The site has moved !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greetings. The site has moved to a more workable place. Apologies for the inconvenience. Please click on this link for the new site.  Thank you for your interest, and I hope you enjoy the new site. 
http://brinaworldbuilder.wordpress.com/

Construction

If you visit no and then you will notice some changes. I am in the process of reorganizing things a bit. Over in the right column I will try to put if there has been a new post under one of the tabs.

On Words...

Words. Words can be the most powerful thing in any culture. They are often remembered by any number of means; songs, poems, and/or stories passed down memorized by one to another never written down changing ever so slightly though the ages, then there was the written word. First used on murals, tablets or papyrus scrolls. Then coaxed by many other forms; pen and ink , but most recently by keys with little painted letters on them appearing on a piece of glass, and later on paper.

Each one carries an individual or conglomerated idea coalescing in a higher concept almost inarguably one of the most powerful things in the universe. Ideas can travel like light. Falling through cracks, passing around walls, destroying darkness, and engaging the minds of any who understand them.

A word of caution. Spoken words may be forgotten, twisted, and manipulated to the best interests of others, yet the same can be said of the written word. It is much harder for it remains visible for interpretation and immortalization. Take care what you write, read your own words and weigh what it is you truly mean. For generations may read or hear what you so idly think is righteous or musical.

When you speak of others or use a story to make implications take care that you mean what you say and say what you mean. For it may change the mind of a “fence sitter” or a doubter changing them forever to one side or the other.  I say this not because of something that I have written or intend to write, but because I have seen the written word invoke the strongest of emotions and bring both promise of utopia and rivers of blood. Some of these things were written when the written word was but in its infancy, and those using it may have been ignorant of its intoxicating effects through the ages.

I have heard the phrase “Think before you speak.” I say think before you write, it is just as important. 

Walkabout Publishing: STALKING THE WILD HARE

Walkabout Publishing: STALKING THE WILD HARE

There are so many things to say, and I still don't quite know what to say. Except one thing. ALL the stories here are so very awesome. If you don't read it for mine please read it for theirs. 
Jean Rabe, Marc Tassin, John Helfers, Chris Pierson, Michael Stackpole, Anton Stout, Kelly Swails, Stephen D. Sullivan, Kerrie Hughes, Steven Saus, Elizabeth A. Vaughan, Tim Waggoner, Linda Baker, Jennifer Brozek, Don Bingle, Dylan Birtolo, Wes Nicholson, Paul Genesse, Daniel Meyers, Brad P. Beaulieu, and Richard Lee Byers.

Technology & Magic

Magic influencing technology is something that is foreign to our world, we have no magic…well none that most people believe in. If we did how would it have changed the technological evolution of our race? The answer-dramatically. Not only would it affect physical technology but everything affected by Wallace’s technology continuum, (1966; Religion: An Anthropological View; ISBN-10: 0394442717). Wallace says that the higher level the technology the more complex the religion. Magic is often tied to religion in some aspect, so this line of thought is not necessarily true. If magic comes from religion, then the religion affects the everyday lives of its believers. Religion then becomes essential to the culture, but it may or may not become more complex than at its inception.

What if magic’s source isn’t from religion but from science? Then the perception of its origin has no bearing on the gods, religion and technology become separate. Do they become advisories? Probably, they are now in our world. Most of the time as long as the science backs the current majority the science is praised, but when it contradicts religion… pardon the expression but all Cain breaks loose. For example, what if the body of Christ was found and by scientific mans proved absolutely beyond a scientific doubt. The rebellion of the Christians against the scientific community would be devastating, and the Jewish community would be moving with just as much force… and there would probably be a war of some kind.


However, if the bodies of the Fianna were found under the hills at Tara? What would be the response? These are holy characters to the old Irish Celtic religion (and many of the old pagan religions of the British Isles), but of no consequence to the five major religions of the world. This still may create a certain level of friction. Science is defined by absolutes but religion is defined by faith, and science only has faith in what it can conceivably prove. Most often religion only finds science useful and kosher as long as the science is in the religion’s best interest. If science, scientifically proved the body of Christ had been found the uproar and devastation would be catastrophic. Denial of the validity of the science by both logic and ‘heresy’ would occur from a variety of sources. Just as if science found undisputable proof contradicting any religion.


How would magic affect technology? What if electricity wasn’t required, or gas, or water to power anything? No need for all those environmentalists… or their jobs or sciences. Botany would just be the study of plants and wouldn’t include how the deforestation affects the planet, but would include it’s interaction with life on the planet. It might be divided into the study of magical and non-magical plants. Same instance for zoologists, geologists and the others. Elevators wouldn’t exist you’d just float up to a place or take the stairs, maybe you would just teleport. Planes, trains and automobiles…also most likely wouldn’t have been invented. Necessity is the mother of invention, remember it, its true.


Medicine? Magic would heal you. Pens would write as you spoke, or the words might just form on the page. Physical cleaning or repair might not happen either, just speak a few magic words and poof! All clean or fixed. That group of jobs might be held by a select group of magicians, a guild perhaps of ‘craftsman’. If stone was sculpted by magic, why would you need those chisels and hammers? If a deed is done by magic then the physical tool is unnecessary, keep this in mind. If things are held together by magic, why would a culture create nails or screws? Or is there a need for these things by those who can’t access the magic, and if they are who are these people?


Magic, I think, follows one of Newton’s laws most of the time. For every action there is an equal and/or opposite reaction. Magic, or the portrayal of magic, often works like science in this capacity. If you do something with magic there will be a reaction of some kind, most like of equal proportion to whatever you did. If you send the fireball down the hall at the bad guys, instead of firing a gun, bow, or smallest member of the party, it just might blow up the whole hall not only one of the villains. On that note if guns fire magic what need is there for bullets? In fact what need is their within the culture of magicians for physical weapons at all. Those “limited physical items” would be a marker of those less fortunate not to cast magic. Does magic create an upper class of magic users? Making anyone who doesn’t or can’t use magic a lesser person, or are the mages outcast as freaks?


Just remember, magic has laws of operation just like technology’s laws are rooted in the laws of science. Magic is not an excuse for not explaining yourself, and it certainly isn’t ‘poofty solve a problem’ with no explanation of its origin because you went and boxed yourself in.

