New Aliens: Needed-Unwanted-Unwelcome ?
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I wouldn't call it entirely baseless. As you've just shown, you can run some numbers and come up with at least an educated guess if we assume the human brain's a reasonable example. It might not be, but it gives us a workable starting point for gaming purposes, which is about all we can ask for.
Average adult brain weight's around 1.3 to 1.4 kilograms. Range of variation seems to be anything between 1 kilogram and 2, with the person's size being a significant factor - those pygmies you mentioned being an example. Newborn infant (among us 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 footer adult forms) is around 350 to 400 grams, doubles to about 700 to 800 grams by age 1 and grows to about 80% of adult size - a bit over 1000 grams - by age two (for us 1.3 to 1.4 sorts, I think).
A one year old human averages around 10 kilograms in weight. Two year olds average around 13 1/2 or so. That is of course the juvenile of our species, but clearly their organ systems are up to supporting their brains. Whether an adult of a species in that weight range could be survivable - well, there are animals in that range, but they're not feeding as much brain. Key I think would be the ability to take in the needed level of nutrition, which means a species that small would need a rather rich food source, probably the biggest obstacle. A one year old human, for example takes in half the calories that a teenager might, though he weighs 1/5 the weight. (On the other hand, some of that energy goes to growth.)
The major hurdle I see - other than something that small meeting its nutritional needs in anything but an artificial setting - is having something that small, as a species, support a juvenile of its own. That's a tremendous energy investment for a body that's just barely big enough to support its brain, but the Hivers seem to have an interesting solution that might be applied.
I would definitely consider 10 kg an acceptable lower limit for an engineered form with easy access to rich food. For an evolved form - well, they'd have to be very lucky in their food sources; they're needing about twice as much food as a monkey of that size. 20 kg's likely as small as an evolved intelligence is going to get, short of an unusually fruitful local ecology.
Dinos; GURPS T, spideys; GURPS and T4. Other strange (probably should have been thought out more) races are in other GURPS and T4 supps.
Mass Extinctions
Just a thought...
A recent study have suggested that there is a correlation between the arrival of modern man in a given region and the mass extinction of megafauna within that region. Europe, North and South America, and Australia experienced mass extinctions that coincided with mans arrival in the region.
Apparently almost everything larger than a big dog, that appeared threatening or in someway competed with man was wiped out.
I imagine that the smaller the sapient species, then the greater the extinctions, as more fauna would be considered dangerous megafauna.
The homeworld of a small sapient species might have almost no fauna larger than a house cat, as anything bigger would be considered a threat.
Just a thought...
A recent study have suggested that there is a correlation between the arrival of modern man in a given region and the mass extinction of megafauna within that region. Europe, North and South America, and Australia experienced mass extinctions that coincided with mans arrival in the region.
Apparently almost everything larger than a big dog, that appeared threatening or in someway competed with man was wiped out.
I imagine that the smaller the sapient species, then the greater the extinctions, as more fauna would be considered dangerous megafauna.
The homeworld of a small sapient species might have almost no fauna larger than a house cat, as anything bigger would be considered a threat.
Or tasty megafauna?
Uh, the article title says "megafauna", but the content says "large mammal species", e.g. mammals more than or equal to 10 kg. In my mind, 22 lb isn't what I think of when I think "megafauna", even if the term is correct.
22 lb is a borderline small-to-medium sized dog. I had a small border collie of that size. She wasn't really big enough to qualify as a jackal or coyote, although she sort of looked like one, and she certainly acted like a scavenger.
Quite a lot of mid-range (10-100kg) stuff survived mankind's arrival in North America... Including 3 species of bears, two of Lynx, the cougar, three to 7 canid predators (Wolf*, Fox§, Coyote*), 5 or 6 species of Deer (tho' one is in the 10-20kg range), at least 3 species of Elk (counting the moose), wolverines, Bison, Musk Ox, manatee/dugong, Alligators and Crocodiles,
Yeah, the American Horse was killed off, and a species of bear or 2, Mastadons, Sabertooth Cat, a north american camel relative, a few species of sloth, a bunch of monkeys, a large flightless bird, a couple large species of flying bird...
