In prehistoric times, what made people travel miles away?

Question

For example, people in nothern Asia travelled all the way to Canada, USA, Greenland and Iceland (I think they are called Eskimo). What encouraged them to do that? Don't forget there were a lot of unknowns if they chose to travel - there was no guarantee of food or even a decent shelter. It must be a huge risk to them. Why did they make such a big gamble?

Answer 1

During the Paleolithic Age the people were hunter-gatherers. They stayed in one place until they had either gathered the place clean of food, or the herd that they tended to follow moved on. Because they had to follow their food they couldn't establish a permanent settlement. That didn't come until the Neolithic Age.

Answer 2

The biggest one was a lack of food in your current location. While there's no guarantee of it being better "out there," if "right here" is bad (no food, bad weather, enemies nearby), it's worth the risk.

Remember, they had no information on what was 10 miles away. So, there was a belief that just a few miles away COULD be paradise.

Even in these more sophisticated times, people go into the "unknown" all of the time.

Answer 3

They were precursors to the people that invent things and run corporations (or, more likely, start corporations).

They were willing to risk "everything" for more and bigger fish or game. They were curious about what was over the horizon, especially when someone who had been over the horizon came back to tell them about things they had seen there.

And, of course, some of them were escaping... whatever. A bad marriage? A bad family? Trouble with the chief? People will always be looking for a "new place."

Answer 4

Food is always the reason for anyone or any animal to keep moving! from the elements depending where they lived.? An Ice Age started melting. then the people had to move quickly .To a new region where food and water abounded and they also found great shelter. .
" The Survival Of the Fittest " .means who adapts Better then the others determines who lived and who dies!

Answer 5

A big gamble done in very small steps usually. But the main reason was probably survival which included finding better weather, conquest or avoiding hostilities and the search for better hunting + fishing grounds.

Answer 6

They depended on migrating animal for survival. These animals would migrate following vegetation. So the humans would follow the grazing animals as they went. Climactic change, such as the glaciations, also helped precipitate these events by causing rapid changes to the environment.

Answer 7

I'm assuming that travel through these areas was a gradual thing, taking place over generations. I don't think these groups just up and left their area to migrate with the herds within a season or so.

Answer 8

Probably hunger