is a secondary source of food for most city inhabitants. Animals that are commonly hunted are aurochs, elephants, and wild goats. Wheat is the most commonly grown cultivar consumed by the Xáṣvaqêm and is consumed in numerous forms by commoners, craftsmen, and laborers alike. Watermelons are a favorite among the more affluent citizens.

Notes:

Some of the hunter-gatherer bands of the eastern part of the north-central steppes of Central Originalia exist in familial groups of 10-20, each band following their own herd of elephants. They don't follow the great beasts to hunt them, but they seem to exist in an almost symbiotic relationship with them. The elephants provide the humans with protection from hyenas and lions, as well as leading them to plentiful food and water sources, while the humans ensure that no member of the herd is taken by the aforementioned predators who have become more bold in this cold period, using their stone axes and slings to fend off would-be predators. As a result of their lifestyle, these "Elephant men" are primarily vegetarian, but have been known to hunt and eat mouflon, ravens, and sometimes the predators they kill while protecting their herd.

Climate
[[File:originalia_biome.png|frame|Biomes of Originalia:

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Southern Originalia
Domestic Animals

Cultivatable Flora
 * Bearberries
 * Labrador Tea

Other Animals
 * Snow leopards
 * Tigers

Aquatic Fauna
 * Albatross
 * Harbor seals
 * Right whales

Other Flora
 * European larches
 * Norway spruces
 * Serbian spruces

Eastern Originalia
Domestic Animals
 * African wildcats
 * Aurochs
 * Bantengs
 * Gaurs
 * Honey bees

Cultivable Flora
 * Almonds
 * Barley
 * Cherries
 * Cotton
 * Flax
 * Garlic
 * Grapes
 * Mastic
 * Mustard
 * Olives
 * Palm oil
 * Plums
 * Wheat

Other Animals
 * Asian elephants
 * Barbary macaques
 * Barbary sheep
 * Caracals
 * Cheetahs
 * Dholes
 * Gray wolves
 * Indian cobras
 * Indian peafowls
 * Leopards
 * Lions
 * Nubian ibexes
 * Ospreys
 * Small Indian civets
 * Striped hyenas
 * Tigers

Aquatic Animals
 * Albatrosses
 * Bull sharks

Other Flora
 * Aleppo pines
 * Algerian firs
 * Atlas cedars
 * Cilicia firs
 * Cork oaks
 * Cyprus cedars
 * Drosophyllum
 * Holm oaks
 * Lebanon cedars
 * Mediterranean dwarf palms
 * Spanish firs
 * Spurge olives
 * Stone pines
 * Turkish pines

Central Originalia
Domestic Animals
 * African wildcats
 * Aurochs
 * Mouflons
 * Wild goats

Cultivatable Flora
 * Barley
 * Dates
 * Flax
 * Garlic
 * Lentils
 * Olives
 * Sesame
 * Sorghum
 * Watermelons
 * Wheat

Aquatic Animals
 * Bull Sharks
 * Nile crocodiles

Other Animals
 * Aardwolves
 * African buffaloes
 * African bush elephants
 * African wild dogs
 * Bat-eared foxes
 * Black wildebeests
 * Blue wildebeests
 * Bonteboks
 * Caracals
 * Cheetahs
 * Giraffes
 * Leopards
 * Lions
 * Sivatherium
 * Spotted hyenas
 * Striped hyenas

Other Flora
 * Protea
 * Leucadendron
 * Birch
 * Palm Trees
 * Holm Oak
 * Buckthorn
 * Spurge Olive

Far Western Originalia
Domestic Animals
 * Aurochs
 * Mouflons

Cultivable Flora
 * Wheat
 * Barley
 * Rye
 * Hemp
 * Breadfruit
 * Onion
 * Asparagus
 * Taro

Other Animals
 * African civets
 * Caracals
 * Deinotherium

Aquatic Fauna
 * River dolphin
 * Costero
 * Right Whale
 * Pygmy Right Whale
 * Bull Shark
 * Albatross

Other Flora
 * Acer triflorum
 * Hydrangeas
 * Daimyo Oak
 * Ailanthus altissima
 * Cathaya
 * Dawn redwood
 * Birch
 * Spurge Olive