The correlation is of need weak, because some of these animals are HUGE. The wolves and coyote are major... in part, because the superorganism pack makes the wolf effectively 120-240kg instead of the 20-30kg of the individual wolf. And, having watched a pack take down a 500kg bull moose, and a 1000kg+ bison... They predate as tho' the pack is the hunting organism.
What the survivors tell us is that the "Scary Animals" theory is probably bunk. The Tasty Animals theory works far better - we, as pack hunters with the ability to store meat by smoke curing it, competed with the larger predators for the big game - we didn't kill the predators, we accidentally starved them out. Further, at least in North America, the megafauna extinction coincides with a climactic change, which would likely have wiped out half the missing species anyway.
The implications for small sentients is that they will remain prey species - but so have humans. (Arctic Wolves and Polar Bears both opportunistically humans when their normal prey are absent.)
* The number of species of each is argued. There are some scientists claiming there are two species of NA wolves, others claiming they are all one species, others making the Red Wolf as Canis rufus, rather than Canis lupus rufus; the Coyote vs the Eastern Coyote - the latter a hybrid with wolves - are only recently deemed a species rather than a recurrent hybrid.
§ Only some of the fox species cross the 10kg adult weight.
Yeah, the American Horse was killed off, and a species of bear or 2, Mastadons, Sabertooth Cat, a north american camel relative, a few species of sloth, a bunch of monkeys, a large flightless bird, a couple large species of flying bird...
The correlation is of need weak, because some of these animals are HUGE. The wolves and coyote are major... in part, because the superorganism pack makes the wolf effectively 120-240kg instead of the 20-30kg of the individual wolf. And, having watched a pack take down a 500kg bull moose, and a 1000kg+ bison... They predate as tho' the pack is the hunting organism.
What the survivors tell us is that the "Scary Animals" theory is probably bunk. The Tasty Animals theory works far better - we, as pack hunters with the ability to store meat by smoke curing it, competed with the larger predators for the big game - we didn't kill the predators, we accidentally starved them out. Further, at least in North America, the megafauna extinction coincides with a climactic change, which would likely have wiped out half the missing species anyway.
The implications for small sentients is that they will remain prey species - but so have humans. (Arctic Wolves and Polar Bears both opportunistically humans when their normal prey are absent.)
* The number of species of each is argued. There are some scientists claiming there are two species of NA wolves, others claiming they are all one species, others making the Red Wolf as Canis rufus, rather than Canis lupus rufus; the Coyote vs the Eastern Coyote - the latter a hybrid with wolves - are only recently deemed a species rather than a recurrent hybrid.
§ Only some of the fox species cross the 10kg adult weight.
Hmm... I was watching a documentary on Folsolm and Clovis people.
One arrives in North America around 13,900 years ago, the other arrives around 9-10,000 years ago.
The program talked about the die off of the megaflora. Mastagon, Smiladon ( sabre-teeth cat), and camel. The horses may or may not have been here for either arrival.
The show was labelled as controversial is due to what most palentologists don't accept is why the die off. These nano-diamonds are one known sign of a comet or asteroid hit. A few scientists have claimed that a comet hit, on the ice sheets in Canada, during the Lower Dryads, contributed to the die off. Not paleolithic humans.
One meteor scientist found that nice tiny nano-diamonds at all of the archaeological sites dealing with these people. Another scientist in the show pointed out the loess, wind driven soil, in the Chesapeake Bay area. 3-4 feet of it.
Below it, the Clovis paleolitihic groups are there, but not above it.
The Folsolm group sites are above that level, the other is not.
Another claim is they did meet. And no decision has been resolved if they got a long or fought each other.
One arrives in North America around 13,900 years ago, the other arrives around 9-10,000 years ago.
The program talked about the die off of the megaflora. Mastagon, Smiladon ( sabre-teeth cat), and camel. The horses may or may not have been here for either arrival.
The show was labelled as controversial is due to what most palentologists don't accept is why the die off. These nano-diamonds are one known sign of a comet or asteroid hit. A few scientists have claimed that a comet hit, on the ice sheets in Canada, during the Lower Dryads, contributed to the die off. Not paleolithic humans.
