Lahar Valley Civilization

History

The Lahar Valley Civilization is a spread of ruins and habitations spread across the state of Idaho, near the numerous extinct calderas of the Yellowstone Volcano, the most abundant of which being located in the Lahar Valley. It is thought that the Lahar Valley Civilization may have been an early predecessor to later civilizations found in Laramidia, such as the early founding of the Republic of California. It is also notably one of the best preserved human settlements representing life just before the The War of Black Ash, with artifacts and remains dating to as early as 2,800, though many dates on such old artifacts are hotly contested as to whether or not they belonged to the Lahar group or an earlier civilization in the same region.
Most scholars agree that the Lahar Valley Civilization was most likely predominantly a human group with a large focus on agriculture throughout most of it's existence due to fossilized remains of a wide variety of crops and crop seeds such as wheat, potatoes, barely, and rice and associated structures such as aqueducts, irrigation channels, and many buildings that are suspected to have been barns for livestock. Most ruins found within Lahar Valley archeological sites are typically arranged within central groupings of farms, creating villages and towns centered entirely around their agricultural lifestyle. At one time, there was an extensive trade network between numerous towns, supported by finds of artifacts originating in different Lahar Valley ruins found across multiple sites, many of which located some distance from one another and strongly implying a high degree of cooperation.
Lahar Valley Civilization sites also were typically built on top of one another, suggesting that the sites remained in use for centuries if not thousands of years, continuously building upon the structures that had come before and a strong reluctance of the group to move from their location, despite evidence that their settlements had repeatedly come under fire from dragons, such as site 654-12-LVC, that contained the remains of at least two adult dragons and evidence of heavy fire damage that was later repaired.
Settlements confirmed to belong to the same group and dated closer to the year 5,897 often show a much more diverse populace than previous sites and a higher shift away from typical human architecture of the time, suggesting that the group was not secluded from the outside world and may have been a trading hub with other civilizations and races. The remains of vampires, centauri, and suspected lycan remains were all found at the site and fossilized remains of fungus highly suggests that the Laharans, or one of their trading partners, may have been in close contact with a fairy hive, one of the earliest recorded incidents of fairies trading outside of their race.

Disbandment

The collapse of the Lahar Valley Civilization seems to be the same as most human civilizations: The eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano and subsequent War of Black Ash. Fossil remains of crops, which had been common up until 5,800, were much more infrequent and dense layers of ash replaced much of the soil, packed on in layers on top of settlements and undisturbed, suggesting most had been abandoned shortly after this period. Some ruins notably further from the central region dominated by the Laharans, still retained some population, suggested by continued farming and disruptions in the ash layers in antiquity. Site 532-04-LVC notably showed some habitation at least until 6,200, based on rock layers and artifacts found at the site on top of the ash layers, but sites such as it remain outliers and well after the majority of sites in the region had been well and truly abandoned.
It's thought that due to the Laharan's dependence on agriculture, their civilization was unable to survive the War of Black Ash due to a combination of factors and environmental changes caused by the volcano's eruptions: Acid rain would have devastated crops and changed soil composition, making farming difficult and providing food to livestock next to impossible. Flooding of the interior region of Laramidia would have also changed weather patterns and it is thought the region had become much more dry than it previously had been, with some evidence of desertification in neighboring regions. Falling ash also devastated local wildlife and livestock alike, as most settlements show evidence of mass death following the eruptions, likely as a result of suffocation on the noxious fumes and ash itself. This has also been found in many remains, skeletons found buried in the ash layer itself or buildings enclosed in it.
The general accepted theory however is that the Lahar Valley Civilization fell due to the geological event that gave the region it's name: A massive Lahar in 5,897, a volcanic mudslide, that rolled down the mountains and completely covered or destroyed most settlements in the region that had remained. After repeated hardship, massive loss of life, and inability to continue farming the region, the Lahar Valley Civilization was gone. Survivors of the event likely fled further west by passage of the interior sea to what is now the Republic of California or further south to Mexico due to the sharp shift in climate into an ice age.

Agriculture & Industry

Laharan settlements primarily were farming communities and a wealth of artifacts support the notion. Fossil remains of crops, similar to those farmed in the region today, are found in most sites, with fossils of ancient corn and potatoes by far being the most common in the region. The Lahar Valley Civilization is also notable to those studying the agriculture of the human race for an abundance of artifacts suggested by most to be canned foods, similar to those sold in supermarkets today. Thousands of can artifacts have been found almost perfectly preserved and unopened, with trace remains of their contents still on the edges of the cans even though their contents have long since rotted away. Canned poultry and ocean fish are often found in abundance in Laharan sites.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

Unknown - 5897

Predecessor Organization

• United States of America

Demonym

Laharan

Location

Lahar Valley