World of Thersis

[Naima]

Hello , Here I wanted to start a new thread on an older project of mine I decided to renew a bit.

I wanted so to refine a bit the shape of parts of the continents to give a a more interesting look and shapes.
All the continents have been made according to tectonic plates and continental shelves as can be seen in the older WIP thread here.

So here is a new Physical map of Thersis.


For naming I am following a sort of mix of names taken from ancient cultures and languages with a bit of changes ...

For example Thersis comes from the Indoeuropean word for Earth wich is Tersa.

Then here a list of some of the names I am using or deriving from to kind of remind an ethymology.

Ersetia(ersetu Sumerian)
Pacua ( Pacha inca terra)
Sachea
Hawaki ( terra origine hawai)
Thule ( Ancient mythical land )
Vardia( Vardar greek wind)
Citeria
Ulteria
Akakor
Aztlan ( Ancient mythical Aztec land )
Ophir ( Ancient mythical region from Bible )
Meropis( Greek atlantis parody)
Anostos ( non return greek)
Hyperia ( beyond greek)
Vaniria (Vanir )
Erdea (Erde german for Earth)
Kumbaba
Wana(terra sanskrit )
Paititi ( lost land Inca)
Auraea ( Emilio Salgari )
Chereseto ( Emilio Salgari )
Venatoria( hunting latin)
Mania ( of the man)
Thersis ( Tersa Indoeuropean)
udadhea(udadhí sea Sanskrit)
Borealia( Borea north wind)
Suchandra (Tibetan king of Shambala)
Devendra (Tibetan king of Shambala)
Al kebu lan(Ancient name of africa)
Afaria ( Afar dust Phoenician)
Arborea( land of trees latin )
Cemanahuac( Aztec name of land surrounded by water)
Zipacna ( Mayan for crocotile earth crust )
Dunia ( Swhaili for Earth )
Shamba (land for swhaili )
Indra ( Hindu deity )
Geb ( Ancient Egypt for world )
Zep Tepi ( Ancient Egypt of First time )
Aker ( Ancient Egypt for Horizon)
Vatha ( Sanskrit for Wind )
EKwos ( Indoeuropean for Horse )
Erwā ( Indoeuropean for land )
Seres ( latin name for Chinese )


So I plan to use ancient languages to label place names and give both times an exotic sound and an more realistic meaning to the places by making compositions like for example Hima in Sanskrit means snow , laya , home , Hima laya means so snow home or dwelling .... I plan to make similar compositions.


I would be happy to receive comments, opinions, sugestions about the map , the naming system , the labeling way and everything else that might help make me the map more realistic and interesting ...
I also latinized a bit the toponimy to make a sort of latin world view of the world with latinization of the names.

Es Aztlan is the mythical land of the ancient Aztecs is Latinized as Aztlantia.

Thankyou all for attention.

Here the WIP map .

The map was 21k x 10 k so I had to reduce to 16kx8k and the one showed in this page is reduced even more .... to see it larger follow the upper link.




Large Map.

[LordCartoart]

Very cool. I notice the shape is somewhat inspired by Earth.

It isn't that obvious though. Especially when you put the Americas the right rather than the left.

I always like to look for origins, so mind me picking your map apart (of course assuming I'm right about my speculation). It is a very cool map. Look forward to seeing more!

[Naima]

Very cool. I notice the shape is somewhat inspired by Earth.

It isn't that obvious though. Especially when you put the Americas the right rather than the left.

I always like to look for origins, so mind me picking your map apart (of course assuming I'm right about my speculation). It is a very cool map. Look forward to seeing more!

Thankyou Yes please pick it apart. My intention was to make a similar to earth Planet and piace some cultures to imagine how physical barriers could evolve them.