One meteor scientist found that nice tiny nano-diamonds at all of the archaeological sites dealing with these people. Another scientist in the show pointed out the loess, wind driven soil, in the Chesapeake Bay area. 3-4 feet of it.
Below it, the Clovis paleolitihic groups are there, but not above it.
The Folsolm group sites are above that level, the other is not.
Another claim is they did meet. And no decision has been resolved if they got a long or fought each other.
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Granted the theory is controversial, but why is that? Could it be that we do not like to think of ourselves as being a destructive species?
Climate change probably did contirbute to the european and north american exctinctions. But Australia apparently did not experience the same levels of climate change and while aboriginal people pride themselves on their ability to live in harmony with nature, there is a learning curve to attain this in any new environment. The extinctions in Australia coincide with the currently accepted arrival of aboriginal peoples. Once is coincidence, repeated several times in different locations it begins to look like a pattern.
Climate change probably did contirbute to the european and north american exctinctions. But Australia apparently did not experience the same levels of climate change and while aboriginal people pride themselves on their ability to live in harmony with nature, there is a learning curve to attain this in any new environment. The extinctions in Australia coincide with the currently accepted arrival of aboriginal peoples. Once is coincidence, repeated several times in different locations it begins to look like a pattern.
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Paleontology can suffer from scarce evidence and many interpretations. By its nature, the field has a fairly low level of repeatability in its testing of scientific theories, often separated by years or decades until another fossil of the right type is discovered. Those decades see a lot of debate. Mix two parts debate and one part TV documentary to get "controversy", which is often just a construct of the news media, especially in slow developing sciences like Paleontology.
This isn't to say Paleontology and Archaeology can't be properly controversial. Both are being used for culturo-political conflict in India, for example.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Having watched a pair of squirrels cooperate to harvest for themselves my Dad's carefully tended sunflowers, and the same pair have a ball tormenting my folk's dog, I take a jaundiced view of requiring a minimum size for intelligence. Sea otters are tool users, having spent part of an afternoon when I should have been halibut fishing off of Homer, Alaska, watching some sea otters busily cracking mussels (I assume the shells were mussels) with a rock on their chests, and I have seen raccoons pull off some fairly intriguing things, along with having front paws that are highly manipulative.
Note: I did catch three halibut off my party's limit of 6. My wife caught an Irish Lord, and that ugly critter ended her fishing for the day. The daughter of the other party of three managed to hook a Giant Pacific Octopus with an arm spread of 8 feet, and that ended young lady's fishing for the day.
Note: I did catch three halibut off my party's limit of 6. My wife caught an Irish Lord, and that ugly critter ended her fishing for the day. The daughter of the other party of three managed to hook a Giant Pacific Octopus with an arm spread of 8 feet, and that ended young lady's fishing for the day.
shadowcat20
SOC-12
Why am I finding myself more interested in the catch of the day then the spin off topic???....
Ran Targas
SOC-14 1K
Not that man has not proved to be the most invasive species of all but the killer caveman theory doesn't explain the presence of substantial mega fauna in some of the regions of the world populated by man the longest, mainly Africa and South Asia. Even North America had vast herds of bison and elk all the while being predated heavily for millennia by man. Mesopotamian and Greek legends routinely site mega fauna existing in their regions well into recorded history. Could the human population of N.A. been greater in pre-history than it was in 1500? Then the human predation or even agriculture must not have been the primary factor.
Now man may have contributed to the extinctions but the primary reason for the die offs is more likely an environment one. Changes in the types of available graze has also been cited as a possible contributor; grass was able to displace other more nutritious flora, forcing the giant herbivores to migrate further and eat tougher vegetation. Too much environmental stress left populations isolate and reduced to the point of vulnerability.
Maybe more invasive is what man or his companion animals may have brought with them from Asia in the form of disease. These shocked populations could have been exposed to parasites and disease that were completely unfamiliar to the environment. Double or triple whammy.
BUT back to topic ... I could with more non-humanoids and extremophiles in the OTU, maybe not as PCs but definitely for color.
