Lannachska Diomedeans, like Ythrians, are:
"...primarily hunters..." (p. 56)
- living in almost independent groups over a wide area with:
few craftsmen;
everyone able to make his own tools;
exerting themselves spasmodically when hunting;
but not needing to toil all day;
no economic need for bosses or overseers;
small matrilineal clans;
the Flock mainly necessary for survival during migration or war.
However, migration limits population and selects for pro-survival qualities:
storm
exhaustion
sickness
barbarians
wild animals
cold
famine
Extreme seasonal changes necessitate migration which has become linked to procreation.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Iow, the Flock/migratory way of life on Diomedes comes with very seriously limiting costs and tradeoffs.
Happy New Year! Sean
Yes, the Drak'ho have avoided the limits -- while paying the price humans did for advancing beyond hunter-gatherer economies.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Exactly, there's always going to be costs and trade-offs springing from the choices or directions taken by societies and nations.
Happy New Year! Sean
Hierarchical civilizations can concentrate power more effectively than decentralized ones. That's why we live in a world dominated by hierarchy.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And I see no reason for such hierarchical civilizations not to continue to be more effective/successful than something as decentralized as the old Icelandic Commonwealth. As we know it collapsed into the anarchy of the Sturlung Age as rival clans and factions fought each other for power. It ended with the Norwegian kingdom annexing Iceland.
"Peace, ye underlings!" as Manual Argos might say.
Ad astra! Sean
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