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31  The Galactic Codex / The Civilization Codex / Re: Oka on: January 13, 2012, 04:37:36 pm
Biology
Anatomy
The Oka have a theropodal body plan, but with a semi-erect torso and interestingly long arms for a therapod. Their height ranges from 1.2m in Gondan females to almost 1.8m in bull Ishgalog. In general, males are larger than females. S. mons males are around 1.6m (5.2 feet) tall and 1.9m (6.2 feet). Females are 1.4m (4.5 feet) and 1.7m (5.5 feet). Their bodies, except there lips, ears and the area around the eyes are covered in fur. Their hair is different from those of other planets, having evolved from quill like structures instead directly from scales. There bone is also slightly different, it is both more durable and not as brittle, and are more resistant to fracturing, a very dangerous case for a fast running predator living on a high-grav planet. Even today, breaking a bone is a very serious case. They have 5 fingers on their hand, 3 fingers and 2 thumbs, but they aren't as good a manipulator as other species, with more palm than fingers, plus, they still retain claws. On their feet, they have only 3 toes left, the other 2 having receded into the foot. Their skulls are relatively thick, once again to prevent serious damage from a high grav fall. The males are thicker due to their ancestors’ often brutal fights. They have differenced teeth, incisors, primary canines, secondary canines, regulars and molars. An adult with a full set of these choppers will have 62 in total. But their main killing tool is on their foot. Although s. mons' is slightly vestiged, all modern members of Duovenatus have a large killing claw on their inner toe, in the shape of a scimitar, not the raptors hook shape, for slicing into flesh. Sapiens' claw is usually 10-8cm (4-3inches).
Plus, all creatures on Okasa use carbon as a biological base.

Physiology
Homeostatis is achived in the same way of other warm-blooded animals, and is similar to other mammal and avian creatures. The atmosphere breathed by them is 79% Nitrogen, 15% Oxygen, 2% Argon, 0.8% Carbon Dioxide, 0.3 water vapour and 3% other gases. They are as stated earlier carnivourus, but modern Oka usually include nuts and sometimes tubers. They, like most other species, can have allergies. They are also prone to gut parasites. Interestingly, they are also vunurable to ear infections. There atmosphere is slightly thicker than Earths (10N/cm2), understandable considering the relativly large size of Okasa (1.8G). Although the oportunity has never presented itself, Okasa would need a gas mask to prevent possible oxygen poisoning on most planets, and maybe a suit to combat lack of pressure on a smaller planet.

Genetics
Like most complex carbon based life forms, the Oka use DNA, left handed type-Z to be specific. Like most species in the Duovenatus family, sapiens has an unusually high mutation rate. Although the reason for this is unknown, it means that numerous subspecies have evolved. This diversity has meant that throughout history, racism and discrimination have been common. The Oka have yet to discovered genetics and so show no opinion on the matter.

Life Cycle
After copulation, the female Oka will take a mere 6 weeks for her eggs to gestate. But she will not lay them, as like all other members of Neorepyilia, the Oka practise ovovivipary. Instead she will between 2-4 now fertilized eggs in a pseudo womb. It will take 7 months* for them to hatch. Once they do hatch, they are expulsed from the womb. In the past, 50% of the hatchlings nearly always died after their first 2 years, but thanks to advancements in medicine and sanitation, the population is on the rise as more babies survive. The young are born with a black coat , which slowly turns lighter until it reaches whatever colour that race normally has. The hatchling will be cared for first by the female, but then the task will fall primarily to the male. By 3 months they are walking, by 7, running and jumping. They feed the young through regurgitation for almost 10 months until they are weaned off onto solid food. But it usually take around 2 or so years to teach one to talk. They grow quickly until 10, in which they experience a major growth spurt. In males, they characteristically grow from 70cm to almost 160cm (in s. mons) in just 5 years* (18cm every year). By 15 years old they are both sexually and physically mature and are often expulsed by their family in societies across the world. Females mature more slowly, their growth spurts being less extreme and reaching sexual maturity by around 16 or 17. By their 20's, an adult has reached its prime but now doesn't have long to live. The average lifetime of an adult male during the Mesolithic the average lifespan was a mere 25 years of age, by the end of the Dark Ages, 30, maybe 40. Even now, in the highest point in history, it is usually never more than 60.