[The_Sleeping_Dragon]

It is stunning but I do have some suggestions

I am not sure how far back you want to go: the first evidence of mankind developing a creation story is in Hawaii c1800BC but a belief in God and magic dates from around 12000BC. Imagery as words dates from c38000 years ago (the oldest cave drawings in Turkey) but the written word is probably c 3100BC in Mesopotamia (Iran) with a 200 year gap due to the flood c2400BC whilst the first written word in America is c300BC. The first cosmology was recorded c1400BC

Neanderthal man and one other species of hominid lived alongside homo sapiens right up to c8000BC with interbreeding seeing all three species merge - again not sure of you wish to go back so far

All of this suggests you need to include Turkish, Armenian, Persian/Iranian, Kurdish, Gallic French, Moroccan and Egyptian names into your world, reduce the size of the Himalayas as they were originally smaller than the Caucasus and Atlas Mountains, create a much larger eastern continent with key features of the Middle Sea, Black Sea, Caucasus, Atlas and Massif, the two rivers and the Nile with the Sinai desert representing the barrier that would see the exodus from Africa to Europe delayed until 50000BC with many believed not to have made it across the desert during that exodus

However you say you wish to update the continents and refer to tectonic movement. The main impact on our continental shape was not tectonic movement. A comet struck the Earth in 12000BC causing everything under 200feet to be under water for c200 years, wiping out most species and requiring mankind to domesticate animals to avoid their extinction changing the culture from one of hunting (cave drawings) to one of husbandry, beginning the first societies, representing the beginning of mores, law, religion, language. A second flood c8000BC would create Sweden, Norway, Denmark, North coast of Russia as far as Finland, France and Britain as we know them but was caused by an ice shelf collapse and the resulting wave went mainly west to create the east coast of America. It would have had a dramatic effect on life and saw ancient camps built on hill tops eg the founding of Rome. The next major event was caused by 'Global warming': the Gulf stream shifted reducing the ice pack and causing the River Po to rise wiping out all of the cities in Sumer requiring the people of UR to move to the Zagros and briefly seeing no written word. We cant be certain of the theory of Global warming but the reduction in the ice pack seems to be similar to that we have seen over the last 38 years (11inches down to 4) with climate change in the north of Europe and especially Scandinavia where many ffyords remained open during winter. Climate change, both ice ages where the last one is thought to have been c 12000BC as the after effect of the comet strike (which would have thrown up a cloud of dust similar to thee effect of nuclear winter) and then the warming effect of the move north of the Gulf stream suddenly creating a mild climate in north Europe but also leading to the rise of rivers in southern Europe and the Mediterranean seeing the end of all cities ie civilisation for 200 years.

However have you considered testing our evolution in a very different environment? You could shape your world by its tectonic movement and create a world orientated differently with a different cosmology and land masses affected by both tactic activity out of control and an impending terminal event then test mankind's cultural reaction to this. You have the option of creating a fantasy response which I touch on later

Depending on how great the tectonic activity is you could go completely original and have tectonic activity gradually destroying your world perhaps with c1000 years to go before all land and sea is destroyed. This sets a helpful time limit on any fantasy/RPG, and as land gradually reduces it explains why the chaos of a fantasy game might emerge as people fight for land. You can explain magic as the evolution of the human species in response to the need to survive (mainly psionics), also evolving into sub species of dwarves, elves, Orcs etc

You could start by re-orientating to have a west and east pole which immediately removes any semblance to Earth

Your land masses that survive would be mountainous at their western edge whilst the rise of sea levels due to the melting of your western pole would see small peninsula like land masses in response to tectonic activity. The gravity of an approaching asteroid which will destroy your planet in c1000 years time will see your land masses stretched to become like fingers. The left hand of your world becomes a mass of volcanoes and mountains with shallow seas of hot bubbling water

You might then want to create a different cosmology and consider several Moons rather than the two the Earth has, even have moons within your atmosphere with great pathways between them and capable of being approached by long stairways provided someone can use their psionic ability to morph an atmosphere, the spell of breathe under water or are an Elf, Orc or dwarf as the air would be much thinner

Sorry this is all a bit random but key is that either you reflect the development of culture from the largest land mass which is Africa or perhaps test cultural evolution under different circumstances of a world with tectonic activity out of control and facing an impending terminal event

Best wishes

Sleeping Dragon

First map shows true land masses
Second is one of the earliest known maps

[The_Sleeping_Dragon]

Dear Naima

For some reason I was not allowed to edit my post

I wanted to add the cultural development of Earth

Starting with the Americas we see the first colonisation from Asia by hominids interbred with homo sapiens who crossed the land masses of Asia, Australia and through a land bridge into S America c12000Bc probably a migration caused by the impact of the comet strike. A second movement would see Mongoloids again part hominid migrate from Siberia across a land bridge into Alaska then down to Canada and N America. MesoAmerican culture was the first recorded in Central America c7000BC and seems to have seen interbreeding between Monghul and Asian tribes - we see the same move from hunter to husbandry as in Europe and follows the 8000BC flood. Olmecs were the first society to develop c1500BC after a formative period of tribal development over c4500-5500 years which saw language, art, sport, religion, science, architecture and technology develop. Mayan development was from 2000BC approx. to 500BC during which they moved from tribal to the establishment of their first cities c750BC.

