If humans had evolved as aquatic mammals, as opposed to terrestrial mammals, what aquatic resources would be available which were not available to terrestrial societies.
Some foundational technologies in human societies such as stone tools may be easily replicated in an aquatic environment while others, such as fire may be more difficult. Substitutions for fire such as geothermal vents and maybe some exothermic chemical reactions my be possible but, seem less efficient for the needs of early human societies.
There are also environmental constraints. Terrestrial humans developed rapidly in social complexity with the rise of fixed agrarian societies. There may be aquatic plants which could be cultivated in littoral zones but, most of the early means we we developed for preserving surplus food is predicated on removing moisture (smoking, drying, salting) or by controlling the chemical reaction in a solution such as fermenting or pickling.
There are also fewer species to domesticate in the sea as most animals domesticated early in the rise of terrestrial civilization were herding mammals with hierarchical social structures.
In place of fire, smoked meat, and the domestication of pack animals, what would an early aquatic human society turn to in order to fill these gaps?