Now man may have contributed to the extinctions but the primary reason for the die offs is more likely an environment one. Changes in the types of available graze has also been cited as a possible contributor; grass was able to displace other more nutritious flora, forcing the giant herbivores to migrate further and eat tougher vegetation. Too much environmental stress left populations isolate and reduced to the point of vulnerability.
Maybe more invasive is what man or his companion animals may have brought with them from Asia in the form of disease. These shocked populations could have been exposed to parasites and disease that were completely unfamiliar to the environment. Double or triple whammy.
BUT back to topic ... I could with more non-humanoids and extremophiles in the OTU, maybe not as PCs but definitely for color.
Plus one heaping dose of Graham Hancock-like programming on your favorite cable channel of choice. Something along the lines of:
Title:
"The"
plus roll 1d:
1. Secret
2. Mystery
3. Lost
4. Ancient
5. Forgotten
6. Extraterrestrial
plus roll 1d:
1. Island
2. Ark / Henge / Stone Heads / Gauss Pistols / insert your gimmick of choice
3. Secrets
4. Peoples
5. Temples
6. Civilizations
"of"
plus roll 1d:
1. the Maya
2. the Ice Age
3. Zinj / Shambhala / insert your mythical city of choice
4. Antarctica
5. the Flood
6. Atlantis (of course)
From my readings of a number of books, around ten thousand in this point of my life, various academics don't like anything new. The 'not invented here so it doesn't exist' way of looking at things is in charge of science, archaeology, and many others.
Plate techtonics and Vikings making it to North America.
Vikings, when I was a kid back in the 1950s, were known for certain to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Greenland. Archaeologiwsts refused to accept that they crossed from Greenland to North America.
About the time I started school one of the kids brought this up. The teacher made certain we knew that any claim the Vikings had made, say Nova Scotia, was nonsense.
Since then, Viking villages with small iron works have been found along the north coast of New Foundland.
As for the 'continents don't move' thing... I remember in school the statement, 'well, yes, the western hemisphere looks like it was once part of Europe and Africa, but that is just an optical illusion'.
In 1957, the International Geophysical Year showed the mid-ocean rift had pushed the contennets apart and made the Atlantic Ocean. And that South America was once part of Africa.
Note that Göbekli Tepe has doubled our list of human history. It is older than Egypt and Sumeria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göbekli_Tepe
Until it was found, the official line was Sumeria was the oldest civilization.
So, I try to keep an open mind about programming that is considered fringe on television.
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Santorini fits parts of the Atlantis tale, while that fragmentary ruin found west of Gibraltar a couple years ago fits other parts. As with many old tales, I suspect Atlantis as we have it is a composite.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Has anyone ever considered going through Barlow's Guide to Extraterrestrials and adding some of those to the Traveller Universe? For those who do not have a copy, I would highly recommend it.
As for early civilizations, when I was taking classes in Biblical Archaeology in the late 1970s, the same time when I first got into Traveller, we were discussing in class the fact that the earliest ruins at Jericho on the Jordan River dated to around 4000 BC, and one of the professors at the school had been on a dig in Iran and northern Iraq, where they found pottery which dated to about 7000 BC. The big joke among the dig crew as all of the pre-Potttery pottery lying around. Then you have the Antikythera device, dated to the 1st Century BC. Then you have the Harappan/Mohenjo-Daro civilization which dated to around 3300 BC. The problem with that one, and also the Minoan civilization, is that we cannot decipher the written records which have been preserved in clay tablets. While we can glean some data on the Minoans from the early Greeks, the Harappans are a blank wall.
What you learn in school depends a lot on how well the history books are updated.
GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Laumer's Demons and Smith's Velantians occupy morphological niches not often seen. Getting a Velantian to fly successfully is going to take rather unusual planetary circumstances, though.
Yeah, Santorini... couldn't remember the name of it.
I saw a history documentary around 10 years ago that mentioned that there were two 'Pillars of Hercules'. One the Straits of Gibralter and one a set of caves in western most Greece.
I don't know of any other reference for the later one.