World-building: Religion

Religion is a funny thing that can, but doesn’t have to, influence EVERYTHING. Most people have no idea how much of a culture is rooted in religion. For instance, our own country came into existence partially because of religious persecution in England. Many of our laws and why they came about are solidly rooted from those religious ideals. That’s one of the major reasons people came here in droves, but it’s also the reason we separate church and state. That sense of equality we always toot about came about because the British outcasts living here all wanted to be free of persecution, the first amendment covers that. Other things in our culture came from the influence of religion. Our love of peace is partly due to the Quaker’s heavy belief in ‘turn the other cheek’.
Another example of a small thing influenced by religion is kosher foods. Why are the Jews not allowed to eat meat mixed with dairy products? It’s rooted in prevention of disease, but to make sure people did it Religious specialists (A.K.A. priests) and their leaders made it a religious law. The Islamic practice of woman only showing their hands and face is directly from their religious laws called the Sharia. Why don’t the Hindus eat beef? Cattle are holy creatures in some places their slaughter and consumption is forbidden. Religion can affect anything. Keep that in mind when you make one.
All faiths have certain commonalities such as; Prayer taboos, and who can and can’t be a priest/priestess. There are more, but I recommend seeing Anthony Wallace (1966; Religion: An Anthropological View; ISBN-10: 0394442717) for the full list. About his list though, you don’t have to include all of them in fact you shouldn’t. You should, however, include some way of communication between mortals and the gods. It’s the one essential thing in my opinion though a lack of it is an interesting problem in of itself. Religion covers those things which we as mortals cannot define; how the world was created, who controls those things beyond our reach, and why those things are the way they are. The more science that enters a culture to explain the world around them causes one of two things happens. Either the religion becomes more complex or it fades from lack of faith, and both of these things can be dangerous. Possibilities abound from it. Does the religion impress control to decrease its lack of validation, make threats, and/or grasp at anything to create a sense of presence from the god(s)? All these things carry consequences in plot and individual definitions of character.
All faiths have a way of connecting with the gods-what is it? Who are the gods? Are the nature based or aspect based-are they gods of emotion, actions, or things. For instance, Neptune (AKA Poseidon to the Greeks) was god of the sea and horses. Thousands of miles away in Ireland Mannon mac Llyr and or Llyr was god of the sea yet several deities were associated with horses. The sea is a gateway to the underworld for them both. Similar aspects but not, and this can be used to create strife or bring different cultures together. The Romans acculturated many religions to make their own.
Creating gods is part of creating a cosmology. It’s an important question. In answering that question it brings up another. Which I have found is the nature of this thing-creating a cosmology- answer one question and it creates a zillion more. Wherever your god(s) live can a mortal get there? And if the answer is yes then there must be a gateway from the mortal world to the immortal universe. Or do the gods walk among mortals as they do in White Wolf’s Scarred Lands setting. If they do what form do they take? The Greek gods did this often, but they took forms to hide their identity. Do your gods hide their identity from mortals when they visit them? What is their purpose to their followers, and do your followers even know their true purpose?
There are three principles that are agreed upon in the anthropological world for why the gods exist. To explain earthly occurrences such as how nature works; Zeus is the god of thunder and rain his contemporaneous counterpart for the Mesoamericans was Chaac is god of rain. They help define the same thing almost exactly but developed independently, and have some differences and their overall personalities are different. They serve to explain the emotions or desires of humanity such as Aphrodite Greek goddess of love and Bridget goddess of Justice. Giving comfort to those who believe in them , whether they be mortal or not, some gods follow other gods-faith from their own could be essential, possibly by offering an alternative to oblivion at death, reincarnation is a favorite of the Hindus or the Elysian fields for the Romans.
There are a lot of questions that need answers when you create a religion. Here are some of the ones I’ve asked and answered…
~> Who are the religious specialists between the mortals and their gods, what are their powers and limitations, and how do they work?
~>ow do you become a priest? When you create rules for this you MUST obey them, or you better come up with a darned good explanation for breaking the rule…don’t be cheesy and use this as an out for backing yourself in a corner...
~>Where do your gods reside?
~>How do your gods behave?
~>Where is the ‘other world’? How does time pass? How do you get there?
~>Do your gods get along? (immortal strife is one of the best known plots-IE: Yahweh & Lucifer)
~>What and who is considered good and evil?
~>What are the rules and tenants of your religion? What can mortals do to get in trouble with the gods, and what can the gods do to get in trouble with each other?
~>Creation of the world. How was physical world created, and how is it related to the realm of the gods. (See various creation myths to get an idea… there are some more fun than others.)
~>What does the realm of the gods look like? How is it arranged, and are the same laws of physics obeyed there?
~> What do your gods look like? …they don’t have to look the same as their believers or each other.
~>Who follows this religion and how is it practiced. Each aspect of a religion is practiced in a certain way for a REASON. Think this through.
Religion and cosmology go hand in hand and often times when you create one you will find you are also creating the other. Consistency is a must when doing this everything doesn’t have to make scientific sense just don’t violate and rules you create without making an explanation for it. You don’t need reason to have faith. Faith is the act of belief, but spirituality is about bringing faith to live and breathe within and acting on it. Remember faith is just that, faith, and not everything has to make sense to believe. The follower must make the choice to dismiss doubt.

World-building: Mythology

World-building a mythology is an interesting way to come up with something unique, and hold on to a reference that the reader will know and understand. Every culture known in the world has myths. A myth is defined as per Merriam-Webster as: usually a traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the worldview of a culture or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. Many authors have stolen ideas from mythology. J.R.R. Tolkien took many things from the Northern Europeans, and just about every dragon story ever written in modern day has a root within a dragon myth somewhere in the world. Some of these myths become Euhemeristic, and the culture interprets the mythology as an account of historic events and/or persons. A great example of that are the five mythic invasions of Ireland.
Myths have a purpose within cultures. They help define natural phenomenon, humanize the god(s), and teach lessons or a chosen history. They can often contain information vital to survival within a culture, and can strengthen traditions and ties to the gods. Often time myths are tied to the gods in some way, and sometimes become part of a religion or help define it.All of us remember tales that are told to us as children. Some popular tales that could be considered myths of modern day are the Boogieman, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, big foot, and the Lochness monster all of these still came from somewhere else. As a little girl, my grandmother told me that thunder was God bowling with the angels in heaven and he was losing. What was the purpose? It made me feel safe from the thunder and lightning, but if it were two-thousand years ago in Greece I would have been told it was Zeus in the heavens. In Scandinavia I would have been told well into the twelfth century that it was Thor. Every culture has a different explanation for natural events.
Creating a mythology doesn’t have to be extensive just create what you need. Characters within reoccur throughout the mythology of the culture you create. Remember to be consistent it is essential. Consistency in myth will create a basis of fact by which people believe in the world. Don’t forget that just because it isn’t real . . . that doesn’t give you license to not give an explanation. If you don’t feel comfortable making your own, steal it from a culture. There are plenty of myths out there that aren’t common knowledge, use ‘em.Sometimes it just takes stealing part of a myth. The Tuareg of Africa wear a taguelmust, a characteristic turban. It protects them from their environment, but also has a cultural tie. This Saharan people believe leaving their mouths uncovered opens possibility of inhaling evil spirits. The Norse have guardian spirits that are acquired at birth called a Fylgia or Fylgjur, which protects a person or the family, and can be transferred to another family member after death. Often they appear as animals, in dreams, or as females in times of crisis, but not everyone has one. Then you can mix and match, say you have a culture that wears a cloth across their face to protect them from inhaling evil spirits. In this culture there are small groups of people who have guardian spirits called Fylgjur, which give them magical powers. These warriors are sacred and battle evil spirits that live in the world and their identity is determined lineage, sex, maybe a happenstance occurrence that draws the spirit to them, or they could be anyone the spirit chooses. Maybe there is a sacred ritual to see which family member the Fylgjur transfers to.

There are so many conflicts that can arise from that alone to make a story.

