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The title society is in a remote mountainous jungle region, with lots of caves, underground lakes, and even an inactive volcano. It is very similar to the jungles of southeast Asia.

The people who inhabit this region are not savages, they live in a refined society that values knowledge above all, youth, life, hegemony, ect. When I say advanced I mean, they have a limited knowledge of physics, chemical compounds, healing, agriculture, and architecture.

I have looked into natural resources of the jungles here on earth, such as the Amazon, which is most understandably plants. I'm looking to get information so that I can diversify their trade.

What would a medieval society be capable of extracting from this jungle that would be both viable and valuable in a Euro styled medieval era.

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    $\begingroup$ In most cases people think about mediveal Europe as 'usual mediveal society'. In case you mean Asia, Central America or Africa it would be very different answer $\endgroup$
    – ADS
    Commented Aug 20, 2017 at 22:33
  • $\begingroup$ thx I will clarify.. (Euro) $\endgroup$
    – Anthony Gregory
    Commented Aug 20, 2017 at 22:36
  • $\begingroup$ metals and gems occur under jungles as commonly as anywhere else. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Aug 20, 2017 at 22:49
  • $\begingroup$ What's wrong with timber? $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Commented Aug 21, 2017 at 0:02
  • $\begingroup$ Right now I have timber as their main export. But all I have so far is timber, rubber, and various plants. and gems but nothing major. $\endgroup$
    – Anthony Gregory
    Commented Aug 21, 2017 at 0:15

2 Answers 2

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  • Spices were expensive enough because they were rare and they allowed to preserve products for a long time (were useful)
  • Exotic food doesn't necessary should be useful, just tasty like cacao/chololate.
  • Intermediate products or raw material for some common stuff. F.e. cotton or wool for weaving and clothes, sugar from sugarcane for confetioners. In order to trade this stuff it should be cheaper or better than analogues in other world. The best example is silk
  • Drugs (as a narcotic or for medicine).

To be able trade some of them for a long time you have to have some limitations

  • It's hard to introduce in the outer world for weather reasons (like coconuts)
  • Nobody knows how to get a product just because of secrecy (like silk was)
  • It's hard to domesticate/separate from wild. F.e. the ivory: domesticate elephants for the ivory only would be too expensive
  • Special conditions make production in the region cheap and in outer world expansive. Example from real world: using slaves or general poverty could reduce costs significantly.

Without limitations you'll get plantations of exotic fruits in a suitable places (like Greece), fields of potatoes/cacao everywhere and opiates from indoor plants

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  • $\begingroup$ Spices and incense are fine. Lots of tasty spices require tropical climates - pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg. $\endgroup$
    – Willk
    Commented Aug 21, 2017 at 2:34
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ADS stated the more obvious stuff, so I'm going to answer something more... specific:

Various poisons

You know... if some nobles wanted to get rid of someone, without a doctor figuring out the source of the death and thus being unable to point to said noble as the killer. Assassin's sure are interested in some new poisons to 'play' with.

Jungles have plenty of this stuff, if you know where to look for it.

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  • $\begingroup$ Jungles have plenty of this stuff, yes, but so do most places from European style forests to deserts. Also, since he is asking for the main exports, I highly doubt an "advanced civilization" can live just on the 10 nobles that kill someone every 10 years and computer-game assassins $\endgroup$
    – Raditz_35
    Commented Aug 21, 2017 at 9:17

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