Dogs & wolves are in the same genus (Canis), and dogs are quite closely related to wolves. The Australian dingo is not the ancestor for most dogs, and many types of dogs clearly have some wolf blood in them. The golden jackal is also an obvious source of dog genes. Part of the problem is that dogs are extremely fluid genetically, and most all dogs from the same genus (and sometimes even different genera) can freely interbreed, as witness the sad fate of the red wolf - now in effect extinct because all living red wolves have domestic dog genes within them.
Anyway, the split between canines & bears occurred long before
any split between dogs & wolves. Bears are, however, quite a
newly-evolved carnivore - perhaps the most recent (I can't think of a
newer one off-hand), and are derived from the canines. Before there were
bears, there were dogs, and quite good ones, too.
>Devolving herdmen face an artificial selection pressure simlar to that
which maintains the RW >horse. Re defenses see sheep. One dog can
destroy a vast proportion of a flock in a single >night. The defenses
that sheep have developed are shepherds.
I agree strongly, plus add the note that herdmen are less vulnerable to predators than sheep even when on their own, because herdmen are more aggressive and more likely to come to one another's defense than are sheep. IMO, herdmen are nearly invulnerable to jackal predation because of this, and hyenas are only able to pick off loners or young calves. (I have been convinced that "calf" is better than "cub" for young herd men after all.)
Michael Cule
>I think Sandy was saying that *any* rapist of *any* intelligent species
runs the risk of becoming >a broo.
Correct. IMO (and Greg's - private conversation) rape is an act devoted to Thed, and any rapist stands a (admittedly very small) chance of going into broo-hood.
Stephen Martin
>The theory from Elder Secrets that dinosaurs are dragonewts who
devolved is just that: A >THEORY.
Okay Stephen, me and Greg have spent an enormous amount of time
theorizing about dinosaurs in Glorantha, and here is what we came up
with at one time. I'm sticking by it:
BUT ... clearly not all dinosaurs derive from dragonewts. Most of the
dinosaurs of central and western Genertela (not that there's that many)
are probably of draconic origin. Almost all dinosaurs of Pamaltela are
of "natural" origin, with no dragonewt blood.
>Dragon Pass boardgame says that they >are born from damaged dragon
eggs.
DP expressly indicates that certain dinosaurs are of dragonewt origin.
The three types of dinosaurs in DP are given different origins;
"brontosaurs" are dragonewts who attempted to mature themselves
prematurely into a dragon, "triceratops" are dragonewts expressly bred
to size and ferocity, "trachodons" are damaged eggs, and "pteranodons"
are dinosaurs who have realized their pitiful condition and gone into
rebirth as something more perfect.
>There are lots of dragonewts in Kralorela, but no mention anywhere that
I know of of any >dinosaurs there. Why not?
Because almost nothing is written about KralorelaAnyway, the
Kralori would not identify a large ferocious scaled creature as a
"dinosaur"; would they? . I am sure that the huge jungles in Fethlon
teem with archosaurs.
>Given all of the above, I see no need whatsoever for _requiring_ that
there be dinosaurs on >Teleos (miniature or normal-sized).
Nonetheless I believe that there are dinosaurs on Teleos. In addition, I believe that there are misbegotten dragonewts, many of which have dinosaur-ish features on this island.
Peter Metcalfe:
>I do not consider the Pelorian Blue People > nor the Vadeli Blueskins nor the Teleosan Blue >Folk to > be Veldang.
The Loper people, Pelorian blue people (now extinct), Fonritian blues, and Zamokil blues are all definitely Veldang. This has nothing to do with their cultures, which have no more in common than Praxians and Hrestoli (both Wareran in race).
The Blue Vadeli are rather hard to examine. The Telean blue tribe are NOT Veldang (nor are any other of the Telean tribes). Some Waertagi are blueskinned, and they are also not Veldang. These are unusual cases, however. The vast majority of blue people in Glorantha are of the Veldang race.
As stated in the Genertela book, the Telean folk are all Kralori in race, though they are rather unusual in skin color.
Nils_________
>Teleosian myth says that Teleos is the centre of the world. I think it
is just logical then that it >also says that the Teleosians are the
original human race. _All_ the other races are >descendants who have
devolved and got stuck with just one colour. The monochrome greens >and
violets and oranges no doubt died out during the Darkness.
Well, actually the Telean yellow tribe skin tones don't look very much like the Kralori. Kralori skin, while highly variable, is generally no more "yellow" than the skin of a Thai (Teshnos), Chinese (Kralorela), Mongol (Pent), or Malay (East Isles). But the skin of the Telean yellows is quite a bright yellow, like a lemon. Also the Telean blues are a paler blue than most Veldang.
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #151
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