Subspecies and Variations
As stated before, there are many ethnic groups and even subspecies of the Oka. The subspecies, not including the original sapiens, include s. oriens, the first subspecies to evolve, in Pangsa, the eastern continent. The most important ethnic groups of this subspecies are as follows: The Tarish, of which their is there is the Salam culture and Talam culture; Karan; Yummentine; Targon; Dabba; Targon; and those of the northern tribes. In the far west, s. mons evolved. They are hardy and adapted to survive in the Brundussatu Mountains. Of these there are 4 varieties: Western Brunduska, often considered, but only by them selves, the pure race. Then there are the Eastern Brunduska, the immigrants and soldiers that interbred with the newly conquered (and now reduced) Gondan Empire. In the Skytukhon rainforest, the new of forest life has radically changed them, making them much less stocky for prowling through the jungle floor. But genetic reaserch has proven that they are not yet a subspecies. And may never be, as  their isolation is under threat from the West Brundus Empire. Down in Bundercow, the harsh climate gas left in untouched by civilisation, meaning the nomadic hunting tribes with their famed dog breeds live unchanged. Then their is the Ishgalog, that strange race of thin furred northerners. Although they used to have a huge empire, they are now limited to the Jummut P., their homeland, and Patterneninsi Island, the current Ishgalog sronghold and capital thanks to the huge military campaigns of the Old Karan Empire. They are renowned for their backwards technology and bloodthirsty religion. Last but not least are the ethnic groups of the original sapiens. These are the inhabitants of the ___ Desert, those of the Fillimotakut sub-continent and the original inhabitants of the Gondahuut area, now mostly mixed into the Brundus population ever since they were conquered 600 years ago. Then they are the Gondans, now the inhabitants of various states along the northern Gondan coast. These people have a long, long history filled with the building and expansion of great empires. But now there glory days are over, and they have been thrown owt of their deep home land, the Gondahuut Peninsula by the mighty Brundus Empire.
32  The Galactic Codex / The Civilization Codex / Re: Oka on: January 13, 2012, 04:37:15 pm
Habitat and population
Historical
The Oka have their roots with the vicious predators that followed their prey through the vast savannah of Gondahuut. So it is understandable that for almost 2.5mya the Oka where nomadic hunters, and even when the Age of the Thousand Warring Kingdoms ended, only 6% of the population (then 6000million) lived permanently settled lives. Even by the Age of Empires, when both Pangsa and the west were becoming settled, only 15% now lived settled. Though as the ages went by, the settled population rose (though dropped temporarily during the Dark Ages after the fall of the Valv Empire). Ancient towns were densely packed and usually built up irregularly, surrounded by a wall, or two as the town grew. The later periods of the Valv Empire saw the construction of buildings built in square patterns, a method that resurfaced after the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages though saw a period of inactivity and population stability that lasted until the Karan Golden Age and the surfacing of the Brundus Empire.