Worldbuilding: Temperate Forests

Economics: Temperate forests have a unique perspective of being economically very stable. Inhabitants can use the forests for timber for building, and for construction of other products. The prospects of cultures clearing timber for agriculture or of using internal grasslands adjacent to the temperate forest create lots of potential for agriculture. Forests also have an unusual abundant fauna population. However, the inhabitants would usually hunt that for their own food. It is very easy to upset the balance in a temperate forest. Culling to much in the forest can damage the forest by throwing the predator and prey system off. Too many predator and the predators begin to hunt each other. Not enough predators and the forest dies from too much culling form the herbivores. This could also cause the group to move from place to place within the forest.
Language: Talk of the forest may or may not have influence from other sources. Most likely they would have a heavy influence from traders. Long vowel sounds may be prevalent because they carry better through woodlands. The root of the language here would be extremely important. Many woodland languages evolve from the sounds around them. Keep this in mind when constructing a woodland language.
Kinship and Descent: Travel among woodlands is usually much easier than other ecologies. Rivers, lakes, and grasslands often mingle with temperate forests. Keep in mind if the climate is more warm than cold that travel to find mates will be far further ranged than if it is primarily cold. The perception of the forest is very important here. If the perception of the forest is male the descent may follow patrilineal lines. Vice versa is the forest is perceived as female. The perception of where the power of the forest lies could also challenge this. For example if the forest is perceived and female, but he fauna is considered to be where power lies and is personified in general as male then the linage will be patrilineal. This principle can be arranged in several different combinations.
Organization & Stratification: The motif that the forest is either male or female may repeat itself here. The forest perpetuates a sense of time, particularly old forests. Warm forests are especially perpetual; cold forests seem to be a frozen landscape that can be very mystical when the snow falls through them. In an old enough forest time can seem lost there, so can the immensity of the landscape and the peoples in it. It is very easy for a small creature such as a human to feel small in the grand scheme of things. I think that age would therefore be an asset here rather than a hindrance when dealing with leadership. Leadership therefore would sit with elders, whether male or female in a temperate forest.
Religion & Magick: For religion and magick to not be tied to the forest would go against the very grain of growth within the forest. Magic is often said to flow like a river, grow like a tree, or burn like fire. All of these things can be said of the forest. It needs all these things to grow, water, fire, and the nurturing power of the earth. The forest breathes as a living being and therefore needs air. It is the balance of all things. Religious specialist would also find balance on other ways. Magic within a culture that lives within the forest would demand balance of the caster. Male and female within the magical community would be a growth from that balance. Religious specialists would be of both sexes. The elements make up the forest and it requires all of them. The forest would make up the physical part of their magic as well, yet possibly in places being regarded as holy to the peoples who require it to live. The hunters would prey to it’s should and thank it for its bounty.
World-building: The culture is a group that worships the forest as a whole not just the trees. Trees are considered part of each person as they grow old. When they die each becomes part of the forest itself, helping it to live and breathe. Elder parts of the forest, become centers of wisdom for shaman. They would be traveled around at all cost, and considered ill omen if not invited by the grove to enter.
The people would harvest from the forest in places that would help the forest to grow, ritual surrounding the cutting of trees. Yet the act of culling the forest would not be an act of sin, but an act of care. The forest can’t exist as a perpetual fixture. As life grows it also changes and so does the needs of the forest. The animals within the forest would therefore be understood to have a symbiotic relationship with everything around them. Circles of nature creating an outstanding presence of balance within the lives of the peoples here.
The council of elders might be made up of the eldest amongst the groups. Not just one group having a governing body, but each group having one elder that helps to govern the entirety of forest peoples. Possibly even being the religious specialist or the religious specialist in some groups may have a taboo from holding both positions.
There may be two languages. One that is spoken, and another used as an oral tradition to set forth records of lineage and tales of glory, and a holy language that wasn’t spoken, but, universally known to all within the entirety of the culture, pictographs using symbols created by circles and lines. These symbols could direct someone through the forest as carvings in the trees made by shamans.

Stratification in Worldbuilding

How does Stratification work in world building? What forms does it take? Some ideas about how it works in fantasy.

Stratification of culture comes in many forms. However, in a world that has many races that differ not only in appearance but in ability it brings about a whole different perspective. Stratification in the anthropological sense is the division of a group of people by some defining difference that may or may not be changed by the individual being divided. Fantasy and science fiction have unique view upon this common everyday occurrence.

In the reality of our world peoples are divided by many things “race”, religion, occupation, age, sex, marital status, social rank of nobility, and many other ways that are smaller and usually occur within or in combination with the previous listed. Cultures within themselves may or may not persecute people for these differences, yet one culture may or may not persecute another culture or group for a difference. In kindergarten we are all taught to see what is different rather than what is the same. However, this is also human nature. Fantasy races are usually modeled after humans in some way, whether it is via anthropomorphization or through physical form. Modern and ancient literature gives many examples throughout the real world.

There are several ways to apply stratification. It can be divided up between the parts of culture. For instance, the stratification of leadership is the most predominant in any culture. It is the most prominent form and usually employs the others to define it. Leadership can come in many forms, and often is defined by what the culture reveres as the most precious. Types of leadership come in many forms, and can also be defined by; age, sex, religious status, economic status, or status by birth in an existing cast system as seen in India.

Caste systems make defining stratification easy because the system is just about written in stone and it takes serious upheaval to make changes. The process of status change within a caste system is often well defined, and usually close to impossible except via marriage to a higher stationed family. Caste systems can also follow occupation or any other form; age, secular & profane, as well as sex. One culture can divide itself using any of those in combination with others and just about any other reason.

Fictional worlds define other things that separate peoples going beyond simple appearance, but stem into abilities is where stratification becomes instantly apparent. If you have one race that has a significant advantage in an area over another, and that area is critical to the social food chain the race with the advantage is going to keep the social as well as possible economic advantage. The advantage in a sci-fi setting could be the ability to repair technology really well could put them at the top or the bottom of the social food chain. However something that needs clarified within the aspect of this culture is how this advantage comes about to this race. Do they have an advantage because they came from a more technologically advanced society? Or is it something within their racial makeup that gives them special insight. It would depend on how the two races were introduced. If the second race instilled fear and kept them as slaves they would be at the bottom of the food chain. Until someone started a cunning enough rebellion to create equality or give them their own space in which to live free from the suppression of the other race.

It could also work the other way. If the technologically inclined race kept the innovation information from the other races it would give them a decided advantage. This could also work in two cultures of the same race. Insert magic and you have the same scenario with magic instead of technology. Except, with magic there is general something that is innate within the practitioner that allows them to work with the supernatural.
Therefore it couldn’t necessarily be learned, as technology could be learned. It would also be a little harder to keep the magically inclined race from upsetting the social order without a physical form of enslavement. This could be drugs given to them to make them either addicted or subservient. Drugs have been well known in primitive cultures and even technologically advanced cultures to be used to control a population.

Examples in classic literature of peoples who became servants because of their differences include the Sidhe, a.k.a. Tuatha de Dannan, and the humans. In Irish mythos the Sidhe were the peoples that were considered gods. They had special powers and were faster, had magic and they were stronger. They also had weaknesses. The Irish mythos gives us several examples that are described well. These Sidhe had magical powers and the humans feared them. There are other examples of other races in classic literature. In Norse literature there are Aelves, Dwarves, and Ettin. The Greeks had nymphs and satyrs. The only difference is that these races didn’t live side by side. The Sidhe did, to an extent, but they were often two separate communities with a dominant and subservient relationship.

