Kotosh Culture (Reinventing the Wheel)

The greatest extent of Kotosian influence circa 1200 BC, Kotosia is highlighted in dark green, other major Kotosh settlements in light green. Black lines represent notable trade connections.

The Kotosh were a group of people who inhabited the west coast of early south Fusang, and are generally considered to be the first civilization in the western hemisphere. Evidence of the civilization existing in the Lanhe river valley goes as far back as 3500 BC, and the culture especially flourished from roughly 2200 to 1200 BC, during an age of unprecedented expansion and unification into Kotosia, which is considered to be the first nation-state in Fusang. Although concentrated in their homeland of Riluan, the Kotosh expanded far and wide, settling as far north as Zhongfusang and as far south as Huangwu.

The Kotosh first emerged in around 3500, settling in the city of Huaricanga, north of the Lanhe river valley. Over the next millennium, initial settlements expanded and new ones were formed, with the plurality of the population and economic activity eventually coalescing in the Lanhe river valley, and especially at Caral. During this time, the Kotosh evolved their unique style of agriculture, relying on high cotton productions in order to craft nets to catch fish, which was their main source of protein. Advanced irrigation and farming techniques also developed during this time, with evidence of the Kotosh farming crops like avocado, achira, maize, lúcuma, guava, pacay, sweet potatoes, squash, and beans, with the last three being by far the most prominent.

After expanding into much of their homeland, the Kotosh started something of a technological revolution, starting around 2200 BC. At first, this mostly included the invention of pottery, the wheel, improvements to irrigation systems, but later expanded to include more advanced ships, aquaculture, domestication of llamas, and weapons technology. Centered in Caral and nearby cities, this wave of technological advancement lead to a boom in population, and allowed the Kotosh to start the process of colonizing the west coast of South Fusang. Although slow at first, the first Kotosh settlements outside of Riluoan started to emerge from 2050 to 2000 BC, and started to grow in population and influence soon afterward.

In tandem with their expansion, the Kotosh in Riluan started to centralize under the authority of Caral. Caral started to expand across the Lanhe river valley around 1850, introducing the first large scale fighting the Kotosh had seen in the process. After the Caralian kings conquered Lanhe, they moved onto taking control of all of Rilouan, eventually establishing Kotosia in 1624, a nation that would mostly control Riluan until it's fall in 1034 BC. During this time, the Kotosh settlements of Beikotosh, Zhongkotosh, Huale, and Huangwu became more firmly established, cementing Kotosh the Kotosh golden age.

However, the Kotosh's success begat competition, and as their civilization grew in power, it attracted rivals in the form of the Pucara and the Antiren. While not a threat at first, these competing cultures grew in power over the centuries, and by the 1300s were regularly at war with the Kotosh, and especially with Kotosia itself. Most historians speculate this lead to the fracture of the Kotosh culture by kneecapping Kotosia's influence over the other Kotosh settlements, allowing them to chart their own path. This meant that when Kotosia collapsed under the Antiren onslaught in 1024, the other settlements were in no position to pick up the pieces and restore the Kotosh culture, instead spinning off into a new generation of civilizations that would dominate Fusang for the next millennium.

Despite its dissolution over 3000 years ago, the Kotosh still profoundly influenced Fusang. Their enormous footprint meant that after the Kotosh fell, many cultures rose to prominence in their place, including but not limited to the Olmecs, the Antiren, the Pucara, the Huale Picara, and the Huangwu.