Let's imagine that a tribal war erupts in Tierra del Fuego around 1000 BCE. The losing tribe, having been kicked out of its hunting grounds, finds itself forced to seek other lands beyond the stormy waters to the south. Taking to the sea aboard flimsy rafts, many unsurprisingly fail to make it, but, by sheer luck, some manage to reach the South Shetlands. Living conditions are harsh, but not that much worse than in Tierra del Fuego, and the outcasts adapt to it, learning among other things to clothe themselves in sewn seal pelts. Within a few generations the tribe has grown back to respectable numbers, and discovered the South Orkneys and the Antarctic Peninsula. Little by little, adventuring groups begin to settle these new territories, making it as far as Ellsworth Land and Thurston Island. In the following centuries, a cultural split develops between the islanders, whose lifestyle is still fairly similar to what it was in Tierra del Fuego, and the mainlanders, who have become an Antarctic analog to the Inuit, living off the hunting of seals and other sea mammals.
By the time European explorers show up, the whole periphery of the Antarctic is home to nomadic tribes, whose total population is in the 100/200,000 range.
Well, it's a figure I pulled out of thin air, and I'm willing to be proved wrong. But the periphery of Antarctica covers a lot of space, and between the whales, the seals and the penguins, it seems to me that there's enough animal protein to feed a self-sustaining population of that order of magnitude.I think thats a bit too much. A few tens at most,
Well, it's a figure I pulled out of thin air, and I'm willing to be proved wrong. But the periphery of Antarctica covers a lot of space, and between the whales, the seals and the penguins, it seems to me that there's enough animal protein to feed a self-sustaining population of that order of magnitude.
Well, it's a figure I pulled out of thin air, and I'm willing to be proved wrong. But the periphery of Antarctica covers a lot of space, and between the whales, the seals and the penguins, it seems to me that there's enough animal protein to feed a self-sustaining population of that order of magnitude.
Wiki said:whales, walruses, caribou, seal, polar bears, muskoxen, birds, and at times other less commonly eaten animals such as foxes. The typical Inuit diet is high in protein and very high in fat - in their traditional diets, Inuit consumed an average of 75% of their daily energy intake from fat.[12] While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic, gathering those that are naturally available has always been typical. Grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries, and seaweed
Let's imagine that a tribal war erupts in Tierra del Fuego around 1000 BCE. The losing tribe, having been kicked out of its hunting grounds, finds itself forced to seek other lands beyond the stormy waters to the south. Taking to the sea aboard flimsy rafts, many unsurprisingly fail to make it, but, by sheer luck, some manage to reach the South Shetlands. Living conditions are harsh, but not that much worse than in Tierra del Fuego, and the outcasts adapt to it, learning among other things to clothe themselves in sewn seal pelts. Within a few generations the tribe has grown back to respectable numbers, and discovered the South Orkneys and the Antarctic Peninsula. Little by little, adventuring groups begin to settle these new territories, making it as far as Ellsworth Land and Thurston Island. In the following centuries, a cultural split develops between the islanders, whose lifestyle is still fairly similar to what it was in Tierra del Fuego, and the mainlanders, who have become an Antarctic analog to the Inuit, living off the hunting of seals and other sea mammals.
By the time European explorers show up, the whole periphery of the Antarctic is home to nomadic tribes, whose total population is in the 100/200,000 range.
After Europeans showed up, I'd think many of the AP folks would move away; after all, who would want to live in Antarctica?
By the time European explorers show up, the whole periphery of the Antarctic is home to nomadic tribes, whose total population is in the 100/200,000 range.
I have to agree with others though, that a few hundred thousand is way to high.
Well, as I said, I pulled that figure out of thin air, so if it has to be revised downwards, fair enough. What would be a more realistic estimate?Nothing quite so high. The current population of Greenland is ~60,000 so I would be shocked if our Antarctica 'Inuit' is even close to that figure.