Contemporary
The Brundus Empire brought a new age in urbanization. Stone buildings eventually replaced the traditional wooden buildings of the far west coast. Cities are still fairly irregular at their heart, where their construction began, but modernization has changed their city plans to more well organized.  Cities though are still particularly dirty and sickness is a very present mortality risk. Plus cities are a crime hotspot and the threat of being robbed or murdered is omnipresent. Cities are generally a nasty place to live, but the promise of money, trade, a house and often a higher¡er chance of getting married bring people from all over the western world in to large cities. 60% of the world population (1billion) is settled and 10% live in cities of more than 500 000.
33  The Galactic Codex / The Civilization Codex / Re: Oka on: January 13, 2012, 04:36:55 pm
History
Evolution
Oka evolution began around 24mya, when the first, albeit small, theropods evolved in the forests of the then tropical Gondahuut Peninsula. They grew in size and ferocity until they were one of the top predators in the humid south. By 16mya, the first members of the Duovenatus family ( commonly called Jacks) were evolving. One of these creatures was the huge megalopsis the largest of the Jacks, at 3m tall and 6m long.
But, by 14 mya, the long period of climatic stability and warmth ended suddenly with the closing of the Bundercow strait, the strip of water that separated the Western continent from Sanyatuk (Southern continent) and the pathway for the Tutta warm water current. That forced the Tutta current up north, making the Brundussatu mountains warmer and heating the area which will now create the Skytukhon rainforest, which until now has had the climate of France. But with this one gain the Eastern areas also suffered a loss. With the warming of the Brundussatu mountains, the melt water-based seasons were radically changed, and the all round colder climate ate away at the forests to replace it with savannah and freezing up the lush northern grasslands with moors and boreal forests. Northern animals moving into the southern territories out-competed most native animals, including the beaked herbivores which now only live on the remote subcontinent of Fillimotakut. Only the smaller, more adaptable species of Jacks survived. One of these creatures was diuambulandus. They were around 90cm tall and adaptable, social and surprisingly intelligent. They also operated in packs. They lived in the south area of the Gondahuut grasslands (the stretch of land just below the Gondahuut P.) where the aptly named wolves (though they are more like big cats) hadn't gained full dominance in the area. But as the period of Ice ages and Inter-glacial periods started, an arms race between the two families began, the wolves having the upper hand in Ice ages, while Jacks having dominance in the Inter glacial. Wolves responded with strength while jacks responded with intelligence.
By 10mya, jacks had out competed the larger wolves from the area. One of the species living at the time was sagaxdimidio. It was 1.5m, a pack hunter and had a social system in which the females hunt and the males reserve their energy to fight off rivals. It also is one of the few animals to use tools. They used them to smash open bones to get at the marrow perhaps, or to defend themselves or maybe even to get the upper hand in a fight  for dominance and showed obvious signs of extreme intelligence.
As the period of global cooling increased, Jacks adapted to colder environments and started moving North. By 9mya they had spread into the southern areas of the Brundussatu and the entire Gondahuut area.
But, around 6mya, something revolutionary happens. A species named novus evolves in the Gondahuut P. shows what is considered to be the first signs of consciousness. Sapience. Novus live in packs of up to 30, with a single male, maybe with allies, defending his pride from rivals. They use tools to skin animals and get to the marrow and have a deep understanding of the movements of prey in the environment, putting two and two together for more efficient hunting. They also use one of the first complex vocal languages. But they have a problem, technological advancement is incredibly slow. After 1mya, their primitive stone tools have remained practically unchanged. But something is about to change. The discovery of the manipulation of one of the most powerful elements, fire. Somehow, progress speeds up. Maybe it is because they can now remain awake at night (Jacks are diurnal and are often vulnerable to nocturnal predators) or the fact it opens up different ways to hunt. Either way, progress has sped up.
Over time they spread north and are extremely successful. Soon they spread into Pangsa (eastern continent), which is now separated by the Gando Sea, through the Dabahuut P. In the colder climate they adapt into novus frigus a subspecies more adapted to the cold northern environments.
By 3mya, the mega ice age is at its climax, average world temperatures are 6*C. The Gando Sea has also widened rapidly. So with the north impassible and wasters cutting off the south means, for the first time in 3mya the species is separated. Each adapt to its own environment.
The North-East has become a mountainous, icy wasteland, scarce in the prey Jacks have evolved to hunt. Superstes has evolved in the what is now the Tarish areas, and the Karan coast. They are pretty short, 1.3m, but they understand many of the full potentials of fire and use one of the first ranged weapons, wooden spears. They understanding of their environment and are capable of manipulating the elements to their advantage.
In Gondahuut, another species has evolved to quite a different environment. Ice ages are usually particularly dry, and this has decimated the once lush grasslands. Large swaths of srcrubland and desert have replaced them. Deserts are a particularly un-yielding place to live, and this pushes the limits of ingenuity and creativity. They must put seemingly unrelated things together to come up with surprising results and always be ready to come up with new ways to do stuff. The species in question is Duovenatus Sapiens, modern Oka.

