Mesoamerican Fauna and Flora

[Lion.Kanzen]

on the map it looks like the Nile river but in a different size and with tropical vegetation.

The fertile alluvium of the Ulúa valley in northwestern Honduras covers ca. 2,400 kilometers and includes a vast range of environmental conditions and a rich and varied flora and fauna including deer, tapir, monkeys, quetzals, and felines. Shell and other marine resources are available in the north where the Ulúa River meets the Caribbean. A local obsidian source can be found on the southwestern flank of the valley and jade from the Motagua valley is located west just over the Honduran-Guatemalan border. The region was particularly known for cacao, among the richest in Mesoamerica according to conquest documents. The Chamelecón, Ulúa, and Comayagua rivers that flow into the valley provide natural routes of communication to Yucatán and the central and southern Maya Lowlands as well as to central, southern, and eastern Honduras and onto lower Central America. This lush valley and its unique geographic position–typically described as the "Maya Frontier"–places the valley in a key location with interaction between the cultures of lower Central America and those of the Maya lowlands. The goal of this project is to understand how one specific object, Ulúa marble vases, functioned in this diverse region during the Late Classic period.

[Lion.Kanzen]

Some Mayan names for actual rivers.

Credits by othyrsyde from alternative history.

Lake Choi = Lake Atitlan

Lake Mungia = Lake Isabal

Silbapec River = Motogua

Icbolay River = Usumancita

Cancuen River = Pasion

Ulia River = Ulua

Balaliama River = Chamelecon

Olopa River = Lempia (it's still called the Olopa in Guatemala though)

 

He collected by several sources and books.

Is from a forum of alternate history.

"""Yep, I dug through a lot of books, particularly one where it explored a priests missionary efforts in the Peten region. It matched up some of the names he listed for bodies of water and such to their modern names. Others were found on archaeological and geographic papers, and even the odd tourism site (especially in Guatemala where they list 'local names' the Maya insist on calling them.""

 

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/gone.322778/page-2

[Lion.Kanzen]

My country was the frontier of the Mayan world due to the fact that it had very few habitable areas.

 

The valleys are very small 

For example, the Sula Valley is almost like a tropical Nile.

a very good area for a jungle river style map with mountains around.

Hydrologically speaking, the area has two of the most important basins of Honduras: the basins of the Ulúa and Chamelecón rivers, leaving the area vulnerable to flooding, mainly in the rainy season.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Sula Valley was home to approximately 50,000 native inhabitants.[5] The area that is home to the modern city served as a local trade hub for the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. The Spanish conquest brought about a demographic collapse from which the native population would never recover.

 

On 27 June 1536, Don Pedro de Alvarado founded a Spanish town beside the Indian settlement of Choloma, with the name of Villa de Señor San Pedro de Puerto Caballos (modern San Pedro Sula). The new town had 35 Spanish citizens, and Alvarado allocated 200 of his slaves to help build the new town and work the surrounding fields. He sent out expeditions into outlying regions to secure the new town, extend the area of Spanish domination, and commandeer supplies. 

Additionally, San Pedro Sula was left exposed to raids by pirates and French, Dutch, and English mercenaries. By the mid-18th century, the Spanish government decided to build a number of coastal fortresses to curb English attacks. One of these fortresses, the Fortaleza de San Fernando, was built in Omoa, less than 50 miles from San Pedro Sula. The subsequent increase in trade supported an increase in population from 70 inhabitants in 1714 to 357 in 1789

 

The valley's ecosystem is mainly composed of tropical dry forests.

This gameplay inspired me.

You have ideas for maps @Lopess?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sula_Valley

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Lion.Kanzen

[Lopess]

9 hours ago, Lion.Kanzen said:

My country was the frontier of the Mayan world due to the fact that it had very few habitable areas.

 

The valleys are very small 

For example, the Sula Valley is almost like a tropical Nile.

a very good area for a jungle river style map with mountains around.

