Re: Horses, Zeps, Hackle, and Fanfic

From: Ed Rudnicki <erudnick_at_pica.army.mil>
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 96 20:26:33 EDT

>>This could be true, but it would then imply that the development of
>>Kat civilization was substantially different from hours. Without the
>>"horsepower" available from beasts of burden it's difficult to make
>>the transition from a simple agrarian culture to higher
>>civilization.
>
>There were almost no beasts of burden in the new world, yet when the
>Spaniards arrived in Mexico there were no cities anywhere in Europe nearly
>the size of Tenochtitlan. That's especailly impressive considering the bad
>site. The Aztecs only used humans and dogs for transporting goods and
>still managed to build a vast trade network. There were many other New
>World civilizations that accomplished even more.

Um, this rather proves my point. Assuming both sides of the Atlantic
started out at the same point, going from hunter/gatherer to
agrarian, look which side was more technologically advanced when
they actually met. How far back do those New World Cities go?
European and Asian construction goes back thousands of years, and I
suspect the Great Wall predates the Aztecs.


>>For that matter, did the Kats ever have an agrarian culture? Humans
>>went from hunter/gatherer to agriculture and to civilization from
>>there, but humans are omnivores, relying on vegetable sources of
>>food as much, if not more, than animal. Kats, OTOH, are predators.
>>Could there be vegetarian Kats? In "Alien Nation" the Newcomers ate
>>raw meat, but some small number were vegetarians.
>
>RL cats get taurine deficiencies of they don't eat meat. Should this apply
>to kats too? Jake and Chance do eat some plant material as spices (hot
>peppers) like RL cats sometimes do (catnip & kiwi vines). Dairy products
>are cool too. I don't recall any fast food in Megacat City. Was there
>anything?

The Kats seem to be advanced enough that dietary supplements could
be provided for those who opted for the veggie diet. I seem to
recall a similar situation with humans, albeit with a different
nutrient, one which is difficult to get with a vegan diet.


>Cooperative hunting packs (like lions) would make sense for early kats.
>They might change to a herding culture taking care of their own food
>sources and finally to settled urban populations.

Good point! Social cats would be a logical evolutionary staring
point.





Ed

Received on Wed Apr 24 1996 - 20:58:13 PDT