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+# Canonical Heritage Taxonomy — APPROVED 2026-06-01
+
+*D-237 `cultural_specialization` heritage-type values. Drafted from the 6-sector
+#1016 content pass (which read heritage off the authored system names) +
+reconciliation of ~30 inconsistent agent proposals + gap-fill. Maintainer
+decisions applied 2026-06-01: keep all values distinct (no lumping), keep
+empty-but-complete slots. Final set: **47 heritage values** (token list at bottom).*
+
+## ⚠ Heritage balance note (DLC follow-up)
+
+The southern-African heritages are **overrepresented**: ~25 of ~300 named systems
+(~8%) read southern-African, with `afrikaans` alone on **15 systems** — more than
+french + italian + russian + arab *combined*. `arab` sits at 2, `persian`/`turkic`
+at 0. This is an artifact of the original name-balancing overcorrecting in one
+direction. The fix (rewrite a subset of afrikaans/zulu systems into arab/persian/
+turkic heritage) is a **full index.md + gttr.md content rewrite per system**, not a
+TOML value flip — so it is **out of scope for #1016** and logged as a DLC/content
+rebalancing task. The taxonomy below keeps every value distinct so the rebalance
+has targets to write *into* when it happens.
+
+## What this is
+
+`cultural_specialization` is ONE field carrying EITHER an **activity** value OR a
+**heritage** value (heritage wins when both apply). This document fixes the
+**heritage** half. The activity half is unchanged (see bottom).
+
+Heritage is pinned only when a system's founding culture **diverges from its
+corridor baseline** (D-167) or is a distinct cross-corridor founder. Corridor-
+typical systems stay NULL → D-232 corridor default. This is a menu of *available*
+values, not a quota.
+
+## Design rules (why the agent proposals were reconciled, not adopted as-is)
+
+1. **One granularity:** real-world people/nationality level, `lowercase_snake`.
+2. **Heritage ≠ activity ≠ faction.** `norse_compact` illegally fused a people
+   (Nordic) with a faction (Compact) → split to `nordic`. `*_frontier` /
+   `*_cooperative` smuggled an activity register → dropped.
+3. **Collapse synonyms:** `spanish_iberian`+`spanish_hispanic`→`spanish`;
+   `brazilian_portuguese`+`lusophone_frontier`→`brazilian`;
+   `italian_northern`→`italian`; `afrikaans_cape`→`afrikaans`;
+   `french_provencal`+`french_canadian`→`french`; `polish_czech`→`polish`+`czech`;
+   `akan_ghanaian`→`akan`; `anglo_australian`+`english_cooperative`→`anglo`.
+4. **No compound values.** `japanese_vietnamese`, `english_french` rejected — a
+   blended system takes its **dominant** heritage, or the `cosmopolitan` activity
+   value if genuinely fused. One token per system.
+5. **Fill gaps from the map, not just from current hits.** Arab/Persian/Turkic
+   added even though few systems use them now (accepted 300-system reality;
+   DLC-flagged). The taxonomy is the canon; names can grow into it.
+
+---
+
+## Canonical heritage values (38)
+
+Grouped by macro-region. "Absorbs" = agent proposals folded in. "Corridor" =
+where it's *baseline* (so usually NULL there) vs *divergent* (pin-worthy).
