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It's so gol-dang WET here....

Kit

Kit

Maester
:help:

I could use some creative brainstorming assistance for the following, in regards to my WIP:

My swamp-dwelling clans are going to have knives (and the occasional sword) made of some magical metal which I am inventing- and so I conveniently get to decree that it is rustproof. However, they are going to need something a bit more mundane to fillet their fish and such... also forks and spoons and a few other items. Can anyone suggest rust-resistant metals I might be able to use for these?

Also- the children will need knives. I was thinking of having them start out with something a little more rustic and not earn metal till they get older. Any suggestions? Bone? Shell? Stone and hard woods may be lacking in the swamps.

I'm going to have them be trading from time to time with dryland folk, thus they don't have to produce the metal themselves; I *could* also arm the kids with materials gleaned from the trading trips, but I'd much rather have the kids work with what they would find naturally available in the swamp.

Another thing I'm struggling with a bit- containers. They are going to be putting wax and pitch on a lot of their stuff to make it moisture-resistant. I'd like to have them carry some salves and other items in small containers. My initial idea (which I'm lukewarm on) is to invent some sort of hard seed pod, have them hollow it out and cut a "cap" which could be stuck back in place with resin or something. Portable, sealable water containers? The traditional mythical waterskin doesn't seem quite right. Can anyone suggest ideas for containers?

The people live on rafts and don't have a lot of possessions. I'm thinking to have them keep a couple changes of clothes, blankets, and a few other personal things dry by putting them in oilcloth sacks and hanging them in the trees. I've read that cypress (common swampy wood) is water resistant, so perhaps a few trunks and boxes made of that- but they would rather have something lighter and more easily movable.

Ideas would be much appreciated! Thank you!
 
Telcontar

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
There are a few metal alloys, known to be rust- and tarnish-resistant, that have been in use for ages. The one I can think of off the top of my head is bronze, most types of which form a layer of oxide which then protects the metal underneath.

However, instead of doing time-consuming research on this, I'd suggest the "Yay, fiction!" route - just acknowledge that they have a problem with corrosion due to the environment and leave it at that. Maybe some of their more expensive 'day-to-day' tools are formed from an alloy of that magic metal, and so are also resistant to corrosion. Easier than learning lots of metallurgy.

Simple tools and 'blades' made from shell were fairly common in primitive peoples. Bone can make for good points (spears, needles) but not great cutting edges. Stone is always an option, but as you said is not easy to find in that environment. I'd go with shell. Make up some animal that has a large, brittle shell that makes good blade material... some sort of crab? Or maybe a creature with lots of small teeth that can be set into a frame like the Aztecs did with their obsidian swords.

Waterskins weren't mythical. They were quite common. :) Not sure what else you might use. Hollowed wooden containers, maybe.
 
arbiter117

arbiter117

Minstrel
I agree with Grandmaster Telcontar on the weapons deal. I suggest checking out how the Polynesian people made their weapons. They used shark teeth.

Also your people could collect water in hollowed out gourds or coconut shells? Banana leaves woven into a mat and strung between the trees?
 
H

Hans

Sage
If you can add an animal with tusks (maybe used to plow the swamps) I would recommend ivory. There are lots of documented historical uses of this material for knives.
 
Butterfly

Butterfly

Auror
I think there is a naturally occurring type of clay that forms from sediment at the bottom of watery places. Perhaps your swamp-dwellers have a way of harvesting it - that could solve your container problem and perhaps even give them something to trade with. They could create intricate pots, urns, vases, and be highly sought after by wealthy folk. Perhaps they don't even know the value of their swamp crafted products.

As for the rafts, a good idea, but perhaps there is some scope to build a few villages on floating pontoons, or even houses on stilts. Swamps can also have a few islands as well.

As a side note, I'm going to suggest a source of fuel could come in the form of peat.
 
Barsook

Barsook

Minstrel
Going with the rafts idea, you could have a floating market like in one of the Asian countries where they can do their trading. And maybe have your people living mainly on the islands and they do their trades on the market.
 
topazfire

topazfire

Minstrel
Look up the floating islands of Lake Titicaca in Peru. There is a tribe there that lives on reed pontoons and uses the reeds for everything - including making water tight baskets, not to mention boats, and roofs. There are some great pictures out there for inspiration. These people mainly fish (not sure what their traditional weapons are) and now they make handicrafts out of the reeds for the international tourists who come to see them.
 
Caged Maiden

Caged Maiden

Staff
Article Team
Many things can be made from leather..... certainly tankards, bowls, lids, water skins. eating utensils could be made of bone or shell. Here's an awesome pic from the V&A.

View attachment 457

That sort of thing might be kinda cool for swamp people. BTW this one is from 1585 if you were curious.
 
Kit

Kit

Maester
Thanks, everyone! These suggestions are giving me some good ideas and directions for further research. Keep 'em coming if you think of anything else!

I had already incorporated houses on stilts, altho they will be simple platforms with a sort of burlap-type overhead tarp covered with pitch- since these people are semi-nomadic and don't want to spend a lot of time and effort building unmovable structures. There are hummocky islands, but most of those come and go as the water constantly changes the landscape. They are going to have some goats on these, shuffling them from place to place at need, but not really live or build on them. I also already have the floating market. Besides their personal rafts, there will be several large communal rafts- one of which will have fire bowls and a grill, an eternally-cooking pot of potluck stew and a pot of boiling water, and an oven that they can all share. They also have a kiln, so the clay stuff would be do-able.
 
Queshire

Queshire

Istar
heh... I'm not sure how well this'll fit in your world, but I've always been a fan of giant snails / slugs as beasts of burdern... maybe hollowing out a snail's shell for a house (Of course, it doesn't work that way in real life but meh...)
 
Devor

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
You could use antlers or keratin horns for tools and weapons. Truthfully, simple stones can be just as effective. Animal teeth were on rare occasions tied together into a kind of lamellar armor, sometimes even helmets (skull caps). Leather can be very effective for a large number of items. I think Ravana mentioned on the Research forum that animal bladders were used as the internal liner for waterskins. Sinews made a very strong rope, since I wouldn't expect hemp to last. Telcontar mentioned Bronze, but gold alloys would be another option.

Something that might be interesting, the climate would preserve bones and other remains for a very long time, and a lot of our dinosaur bones come from these regions. When you consider bones, they may have access to some remains for animals that may no longer exist in the region, and some of these could be large enough to make prominent appearances.
 
arbiter117

arbiter117

Minstrel
If they are somewhat nomadic, it seems that they would want to use things they can get while traveling like the gourds, unless they knew exactly when and where they would stop and for how long then the bog iron smithing and pottery seems a bit more likely.

If they travel between the "winter home" and "summer home" then perhaps they have a permanent residence in both places stocked with clay jars and stuff for when they return?
I haven't really heard of nomads being industrious (if anyone has let me know!). Generally they got their goods from trading and raiding and often herded domesticated animals or followed wild ones.

At the same time, though, it's not Earth...
 
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Kit

Kit

Maester
I've actually gotten quite a bit of research done in the past 2 days (starting, in part, from some of the suggestions offered here). Turns out you can make pretty much anything short of a nuclear bomb using bamboo. Including literally every single item that I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to supply. I spent a good chunk of last night watching Youtubes of survivalist hillbillies and grizzled old natives building houses, starting fires, making cooking vessels and utensils, fish spears, bows, musical instruments, textiles, and all sorts of crap with nothing but bamboo and a kukri. Cool stuff. I'm feeling very inspired.
 
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