Meanwhile Chinese culture arose with the Xia and Shang c 2500BC whilst the IndoAryans arrive in northern India and settle before migrating to Europe c 1700BC. The Phoenicians spread culture across the Mediterranean basin from c1400-1200BC, then there are various movements as different peoples move east to west across Europe eg Greeks, Romans, Persians, Israelites, Islam, Monghuls and three major invasions/conquests going east: Heroditus, Alexander and Islamic empire

If you want to cover later periods then we have post Columbus America or post Cook Australia linked to the development of the British Empire, as well as African kingdoms and empires

The history of Africa begins with the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa c70000BC see Toba catastrophe theory
The first recorded Kingdom of Kush was as late as after the 25th dynasty of Egypt

Egypt was the first culture to develop a way of capturing and recording their laws and history. Egypt's prehistory was c6000BC and the Pharaonic period began c3150BC

Ciao

[The_Sleeping_Dragon]

Ooops, mossed the Aztecs and S America and native Indians in N America
Aztecs came into the region of Central America from S America c13th C AD
N American had a paleolithic settlement in Yukon and Alaska (from Mongolia)which migrated either post the ice shelf flood or the brief ice age that is thought to have caused the shift of the Gulf stream c3500BC. Societies began to develop mound building similar to those built by Neolitholic cultures in Europe but much earlier ie Europe's first mounds date to c2500BC. The mound building however developed faster in Europe with its spreading across Britain and France and coinciding with the same culture as the builders of stone circles c2500-1500BC. In N America we see the Mississipi basic develop mounds from 3500BC with evidence of social expansion from 1500-250BC and writing c300C, The first culture was the Pueblo c1200BC, the Freemont c1AD and Hohokam c1AD in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Nevada.

You also have the woodland period- those cultures that were neither hunters nor into husbandry and was from c1000BC to c1500AD: it saw mound building and trade of exotic goods as well as complex burial practises. Pottery was observed from 1000BC to 700AD and suggest these cultures traded to obtain food and clothing materials etc rather than farm or hunt themselves
They also captured shellfish off beaches on the eastern coastline and may have fished the Ohio river being settled mainly in the east especially in Ohio and Illinois.

Attachment 96402

[The_Sleeping_Dragon]

Finally S America and my apologies for multiple posts but I get timed out due to my disability which limits me to typing with the middle finger on left hand having been right handed for most of my life

Inca Empire in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia
Cambeda in Brazil
Muisca Confederation also in Columbia
Cueva in Panama
Diquis in Costa Rica
from c1500 BC (1476BC) to 1534AD
Preceramic sees 6 Periods from c12000BC to 1500BC
Post Late Horizon ie the Inca period, sees 5 other Periods with the earliest being called the Early Period:
Ecuador: Cotocollao; Machalilla; Peru: Early Chiripa, Kotosh, Chavín Toríl (The Cumbe Mayo aqueduct was built c. 1000 BC), Argentina: Tehuelches (c1820BC)

Hope that helps

[ThomasR]

That thread instantly became a goldmine ! Especially for people like me interested in earth (geography for my part) in ancient times.

[Mouse]

Tony - if you tick the 'remember me' box next time you log in you won't get timed out

[The_Sleeping_Dragon]

Dear ThomasR
if you have any threads going on developments and would welcome more info on Earth's cultural development, languages, archaeology, ecology and the evolution of mankind plus the geography of Earth please point me to those threads you have started. I am new to this forum so am still trying to navigate around
Naima is an absolute star and (I think from the Venetian mask which was from the Carnivale in 2011) her idea is fascinating and her posts have always been inspiring from the few I have had the pleasure of reading
Best wishes

The Sleeping Dragon