+
+### British Isles & Anglo-diaspora
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `anglo` | English / Australian / Canadian-anglo / NZ-pākehā Commonwealth-anglo | **baseline: north_reach** | english, anglo_australian, english_cooperative | Thornfield, Clearwater (cross-corridor in east) |
+| `scottish` | Scottish / Highland | divergent | scottish | Calloway Reach, Braemar |
+| `irish` | Irish | divergent | irish | Brennan's Drift |
+| `welsh` | Welsh | divergent | — | Pemberton *(LUMP? → anglo)* |
+
+### Iberian, Latin & Lusophone
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `portuguese` | Iberian Portuguese | **baseline: south_reach** | portuguese_iberian | Espinho, Ribeiro's Star |
+| `brazilian` | Brazilian Portuguese (sertão/várzea register) | divergent (south) | brazilian_portuguese, lusophone_frontier | Sertão, Várzea, Retiro |
+| `afro_brazilian` | quilombo / Afro-Brazilian maroon heritage | divergent | afro_brazilian | Quilombo *(LUMP? → brazilian)* |
+| `cape_verdean` | Cabo Verde (morna) | divergent | cape_verdean | Velha Guarda |
+| `angolan` | Angolan-Portuguese | divergent | angolan_portuguese | Moçâmedes |
+| `sao_tomean` | São Toméan (roça) | divergent | são_toméan | Roça Nova |
+| `spanish` | Iberian Spanish + Latin-American Hispanic | divergent (south) | spanish_iberian, spanish_hispanic | Puerto Último, Morales' End, Fragua |
+| `canarian` | Canary Islands maritime (cofradía) | divergent | canarian | Aguas Bravas, Punta del Sol |
+| `italian` | Italian | divergent | italian_northern | Nova Roma |
+| `french` | French (incl. Québécois) | divergent | french_provencal, french_canadian | Confluent, Bout du Chemin, Dernier Quai |
+
+### Northern / Central / Eastern European
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `german` | German / Austrian | **baseline: west_reach** | german_frontier | Altgrund, Tiefenbach (deep-frontier divergent) |
+| `dutch` | Dutch / Flemish | baseline-adjacent (west) | dutch_frontier | Schuilhoek, Bestevaer |
+| `nordic` | Norwegian / Swedish / Danish | baseline-adjacent (west) | norse_compact | Havnfjord, Holmgren's Passage |
+| `finnish` | Finnish | divergent | finnish | Uusi Vantaa, Koskinen's Reach |
+| `polish` | Polish | divergent | polish, polish_czech | Nowa Huta, Kraków Junction |
+| `czech` | Czech | divergent | czech, polish_czech | Nová Tržnice |
+| `russian` | Russian successor states | secondary (west) | russian | Novaya Zarya |
+| `luxembourgish` | Luxembourgish | divergent | luxembourgish | Echternach *(LUMP? → german)* |
+| `hungarian` | Hungarian | divergent | — | Kovács Loop *(or NULL)* |
+
+### Sub-Saharan African
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `afrikaans` | Afrikaner / Cape | divergent (north/south) | afrikaans_cape | Eerste Wacht, Oude Kraal |
+| `cape_malay` | Cape Malay | divergent | (part of southern_african_mixed) | Kaapse Baai, Koeberg *(LUMP? → afrikaans)* |
+| `zulu` | Zulu | divergent | zulu | Nkosi's Bridge, Isibaya, Mavela |
+| `xhosa` | Xhosa | divergent | (part of southern_african_mixed) | Pedra Seca *(LUMP? → zulu/afrikaans)* |
+| `herero` | Herero / Namibian | divergent | herero | Okahandja |
+| `shona` | Shona / Ndebele (Zimbabwean) | divergent | shona_ndebele | Dzimbahwe |
+| `swahili` | East African coastal (Mozambican/Kenyan) | **secondary: south_reach** | swahili | Inhambane, Mwangaza |
+| `igbo` | Igbo (Nigerian) | divergent | igbo | Enugu, Okoro's Claim |
+| `yoruba` | Yoruba (Nigerian) | divergent | yoruba | *(seed; no firm hit yet)* |
+| `hausa` | Hausa (Sahelian) | divergent | hausa | *(seed; no firm hit yet)* |
+| `akan` | Akan / Asante (Ghanaian) | divergent | akan_ghanaian | Kumasi |
+
+### South Asian
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `indian` | pan-Indian multi-tradition | divergent | indian | Chandra Deep |