World building:

Within an overall stratification there can be sub-stratification such as an ancestral/elder stratified culture using a matriarchal governmental system. This would mean that women would form the hierarchy, and the eldest of all regardless of who was related to who would be in charge. A culture could use money as the stratifying means and thereby creating a capitalist system. The rich would always be the ones in charge, but that could always change and competition would create a cut-throat society. Families would become the second dominating power and marriage to a family of status would be a means of breaking through the next higher class. There by a culture such as this would not only stratify by money but also by marriage, and to throw a huge monkey wrench into the works. What if it inheritance was automatically inherited by the first born. Now to being a first born child has its own status. Then what if polygamy and polyandry were acceptable? Wouldn’t that brighten up the complicated nature of the stratification of a culture?
The above example creates a capitalist culture with inheritance of status via wealth. That wealth is inherited through first born children regardless of sex, and those first born children who define the top of the food chain may have as many spouses as they deem fit. This creates a highly competitive and potentially cut throat society with a multi stratified culture.
All in all what purpose does stratification serve within world-building? Conflict. What purpose does conflict serve? Without conflict there is no motivation to excel, and it is major force behind change. Conflict serves the purpose of creating obstacles for the people within the world. There are arguably other ways to create conflict; war, oppression, slavery, greed, but all of these usually have a root. The stratification of the culture in question. Creatures that are self aware will always want something better for their children or at least they want to keep what they have already. If something threatens that dream, conflict happens. Conflict doesn’t always happen outside the people, it also happens on the inside. Internal conflict is usually fueled by a perceived external or real external conflict.

LIST OF TYPES OF GOVERNMENTS: Types of stratification: Governments.
-cracy: defined as rule; From Greek a root that means; strength or power.
Democracy: a government in which the supreme power is held by the people. IE: United States 1776-present.
Monarchy: a nation or state of government by a monarch. IE: Great Britain, France, H.R.E., & Spain circa 1100-1600 C.E.
Theocracy: government by official regarded as divine, those who pose as gods are who are believed to be empowered by gods IE: Ancient Egypt to circa 30 B.C.E., usually this form of government is ruled by those viewed as gods.
Hagiocracy: this form of government is ruled by those whom are regarded as holy within the principles of the governing religion. IE: Vatican State to present.
Empire: a large state or group of states under a single sovereign who is usually an emperor. IE: oldest known: Akkadian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Roman Empire, Persian Empire, Imperial China, & Incan Empire.
Parliament: a formal governmental conference, an assembly that constitutes the supreme legislative body of a country. IE: England (later Great Britain) 1200 C.E.-present, France 13th c. C.E. to present.
State: centralized political system with the power to coerce. *please note that this definition is an anthropological perspective.
Republic: a government in which the supreme power is held by the citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives governing according to the law. Rome (6th c. B.C.E. to 1st c. B.C.E.)
Federation: constituting a form of government in which power is distributed between central authorities and constitute territorial rights. IE: Germany & Austria at present (fictional: United Federation of Planets-Star Trek)
Coalition: a temporary union for a common purpose. IE: NATO, Delian League & Peloponnesian League circa 477 B.C.E.
Aristocracy: government by a noble or privileged class. IE: any form of government in the European Middle Ages that passed power on via heredity.
Dictatorship: government or country in which absolute power is held by a dictator or small clique. IE: Cuba 1959-present, Known real Dictators: Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Gaddafi of Libya, and Manuel Noriega of Nicaragua. Some regarded Julius Caesar of Rome, Adolf Hitler of Germany. (fictional: Big Brother, 1984, George Orwell; The Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum)
Tyranny: government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler. Tyrant: one who governs oppressively or brutally? Nero of Rome c.37 C.E.-68 C.E., Caligula of Rome c.12 C.E.-41 C.E., and Tuthmosis III of Egypt c.1458 - 1425 BC ( he was perceived as the embodiment of a god from the perspective of the ancient Egyptians- but to us a dead false god...)
Chiefdom: regional polity in which two or more local groups are organized by a chief, who is head of the hierarchy. * Please note that this definition is an anthropological perspective. Usually this is associated with a tribe. (IE: Various Native North American Tribes) Other Types of stratification: *not limited to.
Caste: any group distinguished by its social position. (IE: Hindu caste system, Ancient Greece & Sparta (free peoples and slaves), ancient Hawai’i.)Age (IE: Dogon of west Africa)Sex (IE: Jewish)Kinship (IE: feudal Japan)Occupation (IE: USA-Unions)Language (IE: Medieval Christianity: Latin was used as the holy language, and the serfs weren’t permitted to learn it)Religion (type) (Abrahamic Traditions)Religious stature (secular/profane) Economic status (Crusader England)Race (however perceived within the world) Ethnic heritage (1920’s Chicago, Boston, New York)Physical limitations (blindness, deafness, etc)Lineage (lines of nobility) (Medieval Europe, Imperial China)Military status (warriors may have higher rank within a culture, as may hunters) (IE: Ancient Sparta)

World-building: Grassland: a.k.a. prairies, savannahs, steppe, veld, & pampa

Grasslands like lakes and rivers can be inside other biomes, and create ecological crossovers. Other biomes have crossovers but not as commonly as grasslands, rivers, and lakes. They can exist inside temperate forests, in deserts, around lakes or rivers, near shorelines, and they can be vast enough to exist on their own as well. Therefore for the sake of world building we will use them as a vast prairie or grassland with only an influence of water because it is needed for survival.
*note on using grasslands in amidst other biomes. They may have a small grouping among a forest, rivers and lakes are found frequently in combination with grasslands. The surrounding biome and its ecology will influence how a group will interact with the grassland as it would with lakes and rivers. When trying to survive the life-form will use everything at its disposal. Nature doesn’t have boundaries unless they are physical. They won’t stay out of a place unless there is an ecological reason. Think about the mouse that comes into your house, to the mouse it’s just part of the woods. It doesn’t care that it’s yours. These are human concepts. Ecology doesn’t acknowledge these higher human concepts because it doesn’t care. Territory is established differently, a border is a line on a map.
Economics: In a grassland hunter gatherer or agrigarian culture would thrive. Agrigarian cultures would also thrive because of the abundant sunshine,
Provided they had a source of water. Agrigarian might be a hub for trade for surrounding hunter-gatherers, and vice versa. Hunter-gatherer groups may also
trade amongst themselves. These groups are not constant movers, and most will have places that they migrate to annually or seasonally because of food and water sources. Surrounding groups will know that the area is theirs and know where to find them approximately.
Language: Each group would tend to keep a language as theirs. Language is a huge part of a group’s identity. However, those members who were constant traders with other groups would be bi or tri-lingual. These people would be extremely useful. Historically in our own world grassland hunter-gatherers do not have a written component to the language, and they pass their traditions down orally. Agrigarian grasslanders may have a written tradition, but most likely came from oral tradition if their ancestors were hunter gatherers in the grassland. They may not take to written language for everything. Particularly that thing held dear or sacred.
Kinship and descent: With roving groups there is only some opportunity to marry outside the group. There must be contact with others for this to happen, and some groups may have laws concerning who may marry outside the group. For instance only daughters may be able to marry outside the group. The restriction could be that whoever is the inheritor of the line may not be able to marry outside and live outside the group. Marriage of an outsider would be permissible, but they may have to live with the group so the line of heirs doesn’t leave the original groups and take the wealth with them.
Leadership & stratification: The leadership of such groups is usually elected in some manner by deed, and or could be by age. Then often times there is a larger governing body that is used for crisis, and/or as a way to hold a larger groups that is broken into smaller groups together such as a clan with family lines broken over a large geographical area.
Religion & magick: Religion of the grasslands would depend on the surrounding biome. If the grassland is in a cold area that would affect it just as well as if it’s in a constantly warm area. The agrigarian nature of groups would create a new set of issues for religion as well as possibly an agrigarian form of magic that works with harvests and weather. A hunter-gatherer group may see things differently. They may have god for different issues, or some of the same. In environments like this magickal components are often nature based.
World-building in Grasslands: A culture from this type of ecology may be hunter gatherer and agrigarian. In the spring they migrate to an area the closer to a water source to water the crops with, and in the winter they move further inland where the hunting is better, and more shelter is available from more diverse terrain. They would trade with other groups, in the resources abundant to them, but most likely within a barter system. Likely resources may include furs, meat, or migrating livestock.
Religious practitioners may be a specialized grouped with a linage definition that is not by blood buy by spirit. Therefore practitioners may be male or female. This aspect of the specialists would accommodate for the balance demand of nature. Pat lives would be within the supernatural possibilities of the religion. Marriage of the body and spirit would have a whole new seriousness. This would make kinship extremely important. Matrilineal descent is more likely than patrilineal because of the connection to life energy of birth. That fact may also influence the tendency for female shaman. The channeling of spirits would be common place within the spiritual nature of the groups.
The language of the spirits may only be interpretable with a shaman/priest. The groups would have a secular and a sacred language. The secular language would be verbal while the sacred language would be made of pictographs. Pictographs are usually tied to the ecological relationship of the life-forms. Perhaps something of a set of curved lines arranged for different meanings.
Other influences of culture may come from a river or bordering woodland. They may also come from a tundra or taiga if the grassland is based from a steppe. Each type of grassland alters the ideas in a variable way. Grasslands are very susceptible to the ecologies that surround them or that they themselves infiltrate. This gives them a diversity that some ecology does not have.

