I've been watching Graham Hancock's Ancient Apocalypse on Netflix, and the map comparison of Piri Reis map to the historical estimates to the extent of the Antarctic got me thinking. What if instead of the Ice Caps during the last ice age being impassible walls like Game of Thrones, that they were seen and used as a highway of sorts. People could have been using the ice roads to transport goods via sled, long before the invention of the wheel. Ice caps would have been seen as relatively easy to traverse compared to dense forests that need to be cleared without roads. Cold climate heard animals like Caribou, and bison could have been seen as an enormous benefit, and attracting hunter gatherer peoples to the edges of the Ice Caps. You don't need a civilization or knowledge capable of building intercontinental watercraft if you can walk, and sled across. And to take water transport along the ice shelf you don't need a vessel capable of traversing the deep ocean currents, you only need a vessel capable of mooring periodically along side ice shoals and spears to hunt seals. A raft, kayak canoe, or pretty much anything is capable of that with some degree of safety and consistency.
Another added benefit to ice cap travel is that food can be kept cool and last much longer, allowing for longer distance travel without risk of your food stores rotting.
Another added benefit to ice cap travel is that food can be kept cool and last much longer, allowing for longer distance travel without risk of your food stores rotting.