+| `bengali` | Bengali | divergent | bengali | Purnima |
+| `punjabi` | Punjabi | divergent | punjabi | Singh's Landing |
+| `konkan` | Konkan / Marathi coast | divergent | konkan | Ratnagiri *(LUMP? → indian)* |
+
+### East & Southeast Asian
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `chinese` | Han Chinese | **baseline: east_reach** | chinese | Suzhou, Haodu, Songjiang |
+| `korean` | Korean | **baseline: east_reach** | korean | Changwon, Miryang |
+| `japanese` | Japanese | **baseline: east_reach** | japanese | Oshima, Kurashiki |
+| `vietnamese` | Vietnamese | divergent (east) | vietnamese | Dài Lộ, Hạ Long, Xa Vời |
+| `tagalog` | Filipino / Tagalog | divergent (east) | tagalog | Dagat, Mabuhay, Marunong |
+
+### Pacific
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `maori` | Māori / Polynesian voyager | divergent | maori | Rekohu, Ngata's Star, Kelburn Crossing |
+
+### Middle East / North Africa / Central Asia — THE GAP
+| value | scope | corridor | absorbs | example |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `arab` | Arabic (Levantine / Gulf / Maghreb) | divergent | — | Dalim, Errai (Ghadames) |
+| `persian` | Iranian / Persian | divergent | — | *(none yet — DLC)* |
+| `turkic` | Turkish / Central Asian Turkic | divergent | — | *(none yet — DLC)* |
+
+> **Naming-gap note:** Only ~4 of 300 systems currently read Middle-Eastern, and
+> Persian/Turkic have zero. Accepted as a 300-system limitation per the maintainer;
+> logged for possible **DLC** rebalancing (rename/add systems). The values exist so
+> future content can use them without another taxonomy change.
+
+---
+
+## Activity values (UNCHANGED — for reference)
+
+`scholarly | artistic | institutional | commercial | agrarian |
+industrial_heritage | medical_elite | ecological | military |
+financial_technocratic | cosmopolitan | compact_cooperative`
+
+(Heritage wins when both an activity and a heritage apply.)
+
+---
+
+## Migration impact (must do before the culture write)
+
+The 27 hero systems already shipped `cultural_specialization` values that use the
+OLD suffix forms. Renames touch these and require a TOML edit + regen:
+
+| old (shipped) | new (canonical) | hero systems affected |
+|---|---|---|
+| `afrikaans_cape` | `afrikaans` | Vuurkloof |
+| `french_provencal` | `french` | Confluent/VGV |
+| `italian_northern` | `italian` | Nova Roma |
+| `norse_compact` | `nordic` | Nyrheim |
+
+`scottish`, `chinese`, `tagalog`, `vietnamese`, `zulu` and all activity values are
+already canonical — no change. The CI constant `_CULTURAL_HERITAGE` in
+`import_economics.py` gets replaced with this 38-value set.
+
+---
+
+## Maintainer decisions (resolved 2026-06-01)
+
+1. **welsh** → KEEP distinct.
+2. **afro_brazilian** → KEEP distinct.
+3. **cape_malay / xhosa** → KEEP distinct (southern Africa stays fine-grained;
+   overrepresentation is addressed by the DLC rebalance above, not by lumping).
+4. **luxembourgish** → KEEP distinct.
+5. **konkan** → KEEP distinct.
+6. **hungarian, yoruba, hausa, persian, turkic** → KEEP as available-but-unused
+   slots (canon should be complete; CI accepts them).
+
+**Result: all 38 values retained, nothing folded.** Everything else is mechanical
+reconciliation, not a judgment call.
+
+## Final value list (38) — the CI `_CULTURAL_HERITAGE` set
+
+```
+anglo scottish irish welsh
+portuguese brazilian afro_brazilian cape_verdean angolan sao_tomean
+spanish canarian italian french
+german dutch nordic finnish polish czech russian luxembourgish hungarian
+afrikaans cape_malay zulu xhosa herero shona swahili igbo yoruba hausa akan
+indian bengali punjabi konkan
+chinese korean japanese vietnamese tagalog
+maori
+arab persian turkic
+```
+**47 values, no duplicates** — this token list is authoritative (it replaces
+`_CULTURAL_HERITAGE` in `import_economics.py`).