World Building: Deserts

World Building: Deserts

Kinship & Descent: The matrilineal or patrilineal organization of descent would go either way. Most likely it would probably be patrilineal. A matrilineal pattern for descent would be less feasible because of the patrilineal tendency of organization. This creates a need to track relationships based upon male lineage rather than female because of the higher worth of males to females. Males are the heads of the communities, and they are less likely to be sent out or willing to go to a foreign group of people to marry. Marriage would definitely be dependent on the specific culture that was within the desert. There could be multiple types of cultures within the desert because of variable types of desert areas. Groups that reside in an oasis or delta area may be more inclined to have arranged marriages than the roaming tribes or clans. Those living in the desert that isn’t an oasis may be either way. Those with cities within the desert that depend on a well system may also be more inclined to arrange marriage based on social class/ caste.
The orientation of one’s’ self in relationship to the importance of family has always culturally been one of great importance in the desert. The desert is a very dependent on multiple people working together to survive. Survival in the desert alone is not likely due to environmental stresses. Therefore those that are likely to be the most reliable are those of blood or marital relation.
Religion & Magick: The harshness of an environment will have a great deal of affect on the degree of belief in the supernatural. Technology creates a gap of understanding between what is perceived as supernatural (sacred) and natural (profane). The higher the level of technology the more things appear as explainable through science. Therefore, a belief in the supernatural is less likely to happen in an advanced society and it likely to be refined. If it does exist there is most definitely a substantial reason based in evidence or faith. Therefore, in a biome like a desert belief in the supernatural is more likely to occur with the absence of technology.
Magick is something that is dependent on the belief of the supernatural in some form, or is a belief or the science of magick. Therefore the presence of magick is not dependent upon the presence of strong belief in the supernatural. Rather it is dependent upon the belief in magick itself.
In an environment where life or death is mostly and seemingly out of the hands of the life forms inside of it; a culture that has a low level of technology would therefore have a greater belief in the supernatural, and this would create a larger group within the culture where the supernatural was a large part of their everyday life.
Organization & Stratification: This is usually connected to the kinship and descent system of the group in question. This can be a strict or an unrestricted hierarchy of power. Where power resides will almost always take the same priority as the pattern of descent. However, the ability to change one’s station in life may most definitely not depend upon the priority of the descent of the organization. Whichever type of organization the culture takes whether it is matriarchal, patriarchal, or some kind of “…cracy”; i.e. democracy, mageocracy, is going to correlate to the stratification. Historically the desert tends to have a very strict stratification system. This is due to the harshness of the environment. People of power tend to use the environment to enforce behavior.

Economics: Value in the desert would very much be defined by need. Not just the need of the person looking for goods but also what they were trading in reference to what they were getting. Therefore, a bartering system is more likely to come out of a desert culture than a monetary exchange system. An oasis may create the potential for a small monetary exchange system. However it would almost defiantly be linked to the caste system of culture using it. Goods and services would have priority in a culture where pomp and circumstance may not have a place if the group in question is nomadic. If the group in question isn’t nomadic and they have for instance taken residence in an oasis or cave system where an artesian spring resides. Then goods and services held in demand would definitely alter due to the physical stability of the group, and the lessened need for ease of transportation of personal possession. Ease of transportation of personal possession in a place where transporting large quantities of physical goods could place undue risk to the group’s survival. This would be in reference to the limited supply of water and food for beasts of burden and the people populating the group. Lack of desire to risk the group may curb the demand for unnecessary goods but possibly not services. Especially those services which do not require physical labor to transport the goods acquired.
Language: The language of the desert may change from group to group depending on the isolated conditions. Stability of a group could also bring varying degrees of changes due to influence of nomadic tribes coming and going. Influence can change language by leaving behind bits and pieces of a nomad’s; nomad: in this instance being used in reference to someone who doesn’t reside in the same immediate geographic area, language influencing the language of the stable group. There may also be a group of nomads that share the same language or a common language developed and used by the nomadic for trade purposes. This common trade language may also extend into stable cities.
World building in the Desert: People of the desert that are not attached to an oasis would value herd animals as a commodity. Wood would also be valuable, but the most valuable thing would be water, water equals life. Perhaps they have a special type of horse that lives in their world. The horse can go for weeks without water, and stores water in an internal layer between the muscle and the skin. So these creatures are essential to their survival outside the oasis. They are a band of hunter gatherers that Believe that to open their mouths uncovered invites demons to posses them. In fact it is so ingrained in their culture that even in death these horses serve them.
The horses when they do die are taken and eaten in ceremonial rituals to absorb their surviving powers. They make magic charms from bones and hair. Their skins are used as blankets to keep evil away and fertility. Mane hare is used to weave the most desired facial covers.
Almost all tribes are patriarchies, and all daughters are married off for the best match to create alliances or to settle debts. They cannot own more property than they can carry themselves. There for women have come up with very creative carrying devices for their belongings, and their clothing is full of pockets.
Religious specialists are hereditary by the paternal grandfather. It is passed to the second grandson of the first son. Thereby insuring that the first sons are always available for marriage and the family line is insured continuation. So they only come along every other generation. These males are taught desert magick from the time that they can speak, and cease to live with their mothers at this point. They learn the art of breeding horses, are considered the wise men of the group, and are the negotiators for any trade involving beasts with another clan or tribe. There may be many of these specialist and they have their own ranking system within their subculture.
The economics of trade within the desert people are based on need. Everything is completely subjective to the value of the people making the trade. Monetary systems are of no use to them, but they do keep a certain amount that is from the oasis kingdoms. Each tribe has crafts or services that are for sale. There are competing clans for the same trades or services. Once a year there is a festival at the great oasis, all major trade and competitions for service to determine who is believed to be the best for the year is decided here.
Languages of these tribes are from three language families. There is the Language of the oasis, the language of the horse, and the language of sand. Normally there are many people of one tribe that speak two languages. Trade necessitates a common language be found. There is a dialect of the language of sane that is ancient that serves and the holy and magical language.

