SP Fantasy [WB] Seven Golden Cities

The two Rhodoks books of worship. One for the Goddess Mera, the other for the God Guerra.

A few tribal weapons:

CHICHIMEC

The North American south-western culture was
dominated by two different groups. These were
the sedentary tribes of the Pueblo Culture and
the nomadic Chichimec tribes. This list covers
the latter group from 700 to 1500 AD.
The Chichimec tribes impacted both the
American south-west and the region of Mexico.
They included the Apache, the Uto-Aztecan and
the Yuman.
The more settled states in what is now Mexico
used the term “Chichimeca” to refer to all the
nomadic tribes in the north. It carried the same
connotations for them as the term “barbarian”
did in Greece and Rome.
The arid lands of northern Mexico had
insufficient rainfall and fertility to support
widespread farming, so hunter-gathering was the
norm. This occasionally led the Chichimecs into
conflict with the more cultured and sedentary
populations to the south but more as a local
nuisance than major threat. However, a drying
trend in the climate from the 12th to 14th
centuries turned arid regions to desert, forcing
the tribes to migrate south. That same drying
trend created an opportunity as the increasing
aridity caused crops to fail in the settled farming
communities they were headed for.
The collapse of the Toltec trading empire
followed. Trade routes could not operate effectively
while disrupted by Chichimec bandits and the
repeated failure of crops brought famine. The
uncouth Chichimec tribes expanded into the
power vacuum. Once settled in the south they
formed petty states and set about casting off their
past and adopting the local culture, including local
religions and even getting locals to be their rulers.
Anything to do with the Toltecs was adopted
as “civilised”.

TROOP NOTES

The main missile weapon in the earlier part of
the period was the atlatl. Slings were also in use.
Melee weapons included spears, rocks, clubs &
knives. We assume that veterans would normally
fight mixed in with lower-ranked warriors, but
might sometimes be deployed separately.
After 900 the bow began to replace the atlatl
and swords came to replace clubs. The bow was
a major advantage in the invasion period, as it
outranged the atlatl of the Toltecs.
16th century Spanish accounts describe
Chichimec tribesmen as naked and shieldless.

PUEBLO CULTURE

The Pueblo Culture of the North American
south-west consisted of hunter/farmer nations
dominating modern Arizona and New Mexico.
Each tribe occupied rock- and plaster- palisaded
towns (the pueblos), regarded as islands of
stability among a sea of savage migrating tribes
that flowed through the area. The Pueblo peoples
included, from west to east, the Hopi, Zuni, Tewa,
Tiwa, Pior, Tano and Pecos. They farmed a greater
variety of crops than most other North American
cultures. The defensive-minded Pueblo peoples
most often defended their towns but would
sometimes launch raids against neighbouring
towns or nomadic tribes. Such nomadic
Chichimec tribes are covered by their own list.
This list covers the Pueblo peoples from 900
to 1500 AD.

TROOP NOTES

Missile weapons included the atlatl, slings, bows
and even a boomerang type weapon. Melee
weapons included spears, rocks, clubs and knives.
Some artwork shows a shield reaching from the
top of a warrior’s head to just above the knees.
Other depictions show smaller shields reaching
from the chin to the waist. By the end of the era,
the round wood or hide shield became universal,
with the main variation being in size.
Zuni warriors wore hardened hide armour on
their head and over the torso. Zuni weapons
included bow, spear and club. Shields tended to
be oval. Navajo warriors were armed with spear and
bow and carried black-striped shields.
Warriors were armed with spears and a wide
variety of melee weapons. We assume that
veterans would normally fight mixed in with
lower-ranked warriors, but might sometimes be
deployed separately. Archers were massed behind
shield-bearers.

PLAINS CULTURE

Plains Culture tribes covered the largest area of
any of the pre-Columbian North American
cultures. Some of the languages included in this
culture were Souian, Caddoan, and Shoshonean.
Most of the Plains tribes had been driven
westward from the North-Eastern Woodlands
region by other tribes. The Comanche and Kiowa
were driven out onto the plains from the Rockies
by other Great Basin tribes. The other plains tribes
included the Lakota/Sioux, Assiniboine, Crow,
Blackfeet, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Gros Ventre.
In the pre-Columbian era, there was a mixture
of sedentary and nomadic tribes. The sedentary
tribes built palisaded towns along rivers and on
lakes. They practiced agriculture, pottery, and
simple weaving. The nomadic tribes migrated
constantly, used tipis for housing, and hunted the
buffalo (American bison) as their primary source
of food.This list covers Plains tribe armies from 900
to 1500 AD.

TROOP NOTES

The armies of the pre-horse era comprised large
masses of foot warriors armed with a variety of
weapons and carrying large shields. Spears were
common and varied in length from tribe to tribe.
Other close combat weapons included maceshaped
clubs and hand hatchets. The Assiniboine
used a club consisting of a two pound stone in a
hide bag attached to a wooden handle by sinew
cords. The Cree version consisted of the stone and
bag but was attached loosely to the 0.6 metre
(2 feet) handle so it could sway to give more
momentum – giving a similar effect to a medieval
flail. Cree “flail” men battle groups represent
groups with a high proportion of men so-armed.
Bows were also common. They were especially
important in Texas and along the Gulf Coast.
After softening up the enemy with arrows and
javelins, one force would rush the other in a
massive wave, hoping to overwhelm them.
Weapons were made of wood, stone and bone.
Stone weapons included arrow heads, lance
heads, knives, axes, and club heads. Bone tended
to be used to enhance weapons such as knives and
arrow points. Long spears were common. A few
tribes are credited with using poisoned arrows.
Both shields and bows were larger in the
Pre-Columbian era than later. Shields were made
of buffalo hide with protection extending from
chin to mid-calf. The Blackfoot have traditions of
having protected themselves from arrows by
several skin shirts, one over the other, while the
Northern Shoshoni wore armour comprised of
“many folds of dressed antelope skin united with
glue and sand.” The Pawnee have also been
credited with hardened skin coats. Since armour
and helmets were used in some parts of
the north Pacific Coast area and in parts of the
Plateaus, it is natural to encounter armour on
the north-western margin of the Plains.