Hydrologically speaking, the area has two of the most important basins of Honduras: the basins of the Ulúa and Chamelecón rivers, leaving the area vulnerable to flooding, mainly in the rainy season.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Sula Valley was home to approximately 50,000 native inhabitants.[5] The area that is home to the modern city served as a local trade hub for the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. The Spanish conquest brought about a demographic collapse from which the native population would never recover.

 

On 27 June 1536, Don Pedro de Alvarado founded a Spanish town beside the Indian settlement of Choloma, with the name of Villa de Señor San Pedro de Puerto Caballos (modern San Pedro Sula). The new town had 35 Spanish citizens, and Alvarado allocated 200 of his slaves to help build the new town and work the surrounding fields. He sent out expeditions into outlying regions to secure the new town, extend the area of Spanish domination, and commandeer supplies. 

Additionally, San Pedro Sula was left exposed to raids by pirates and French, Dutch, and English mercenaries. By the mid-18th century, the Spanish government decided to build a number of coastal fortresses to curb English attacks. One of these fortresses, the Fortaleza de San Fernando, was built in Omoa, less than 50 miles from San Pedro Sula. The subsequent increase in trade supported an increase in population from 70 inhabitants in 1714 to 357 in 1789

 

The valley's ecosystem is mainly composed of tropical dry forests.

This gameplay inspired me.

You have ideas for maps @Lopess?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sula_Valley

 

I do have it mainly on the Pente and surrounding areas, with triggers from gaia units and abandoned temples that can be conquered, but my time is short and I'm not a good map maker.

I also like to think of more exotic gameplays, especially in skirmish maps, it's easy not to allow certain structures to be built, for example cc, forcing stronger alliances and defenses, or otherwise, limiting the amount of towers and walls.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I'm traveling taking advantage of the holidays (Semana Santa).

 

My girlfriend's family lives in the Pacific Ocean area.

I have been taking photos of the Flora.

This one, is measured  more than 2 meters.

It is a plant that is found throughout Central America and Mexico in arid zones.

This one  is very tall Pinus Ocaarpa.

Very present in mostly of temperate forest in Central America.

Younger version. Photos by me. You can use as reference and textures I let CC0 permission.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I found some nopales (Opuntia Cacti).

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nopal

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

example take by me from pine leaves.

some Elephant Ear tree.know as Guanacaste.

identify it by its leaves.

 

 

I found other trees but I don't identity yet.

I didn't get any closer because some of them was on private property.

I find some oak tree. Oak and pine  can be found in a same system.

And I found some young Cypresses.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_lusitanica

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

I found a palm tree.

I like it because it has got some of the dead leaves

[Grapjas]

5 minutes ago, Lion.Kanzen said:

Those are them lion king trees bruh

 

(im jk tho idk what im talking about)

Edited April 15, 2022 by Grapjas

[Lion.Kanzen]

4 minutes ago, Grapjas said:

Those are them lion king trees bruh

 

(im jk tho idk what im talking about)

I know. But I have little signal here. So I can't reply.

[Lion.Kanzen]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_pine–oak_forests

these pine and oak systems are very common in the high mountains.

You will find ideas for maps in this wikipedia article. Like Motagua (River) valley.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motagua_Valley_thornscrub

The Motagua Valley is one of the driest areas of Central America. It is surrounded by mountains, such as the Sierra de las Minas in the north, reaching heights of up 3000 meters and the Sierra del Merendón in the south, which reaches over 2000 meters. This xeric climate contrasts sharply with the cloud forests found higher up in the nearby mountains.

 

The vegetation consists mainly of thorny species such as cactus of the genus Opuntia, acacias, and thorny bushes of the Fabaceae. These contrast sharply with the riparian forests in the river valleys with permanent water

[Lion.Kanzen]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petén–Veracruz_moist_forests

@Lopess this can be helpful.

When you go to the coast you may find more tropical and less arid plants.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I'm right now in South Pacific montains in the dry south.