Basic Anthropology

BASIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Religion:
Religion: a set of rituals rationalized by myth which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of preventing/achieving transformations of state in people and nature. (Haviland, 363)
Reasons for religion:
1. Reduces anxiety (i.e.: Prayer in any religion brings comfort)
2. Provides comfort (i.e.: Promise of the afterlife)
3. Defines behavior (i.e.: Rule of 3 x3)
4. Defines the sacred vs. the profane
5. Sanctions societal behavior (i.e.: Ten Commandments)
6. Punishes detrimental; behavior (i.e.: Belief in Karma)
7. Satisfies the psychological need for power (i.e.: “For the glory of God”)


General Anthopological Consistancies:
1. Most Cultures feel a natural affinity between themselves and the land. (Lee, Magick , Myth & Religion)
2. Almost all cultures have a entity they refer to as a supreme being (Haviland, 363)
3. All cultures have name for the “power” of the supernatural. Such as … (Lee, Magick, Myth & Religion)
4. The equality of men and women within a culture is conversely related to the sex of the deity they worship (Haviland, 363).
5. Man as a creature must define its role within nature (Lee, Magick, Myth & Religion)
6. Religion is always present in man’s view of his place in the universe, in his relatedness to Man and non-human nature. (Lee , Magick, Myth, & Religion)
Purpose of Myth: (Malinowski, 1931, pp 640-1)
-to convey information vital to survival
IE: Prometheus and bringing fire to man.
-a model for behavior that also explains the origins of the world, life on earth, death, and /or the existence of all things in human material existence.
IE: Ten Commandments or Aesop’s fables.
-to strengthen traditions and endow them with greater prestige by tracing things back to higher supernatural beings. (Lewis, 31, Magick, Myth, & Religion)
IE: people in ancient Greece claiming relation to ancient heroes of Greek myth such as Theseus or Herackles.
** Myths are considered within a culture (Origin of the myth), as a truthful account of the past. (Lewis, 32, Magick, Myth & Religion) (Malinowski, 1931, 640-1)


Functions of the Gods:
1. To explain earthly occurrences.
IE: Why nature works, Zeus controls the storms or thunder is angels bowling in heaven.
2. To explain the emotions or desires of humanity ( love , anger)
IE: Aphrodite Greek goddess of love, Bridget goddess of Justice
3. To give comfort to humanity.
IE: Opportunity for eternal life in the afterlife.


Cultural ecology: (according to Julian Steward) the interaction between specific cultures and their environment. (Haviland, 158)
IE: The Mayans worshipping the sun god and the rain god due to agrigarian culture. Cultural Core: The idea that the features of a culture are related to how the culture makes it’s living.
IE: Agrigarian level of culture will worship the sun, a culture that lives off fish will have a water deity prominent within their pantheon.


LANGUAGE:
3 Parts
1. Verbal Component 2.Physical Language: Body language
3. Written component: A. Script (Arabic Letters) B. Pictograph (IE: Egyptian Hieroglyphs & Japanese)


What creates a language boundary?
1. Geography: isolation can create two dialects that are so different that people have a hard time understanding. It can also make it so that the speakers of the language never encounter each other to attempt to understand the foreign language.
2. Physical limitations: Moreover often seen in fantastical environments, but also seen in real life, such as the deaf: sign language. Is there a physical difference that prevents or changes communication between two entities?


How and what causes Language to change:
1. Grammar and or vocabulary (aka: the Vernacular) can change based on stresses within a culture such as generational gap, introduction of new technology, or contact with other cultures.
2. Phonetics is the sounds present within the physical aspect of speaking and can be unique to a language.
3. Pronunciation can also change based on contact with outside sources, physical changes within a species, and can be influenced by vernacular speech.
4. Syntax is how the words are put together, and is usually related directly to the usage of grammar.

**Observations:
-Over time language will change. Languages that are isolated are less likely to change as quickly.
-Languages that are sacred are less likely to change than ones that are profane.
-New words will find their way into languages, via technology, interaction with other cultures, slang, and many other ways. Economics : Economics can make or break a civilization. Type of Trade 1.Trade and Barter 2. Silent Trade 3.Market/ Commercial
Conspicuous Consumption: The idea of displaying wealth for social prestige. (Havilland, 201)
Leveling Mechanism: A societal obligation to redistribute personal wealth or goods so that no one person has more than any other. (Havilland, 195)
Types of Labor: (Havilland, 188-193)
1. Age division: to divide labor among a community of people by biological age.
2. Sexual division: to divide the labor of a community or household by biological sex of the workers.
3. Craft Specialization: to divide work in a community by the knowledge of the job.
4. Co-operation: This is found in all levels of culture, and the entire community takes part in the work. Organization & Leadership
Organization: the way a group works together and relates to itself.
These are some of the things that are detailed under this part of culture:
1. Political structure (Democracy, Monarchy, etc)
2. Religious structure (Theocracy inside or outside religion)
3. Economic structure
4. Ethnic descent
5. Species descent *(fantasy based concept)


Types of political organization: (Havilland, 329-339)
1. Band: a group of households that come together though need or want.
2. Tribe: a group of independent communities brought together by common language & culture to occupy a specific region, integrated by a unifying factor.
3. Chiefdom: a regional polity where two or more local groups are organized under a single individual. This hierarch sits above all other groups’ hierarchy.
4. State: a centralized power or political system with the power to coerce.
5. Nation: a group of people that are bound together by language, ancestry, history, society, ideology, territory, and/ or religion.
· Gender can determine leadership within the cultural stratification.
· Age and sex can also force organization within the above stratifications
· Political unions can also come about through lineage.


Leadership: How is the structure of the culture led by the authority figures within the structure?
Caste System: A social system that stratifies a group based on what social class you are born into is the social class you cannot rise above without the help of the caste above you.
Egalitarian System: All individuals are equal and wealth and power are distributed equally among the community.
*Types of leadership are often mimicked by types of Organization.
*Function of Law (according to anthropology): To define, regulate and punish crimes.
Stratified: has ranked classes and these people are together, lead and maintained by members of the group. (generally considered voluntary)
Involuntary: when a group is dictated by a circumstance that its members cannot alter.
IE: race, sex, age, heredity, innate magical ability (perceived or actual)
Kinship & Descent
Descent: how you track your blood relation through generations.
Lineage: tracing of the common ancestor. (Havilland, 286)
Common Types: (Havilland, 274-284)
1. Unilineal: exclusive descent via father or mother.
2. Matrilineal: exclusive descent via mother
3. Patrilineal: exclusive descent via father
4. Double descent: can claim descent from either depending on the reason.
5. Ambilineal: chance of descent via father, mother, or both


Totemism: the belief that people are descended from plants, animals, or natural objects by virtue of descent from common ancestral spirits (Haviland, 287) Teknonymous: referring to a person by their relation of kin, using the type of relation as part of their proper name. IE: son/daughter of…, sister/brother of… etc.

