Artóws

The Artóws are a historical-cultural group and polity centered in the southern archipelago along the river valleys. They are renowned for architectural terracing, alabaster sculpture, and densely built urban centers, which underpin regional historical studies in their world.

The Artóws inhabited lowland deltas and coastal plains, with major settlements along the Etan and Nira rivers. The terrain yielded marble, copper, and clay, while sea routes connected inland markets to distant polities. Climate was temperate to subtropical.

Emergence in the late Bronze Age; a loose confederation of city-states governed by annually elected archons; later centralized under a dynasty in the first millennium BCE; maritime trade linked the Artóws to surrounding regions.

Society featured guilds and merchant blocs; artisans and traders wielded influence. The economy centered on metallurgy, pottery, textiles, and river trade; agriculture supported urban populations and surplus production for exchange.

Religion centered on a sun deity and ancestral rites; Artóws produced alabaster statuary, geometric pottery, and mural mosaics; public works included tiered platforms and harbor structures that shaped cityscapes.

The Artóan language was written in the Artóan script, used for inscriptions and administration. Today, ruins, inscriptions, and material remains support scholarly reconstructions; contemporary crafts and festivals preserve Artóan motifs.