Human History

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==IMPORTANT NOTE:==
This is a work in progress, and subject to changes based on community discussion. ~Kemi
==Overview==
Recorded history seems a relatively new concept to mankind, their books tracking back only a couple hundred years or so. Some seem to reference older ages, hinting at man's development and presence for many centuries more. Rather than man's impermanence, this is more of an indicator that it is books that do not survive well, and clues suggest that they are often rewritten as their ink fades from the pages, and they fall apart, brittle and moldy. It is taken as fact, however, that man has been on Terrak for as long as time is known to have been, and is by rights the dominant species, lord over all creatures, sentient and dumb.
==Land & Industry Development==
Man's settlements have been scattered across Terrak for countless centuries before it became the world of many continents known today. Wooded areas along river banks and lake shores long ago gave way to scattered fishing villages, tucked within the border of sentinel trees. Land was cleared around them for agricultural purposes, the felled lumber then used for the clusters of shacks by the river and outlying farm houses among the fields. Prosperous times led to more food, leading to population growth, leading to further expansion into the forests, where man made trails and hunted game, bringing some back to domesticate in the growing farmlands and pastures.
As prosperity grew, the collection of riverside shacks turned into fishing villages. As fishing vilages along a shared river grew and expanded, more agriculture was developed, as was means to support it - first came the blacksmiths to produce tools, then weapons, grain mills to process millet, and lumber mills to turn felled trees into building materials. Not every town could afford to build and maintain their own mills, and so they would turn to the larger ones nearby to help them process their goods, for a fee. Increased efficiency brought goods into surplus, and trade flourished, with river routes and forest paths joining neighboring villages, who could draw on each other for support against calamities, the bonds between them further strengthened by intermarriage.
Up in the mountains, a similar story played out. The Mountain Folk settled in lush valleys where they raised their domesticated herds, building their dwellings from the rock around them, first in the form of modified natural caves, later in homes made of quarried stone. They farmed hardy root vegetables and grains where they could, trading their meat, hides, and homespun wool with the lowland settlements for other goods like fish, lumber, and hand-woven textiles. Likewise, people settled along the desert built their own lives, adapting agriculture and herding to the dryer, hotter climate of the south. In a land where trees were scarce, they chose mud brick for their own homes for its availability and ability to keep the dwellings cool.
As trade and prosperity grew, the valley and forest dwelling people improved their buildings, spending their wealth on stronger homes and mills of mud brick, then stone. Societies across Terrak produced leaders, in the form of wealth landowning nobles, or elected councils, depending on local politics, that led some towns, eventually, into the status of true cities.
For the current state of manufacturing industries, please see the Technology article.