Basic terms: (not covered above that might be useful) Ethnocentric: this culture’s way is the only way, all other ways of the aspect of the culture they have encountered are wrong. (IE: The European explorer’s view towards less technologically advanced groups during the exploration period, such as Hernando Cortez and the Aztecs 1520 CE) Cultural Evolution: the development of similar adaptations to similar environmental conditions by peoples whose ancestral cultures were quite different. (Haviland, 154) (IE: archery in China, England, North America) Acculturation: when two or more cultures interact and one of the cultures usually the weaker one picks up traits of the other culture. (Haviland, 421) (Romans were known for this, both directions) Carrying capacity: the number of people that can be supported by the available resources at a given level of technology (Haviland, 162) (Carrying Capacity according to Webster’s 2001: The maximum number of species that can be supported in any given environment.)


Leadership/ Organization can affect:
1. Language: the spoken language of the aristocracy becomes the language to speak to gain social prestige (IE: French in England after William of Normandy’s Invasion 1066CE)
2. Religion: how the religion is organized, and what the religion’s power is within the
culture.
3. Economics: governmental bodies affect laws and tax which affects economics.
4. Kinship: entire types of organization are centered around kinship, and
marriage in a caste system becomes essential to changing your place within the
organizational system of the caste system.

Economics can affect
1. Religion: tithing’s, and offerings to the gods affect the households money and
there by affect the spending money of the household during certain times.
Holidays can also increase the amount of spending for goods for the holidays.
2. Language: language can be affect by commercialization of words or phrases.
Poverty breeds illiteracy.
3. Kinship: marriage for money has always been on the minds of parents and
brides. The future of the family can be secured by marriage to wealth, and
wealth can also get marriage via dowry or bride wealth.

Kinship Affects:
1. Language: teknonymous naming, the reference of someone by their relation rather
than their name. This is usually essential to identification within a culture.
2. Economics : Families often are involved as a whole within a trade, and they have
done it for generations. If the culture states only certain people can inherit
then if those family members are unavailable the business will die, and the
culture can be affected.
3. Organization: people naturally congregate in the family unit first, then by
another means of organizational system that may/ may not involve futher family
congregation past the nuclear family.

Language affects:
1. Economics: language barriers can damage trade, or can create it by presence
or lack of a common tongue.
2. Organization: people will tend to congregate with people that speak the same
language.

Religion Affects:
1. Language: sacred languages that are only used by religious specialists,
banned words or phrases.
2. Kinship: who you can and can’t marry, and rules of marriage.
3. Economics: holidays that increase market activity, banned goods, sacred goods.
4. Organization: the religion has to be organized somehow, and religion can be a
form of government.

Dealing with the Dead
1. Inhumation: aka burial of some kind.
2. Exposure: the remains are left to the natural elements to decompose. Some ways of doing this involve hanging the dead, laid on the ground, and all this involves being exposed to the weather. 3. Cremation: the process of burning physical remains to ash 4. Mummification: embalming or drying a corpse to preserve it. 5. Cannibalism: ritualistic consumption of human flesh or remains by a human being.

Bibliography:
Haviland, William.1996. Cultural Anthropology: Eight Edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Publishing.
Lehman, Arthur &Myers, James.1997.Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion: Fourth Edition. Mt. View ,CA: Mayfield Publishing.

Other sources or ideas that might be useful:
The technology continuum by Anthony Wallace


www.anthropology.org
American Anthropology Association http://www.aaanet.org/ http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm
European Anthropology: http://www.h-net.org/~sae/sae/index.html
Perseus Dictionary: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu

Information gathered by:
Sabrina J. Klein 2007

Tundra


The tundra is no real place for anyone to live for long period of time without the proper materials. The sun can disappear for months or shine constantly for the same time periods. The solar winds of the sub beat upon the skies to create paintings of light that to lower technologies may seem to be the magic of the heavens. This is a very cold, cold place. When world-building in the tundra this is one ecology where knowing the specifics is very important. For every one degree closer to the equator the timberline will raise 360 feet. It is there for possible to have tundra on the equator but the mountain would have to be extremely high. Vegetation is minimal and the fauna not as diverse as any other ecology. Tundra flora grows very low to the ground due to wind and other restrictive elements.
Economics: Economics of a culture living in tundra would be one trade system. Mining might be an option; usages of the mining tunnels might begin from the expansion of living quarters. Living underground usually has a constant temperature of 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit approximately. If not living in underground environment then hunting for fur would be essential to survival, but would also make an economic basis for trade for goods not obtainable in the tundra.
Language: Language would tend to evolve from the base language brought with them, and/or be part of a larger language group that was spoken by a trading community that hunted over a large area. If they were living in an underground area they may never encounter another language. Their language would remain unchanged with evolution halted or on its own. It may evolve to a point that the parent language may have little or nothing in common with it over many centuries or even as little as decades, usually longer time frames are required to change language that much from the parent vernacular.
Kinship & descent: Kinship in a group such as this would become very important. Small populations would quickly become small because of the universal taboo of incest. Almost all cultures of the world have a taboo against incest. There have been parts of cultures that take part in it, and have paid the price later. Therefore introduction of new bloodlines into the community would be very important. There may be rituals or festivals where groups come together and mass marriage ceremonies are done. This solidifies ties to surrounding communities and serves to keep the genetic pool in a community from getting to small and causing problems.
Organization & leadership: Leadership could be anything. It would most likely depend upon if the group in question was isolated or had contact with others and how much. Isolated groups would lean more toward a highly stratified unity of leadership. While a group with more contacts may be influenced to have leadership ties of some kind with a separate group. The divisions could be matriarchal or patriarchal or a mixture of both.
Religion & Magick: Religion among a people who live in such a desolate place or those who would live underground may be steeped in folklore. A place where winter is long and traps its inhabitants with in the snow is often the place of storytellers. Stories are told often when there is nothing else to do. There are other places which stories are generated and storytellers are an integral part of the culture, but in an ecology where 8 months of the year is outside the growing season fire may be essential to survival along with the hunt. Gods of these things may become so important because the material representation transforms into iconic figures within the mythology of the people. That doesn’t mean those are the only things that may become iconic. The gods’ purpose is to explain things that humanity (and other races) can’t explain such as; emotions, natural occurrences, and other things that are beyond mortal control.
World-building: Hypothetically a culture in this environment would possibly be a culture that lived within cave systems that were scattered throughout the tundra. Hunting on the surface but living where the winter has no or little effect. The group would move between cave systems either via underground passages or between the seasons. The group may have a matriarchal naming system and a patriarchal leadership. Lineage would be tracked through the mother so that her heritage would be clear. That would account for origins of the groups from village to village, so people new whom they were related to.
The god of fire would be very important and considered a good deity while the goddess of snow and ice would be a harsh and unyielding force. The summer and harvest festivals would be times of marriage and celebration. Each time would be an opportunity to rejoice in the fact that they had survived another year, or a good harvest had been secured for the winter months. Storytelling may be the province of a religious specialist or possibly the eldest people of the community. There by giving the elders a sense of purpose and a respect from the younger generation. Elder people in some cultures where survival is difficult sometimes may be regarded as a burden. However, in this case they are given a cultural relevance that is unprecedented for the young. Economic relationships would generate with outsiders more over by chance or habit. Either way very limited. The limited access also means that language would change little from outside influence, and more from internal change.