Prehistory

These new hunters stalk the Gondahuut, using their advanced strategies to outcompete local predators. After
20 000 years, temperatures finally start to warm and prey returns to the grasslands, only to find the Oka in their tracks. Soon after, they develop the first handle, extremely useful for carrying around weapons and other tools. Before the handle, people could only advance their tools as much as time allowed. Once used they were thrown away. But now people could put real time and effort into their works, and now tools were advancing by strides. They also treat their dead very differently to earlier ancestors, their creative minds asking strange questions, such as: how was I born? How do I live? Why do I hunt? Where do I go when I die?
After time, they start spreading both north and west, soon reaching the Brundussatu through the Dabahuut P. and into Pangsa.
2.935mya, the first physical manifestations of the Oka's mind appear on cave walls and in statuets, bringing in a new mentality of the world. 5000 years later, another revolutionary event, the invention of sewing enables clothes, bags and a whole range of other stuff.
2.9 and a subspecies have popped up in Pangsa s. oriens. Those in the Tarish region have a surprisingly different culture compared to others in the west. They practise a form of ritualised warfare. Soon after,
s. mons appears in the Brundussatu mountains. The western varaities of this subspecies mostly practise the crafting of obsidian tools, which are superior to other stone tools.
Back in Pangsa though, something is stiring in the Jummut P. The Ishgalog, know by some as the true owners of the planet, as "dictated by God", appears in the Jummut P. They are very tall, with a very short coat and small horns and are famed for their burning blue eyes. It is argued by modern scientists whether they are a sub species or a species of them selves, but they are set to have great influence on the ancient world. They are greatly more socially advanced than other races, they live in clans instead of packs and follow a great priestess. The first priestess is called Ushlakluum, and she is not just a religious leader, but a great general. She declares war on the Karan tribedoms that dot the Vuilara Mountains. Their organized armies overwhelm the separated Karan tribes. Soon, the "Empire" stretches from the Jummut P all the way to the foot of the Salam mountains, where they are kept at bay by Tarish warriors. They form a sort of union, lead by an annually voted High Chief to protect themselves. But, disaster strikes the empire as the reigning priestess, and all her daughters are assassinated. Now, with no heir, and with Karan tribes now revolting, the empire falls into disarray. When the Karans finally strike, a bloody guerilla war begins, with the Ishgalog Empire the eventual losers. After 600 years, it falls. The unity that the Karans created to assure victory also starts to break apart, but the Tarish Tribedom stays strong.
Back in the Brundussatu, mons reaches the Skytukhon Rainforest. One of the few wet equatorial climates create a vastly different life from any other on the planet.
After a while of inactivity, one of the most important inventions is invented, the boat. The first simple dugouts and skin boats allow people to spread up river and even to islands. After 50 000 years of its invention, the boat allows the Oka to reach Fillimotakut. But this is bad news for native wildlife. Extinction follows.
Once again, a revolutionary discovery in Gondahuut, domestication. Rounding up and then breaking cattle so that they can care for them, fatten them up and eat them. Herding around your own food means you simple don't need to hunt. Soon after another invention that goes hand in hand with domestication, the wheel. The moving of large amounts of goods becomes easy. This also allows the invention of the sail. The two make trade common.
In Pangsa, domestication also appears. But for different reasons. A help in hunting. Soon, the domestication of such animals reaches the west.
800 000, superstes has failed to live up to its name sake, survivor. They go extinct after being limited to the northern tundra for hundereds of thousands of years.
Back down south, in the Gondahuut, a semi-settled way of life takes off. They settle their livestock in an area, wait for them to strip the area and move on. But they soon make the discovery that sets their course to the modern era. Farming. People in the fertile Gondahuut P. grow and tend the food of their livestock next to their dwellings so they no longer need to migrate. Plu, by 650 000b.R, a brand new discovery, metal workings. It first appears in copper form, and is extremely useful, being malleable and durable. There are also tin deposits being discovered in the Talam rng.  The first non-nomadic and metal using people arise and the transition to civilisation begins.

 Transition to Civilization
The first settled people lived fairly simple lives, but they were way more complex than any other hunter-gatherer societies. In some regions though, all this owning fertile, tended for land means that people may end up wanting what you own. Warfare for non religious or ritual reasons appears. Many farms are soiled by blood and lots of villages where protected by walls.
Back in the east, in Ishgalog territories, temples and other large structures are being constructed. During religious events, they become temporary villages, sometimes with a temporary population of 30 000.
Thanks to the tin in the Talam, a trade route of copper-tin between Tarish tribes and Gondan villages appears. This trade route, also one of the first to go through the Gando sea on boat, also allows the domestication of cattle to pass into Pangsa. Although most Karan, Ishgalog and other northern tribes now practise herding, most Tarish are still nomadic hunters.
By 610 000b.R, a new form of society appears. The city state, often large towns run by a centralised and much more complex form of government than chiefdom, often a monarchy or a primitive republic. Each city state controls a territory that is marked by one of the first fixed borders. This also means that the first city plans are drawn up. But as a recent ice age throws the are into a drought and dwindles resources, tempers rise. As the first war is waged, a bloody period in history starts, a period of which only a few chosen ones know of. It is the age
"Of the Thousand Warring Kingdoms", and it will last many hundreds of years. By the time it is over, only around a hundred kingdoms are left, no longer being city states, as they have captured enemies cities and added them to their now growing territories. From these, remaining, large empires shall rise. On of these shall be the Valv empire, but that is another story.
The most important event yet happened around 572 000b.R. The begining of recorded history. Scribblings written in the yet untranslated Old Gondan, can be found from now on. This legendary form of communication allows knowledge not only to be passed on, but can be preserved for ever. Cultural progress and technological advancement speeds up to hyperspeed. Empires shall be wrought on the foundations of these ancient words.
Although script is universally important, very few people can write or read. Not even most kings can read, let alone write. Money is also first invented, though the laypeople still prefer to barter.
Over in the east, the settlement revolution starts taking place, first in the Targon valley then travelling downriver to Karan territories. The Ishgalog had already been sedentary though, small villages being built around the larger temples, believing it would bring them good luck. All the willing populace also filled the priests pockets with offerings, and cheap labour... All the way in the Brundussatu though, people are still living in the stone age.
Due to the trade of tin and copper, it wasn't all that surprising that bronze was quickly discovered in the Ringod Empire, one of the eight main empires of the Gondahuut. This gives it the upper hand against other empires for a short while, though it soon spreads to other nations, then to Pangsa. A new Ishgalog Empire is also arising, and they will bring the greatest shift of power ever and influence other nations so much that even today, their half forgotten legacy still has an impact on Pangsa's culture today. But once again that is another story.
Soon, with the first settlements in West Brundussatu, mostly wooden seaside villages, the scene is set for the course to the modern world, through the Age of Empires, the rising and falling of the Tarish Warlord Kisho, the massive military campaigns of the New Ishgalog Empire, the formation of the Karan civilisations, the fall of the Valve Empire followed by the Dark Ages, the overthrow of the New Ishgalog Empire and the Karan Glory days, the rise of the Brundus civilisation, their conquests and advancement into an Empire, the discovery of the forgotten Fillimotakut and the discovery of gunpowder, steam power and the Oka Industrial Revolution.
34  The Galactic Codex / The Civilization Codex / Re: Oka on: January 13, 2012, 04:36:28 pm
Etymology

