No, this isn't an article about Creation versus Evolution, but about drawing inspiration from the world around you to help build your world. You can believe what you will about how these things came about, but learning about how various species cope with their natural environment is an endless source of wonder. Yesterday I went to the Franklin Institute with my nieces and nephew, and got a quick reminder of that fact.
I've spent some time in my "creature culture" and "subterranean creatures" posts talking about how to design working non-human denizens for your world. Most of this discussion has been focused on intelligent (and potentially hostile) organisms. Being in a Fantasy world, it's a luxury to have someone able to "speak for the trees" or be a simple metaphor for accepting the "other." However, it is entirely unnecessary (and rather cumbersome) to have this true of every species you design. Humans have had relationships with our fellow creatures since time immemorial, and we didn't always have to have conversations with them. Working animals, foodstuffs, pack animals, and best friends can be designed too.
Beasts of burden are an incredible resource for a culture. Obviously, they can aid us it traveling great distances or carrying heavy loads. We hook them to plows and fertilize those same fields with their droppings. They change the way we fight wars by being ridden, pulling chariots, or dragging cannons and baggage trains. They are a power supply when there is no moving water around. Their byproducts become an essential part of our way of life. Finally, they are a food source when all other options have run out (or they pass on). Any culture that can harness the energy of these great beasts has a significant leg up on the competition. To create one of your own, it is a simple matter of taking the most useful elements of some of these creatures and applying them to a new shape (similarly, it's a good idea to look at large creatures we haven't domesticated and dwell on why not).
Horses have been quickly incorporated into every culture to which they have been introduced (see: Native Americans). Their mixture of speed and endurance makes them suitable for most any laborious task. Hooves allow them to traverse surfaces that would be difficult for creatures with paws or bare feet (though they should be shod). Food can at times be shared with humans, but they forage well, allowing for easier travel over great distances. Their ears are incredibly mobile, improving their hearing and shooing away insects. Tails and manes were used throughout history for decorative crests (and bows for instruments, no?). Often we breed horses to be more suitable for one task or another, like any domesticated species, but even a racing horse would be better at pulling a cart than a human.
Camels are an excellent example of a creature suited to its terrain. Those odd humps of theirs actually store fat, allowing them to survive for long periods without eating (and not insulating them, which would cause them to overheat). They are so water efficient that their dung comes out dry enough to burn, which is good on those freezing desert nights. A third eyelid helps clear any grit that might get on the old eyeballs. Hooves (being a pretty standard feature for beasts of burden) make sure no tender toes are touching the sand. Additionally, they have a thick layer of tissue over the sternum, called the pedestal, which keeps the bulk of the buddy off of the sand while at rest. Their coats reflect the sun as an additional cooling measure. Yeah, these things are pretty amazing, and that's just what's on the surface.
Oxen (feel free to include water buffaloes here) are another beautiful and useful beast of burden. These are adult male (generally) cattle that have been castrated. While not as agile as the horse, they certainly make up the difference in power. They are also felt to be more even of temper than horses, so easier to handle. While they have cloven hooves, working oxen are often shod to protect their hooves against damage. Usually these animals are worked in teams to haul freight, but could be utilized to draw water or break sod with their steady pace. In some areas, after a few years of work, oxen were sold off for their meat, helping to defray the cost of a new team. As we have discussed in other posts, the horns, skins, and hooves of these animals were all widely used materials. Unfortunately, cows do require lots of room and feed to be kept properly. Consequently, beef cattle was not an efficient use of space for the medieval man.
Before the invention of the internal combustion engine, the beast of burden was the backbone of human progress. Not only did they help us to break sod, and to collect the harvest, but also get our goods to market. They were essential to trade over forest track or desert wasteland. However, not all large animals are suited to these tasks. Good luck training a big cat, or keeping it fed. A small dinosaur might be lethargic in the morning (though I seem to remember the whole cold-blooded thing being in question), and a desert variety might be nocturnal. Those banthas, with the long dragging coats, also seem like a bad idea. Do a little research, take a closer look, and have a little fun designing your own helpers.
Time for me to get back to it as well. Thanks for visiting.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel
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