World-building in Taigas

Taiga

Economy: the economy of the taiga would exist only within the group or groups of an area unless the traders encountered another nomadic group from a climate that was not their own. This climate is very harsh often with an average growing season of 3 months. These areas are often cool with rainfall that doesn’t evaporate. This creates a type of wetland. Trees here grow slowly and are often conifer rather than deciduous. Exports might include furs, but not likely as those would be used by the indigenous peoples. Bone beads might be an export as peoples of this ecology types throw nothing from the hunted kill away. They usually will not kill a young tree. With such a short growing season they are likely to be hunter-gatherers but not nomadic except by season; perhaps not even then, depending upon the availability and the materials used for housing.
Language: The languages would be fairly isolated. Parent language groups might exist but the dialects would evolve on their own; unless groups frequently can into contact with one another.
Social Structure: Leadership of the groups would likely not be in the hands of one individual, but most likely many. Harsh climates tend to produce wither singular leadership with a defined chain of succession or a groups leadership usually consisting of elders or the strongest individuals or both.
Kinship & descent: Kinship in a place like this would be extremely important particularly if the leadership was a hereditary based council of elders. Patriarchal or matriarchal descent patterns would be likely as well as either possibility for naming patters. The nuclear family would be essential to survival and would be held in the highest regard. There may be some care giving system for those nuclear families that have lost the main provider of food. An adoption system that would help the group as a whole survives.
Religion: Animistic cultures would thrive here. Supernatural forces are often used to explain the things with in nature that humankind (or other sentient being) doesn’t understand. It would most likely be safe to say that predators and natural forces would manifest as gods or demons. Some of the most powerful predators would be considered sources of power and deeply respected or feared.
World building: To create in this ecology is a two edged sword. The culture would be steeped in lore and very detailed, but at the same time to an outsider may seem sparse. People here would let nothing go to waste as resources are very limited. There for amenities would not be found as valuable even if they were in a stable living environment such as a permanent structure. Most things of extreme value that may be frivolous would be small even tiny.
Gods and people would be close. Life here is a precarious thing with potential fatality for any moment of stupidity for the one having the stupid moment or those surrounding them. There would be some animals that would become as members of the family; domesticated animals would be cared for with the utmost respect because of their rarity. Parts of nature would hold fearful supernatural entities, yet others would be good helpful. Supernatural forces, each, a reflection of the environment’s inhabitants.
Cold climate would create a reverence for furs, but summer would be fleeting and a thing to be enjoyed. Women of this culture may be just as capable at defending themselves again the natural elements of danger because men may be away for several days at a time on hunting trips to feed the group. They would also be important as the givers of life to the linage of the village. Depending on if the village is matriarchal or patriarchal males or females may take precedence for survival depending on the social structure of the group; which could vary from one small group to the next. Not a universal thing throughout the ecological area. There may even be some ritual surrounding the forced exogamy need to keep bloodlines from becoming to inter-married.

Lakes & Rivers

Economics: The ecology of lakes and rivers does promote trade. The ease of transport along water ways improves the likely hood of travel a great deal. Money systems would develop in cultures that were built up on shores, more often this would happen in lakes. Rivers on the other hand may encourage groups to become nomadic among the river systems. Entire cultures may not follow this model, so it may only be a part of the culture that does.
Language: Language of rivers and lakes would be affected by ecology. River areas are far more than lakes would exhibit an effect on the ecology of the inhabitants both flora and fauna. Rivers tend to have natural geologic boundaries that in a low tech culture could serve to create a language barrier and thereby create a large group of languages or dialects. These dialects have the potential to become isolated over generations of little or no contact with other groups. The language may have the syntax affected in that it may be a slow spoken language with long sounds rather than short sharp ones. The written part would most likely not be pictographic. However the writing would be influenced by the materials at hand to create it. A good example is the papyrus paper of the Nile as opposed to the clay tablets of Sumerian culture.
Kinship & Descent: Stationary residence creates one of two effects. A tight knit community where family is extremely important, or a looser knit group where nuclear family is important and the relationship with extended family is not stressed. The choice of matrilineal or patrilineal could be entirely based on geographic community. Travel between groups may occur therefore differences in viewpoint in descent would occur as communities may be far enough apart.
Leadership & Stratification: Leadership in a culture or grouping of smaller cultures might be formed on several levels. Group coalition in an area where travel between groups is easily achieved might be the most common. Group coalition would be particularly prevalent if the group resides around a lake or group of lakes, and then they may breaks down into smaller groups of clans or tribes. Rivers would make travel a little harder, rivers flow only on direction, making the upriver trip harder. Cultures of a river system may be divided by natural barriers. Rivers, unless they are on floodplains are normally pent up in valleys which over time have been cut through hills or mountains. Natural barriers tend to isolate groups. These natural barriers in turn create smaller groups based on the size of the geographical area in question. Therefore governing systems that apply to smaller groups would best apply here, at least in a low tech culture. In a high tech culture where travel is easier across drastic landscapes the isolation of people is less therefore the idea of small based governments or large based governments would be more flexible. Not to say that just because it’s a low tech culture or group of cultures they are going to be isolated and have a smaller based governmental system… just its more likely. Besides what happens when different small governments meet either conflict or friendship… this still may lead to smaller disagreements.
Religion & Magick: Religion among inland waters would reflect both the ecology surrounding the water as well as the presence of water. It is one of the few ecologies that often blends with another. The significance of the water ways with in the cultures would dictate the significance in the religion.
World-building: In many cultures lakes and rivers hold special supernatural significance. Usually they have connections to the underworld, or to the domain of the gods. Perhaps in this culture they will be cherished as places of purity where none may go whom do not perform cleansing rituals. Some water ways would set aside for religious specialists, yet others would be used for strictly profane practices. Women might be deemed to be unclean if they aren’t married and are of childbearing age and would have to bath here rather than contaminate sacred water with their un-cleanliness. The goddess of water would be a mother goddess to signify the cleanliness of the water. The moon would play a light role as it creates the tide flow, a male god as the character for the moon. In most cultures the moon and the sun are opposite sexes. But perhaps the moon and the sun are brothers in competition for the affection of the water goddess.
Trade would be optimized by the water ways, yet the ecology surrounding the river or lake would also affect economics. Keep that in mind. Rivers are often traveled by many groups which draw languages together, so influence from another culture’s language would be defiantly possible.
Surrounding ecologies would also affect the kinship relationships, and the rivers and lakes would alter how those base ecologies build cultures. Polygamy doesn’t seem likely unless the surround ecology would promote that behavior. If the water ways are taken symbolically into the culture marriage would be extremely important. Rivers running together and lakes as singular bodies, fed by a single tributary or multiple tributaries would affect the rules off marriage where these water ways were considered symbolic of the relationships between the sexes.
If it’s a desert the water ways become essential. Forests with river systems happen frequently, lakes also occur often within woodlands. Wetlands have a symbiotic relationship with lakes and rivers therefore the culture would incorporate them the same way. Rivers found in tundra and taigas are arid climates. Rivers often spring forth from mountain tops where ice melts and flows toward the sea. Lakes in these two areas are cold and freeze over most of the year. Apply the effects of the surrounding ecology to the river and lake systems and then incorporate it into world building cultures accordingly.