Very near if town of Choluteca. Here is around 34 C°/94° farenheit.

the heat is hellish.

 

Choluteca is one of the hottest cities of Honduras and all of Central America as well gives the city a Tropical savanna climate (Köppen: As); The registered high temperature of the city is 46 °C (114.8 °F), and the lowest is 18 °C (64.4 °F).

 

There isn't Mesoamerican territory but still cultural frontier.

The people that live here are Chorotega descendants.

Some sources list "Choluteca" as an alternative name of the people and their language, and this has caused some (for example Terrence Kaufman 2001) to speculate that they were the original inhabitants of the city of Cholula, who were displaced with the arrival of Nahua people in central Mexico. The etymology for the nomenclature "Chorotega" in this case would come from the Nahuatl language where "Cholōltēcah" means "inhabitants of Cholula", or "people who have fled". The region of southernmost Honduras known as Choluteca, along with Choluteca City, derive their names from this Nahuatl word. Choluteca was originally inhabited by Chorotega groups. Daniel Garrison Brinton argued that the name chorotega was a Nahuatl exonym meaning "people who fled" given after a defeat by Nahuan forces that split the Chorotega-Mangue people into two groups. He argued that the better nomenclature was Mangue, derived from the group’s endonym mankeme meaning "lords".

Chorotega, the most powerful American Indian tribe of northwest Costa Rica at the time of the Spanish conquest. They spoke Mangue, a language of Oto-Manguean stock, and had probably migrated from a homeland in Chiapas many generations prior to the conquest, driving the aboriginal inhabitants out of their new territory.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chorotega

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica •

Chorotega, the most powerful American Indian tribe of northwest Costa Rica at the time of the Spanish conquest. They spoke Mangue, a language of Oto-Manguean stock, and had probably migrated from a homeland in Chiapas many generations prior to the conquest, driving the aboriginal inhabitants out of their new territory.

 

 

The Chorotega were corn farmers, had markets and a semidemocratic social structure in which chiefs were elected, and carried on frequent warfare with neighbouring peoples. They wore padded cotton armour and fought with bow and arrow and a wooden sword set with small flint knives. Religious festivals featured the South American custom of the ritual drinking bout; however, Mexican traits such as human sacrifice and self-mutilation of the ears, tongue, and genitals were also present. A pantheon of gods was worshiped in specially constructed temples. Chorotegan culture and language disappeared during the colonial period.

This information is more useful to  @Trinketos

Edited April 15, 2022 by Lion.Kanzen

[Lion.Kanzen]

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schinopsis_balansae

Quebrancho.

Means "Axe Broker" in ancient Spanish.

[Lion.Kanzen]

Foto by me , today in the Restaurant-Zoo Ocotal.

Puma Yagouaroundi.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguarundi

[Lion.Kanzen]

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamanian_white-faced_capuchin

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

Monte Albán's climate is quite dry.

[Lion.Kanzen]

That area is quite hot. It's not like Texas but is more like California.

For Europeans must be like Spain (south of Spain).

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

You can see many dry trees like oaks.

The climate of the Mexican Pacific is definitely quite hot.

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

I have some insomnia.

[Grautvornix]

Indeed  - you are active commenting and providing/proposing good stuff almost round the clock! 

[Lion.Kanzen]

6 hours ago, Grautvornix said:

Indeed  - you are active commenting and providing/proposing good stuff almost round the clock! 

Thank you 

[Trinketos]

a principios de año fui a teotihuacan. Y vrg era algo imprecionante.

adjunto una foto mia junto a la piramide mas grande del lugar.

[Lion.Kanzen]

2 hours ago, Trinketos said:

a principios de año fui a teotihuacan. Y vrg era algo imprecionante.

adjunto una foto mia junto a la piramide mas grande del lugar.

Le tomaste fotos a las plantas?

[Trinketos]

4 hours ago, Lion.Kanzen said:

Le tomaste fotos a las plantas?

cy