The word Oka derives from the the Old Brundusonka* words of o (great, adjective (oh)) and ka (person (kA)). "o" is used to differentiate the species from the noun/pronoun ka, which means man or I (myself). It should be noted that the Brundus Empire refers to the less advanced people as Okasigh, to denote them as beneath the Brunduska.

*Unlike English, where you can just add -an or -ese, the Brunduska have various titles added onto the end which mean definite things such as -ka (do denote them as a race) or -onka (to show that it is the language of said nation)
35  The Galactic Codex / The Civilization Codex / Oka on: January 13, 2012, 04:35:54 pm
Encyclopedia Xenobiologica
Expanded Entry-Select
Oka
The Oka (known taxonomically as Duovenatus sapiens, Latin for two-hunter, referring to its bipedal stance), or Pangdºng in Eastern territories, is a species of theropodal hyper-carnivores who inhabit the L-common class planet of Okasa, as it is known by the Brunduska people. Okahon, although relatively primitive, are famed for their violent lifestyle and dedication and glorification of warfare, masters in the field of melee combat, though the world is modernizing, in the words of the Brundus, and they do not have time for this "petty" violence. The current most powerful, influential and technologically advanced culture is the Brundus Union. They currently hold almost a third of the planets land surface in their official borders, though the area of land under definite control is much smaller.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
 2.1 Evolution
 2.2 Prehistory
 2.3 Transition to Civilization
3 Habitat and population
 3.1 Historical
 3.2 Contemporary
4 Biology
 4.1 Anatomy
 4.2 Physiology
 4.3 Genetics
 4.4 Life Cycle
 4.5 Subspecies and Variations
5 Psychology
 5.1 Consciousness and Memory
 5.2 Mentality and Emotion
6 Culture and Society
 6.1 Classification
 6.2 Gender Roles
 6.3 Social Structure
 6.4 Economics
 6.5 Conflict Management
 6.6 Material culture and Technology
 6.7 Communication
 6.8 Philosophy and Spirituality
 6.10 Art, Literature and Music
 6.11 Entertainment
36  The Lounge / General Off-Topic / Re: The 'Hi, I'm new here.' Thread on: January 13, 2012, 11:54:38 am
You do know who I am no?
37  The Lounge / General Off-Topic / Re: The 'Hi, I'm new here.' Thread on: January 12, 2012, 03:12:27 pm
I've decided to join because, after my annual visit to that graveyard GA, I found out that this place had been finally updated! Rejoice!
Now some of you may remember me as the un-knowledgeable, bandwagon noob, personally I think I've changed after my stay at SpecEvo. But of course, if I've changed or not is up to you  Wink
(but I'm still a lazy arse. Anybody remember when I presented the Pangd*ng (im gonna have to change that name Xl ) back in August? It has come VERY far, but it still doesn't even have it's have it's own topic!!!)
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