FS 3.227: Tales of the Earliest Human Uses of the World’s Mountain Ranges

Contributors to this session discuss the earliest human uses of the mountain ranges of the world. Collectively, they seek to identify commonalities and differences in the motivations that led people to explore and ultimately populate montane environments. They ask, among other things, which resources initially enticed people to ascend to higher elevations; whether people used distinctly different kinds of mountains in different ways; and whether and how early mountain occupants construed mountains and places therein as sacred. Contributors synthesize data from multiple sites, when possible, rather than reporting on single localities or assemblages, to create interesting narratives about the people who first recognized and realized the potential of the myriad mountain ranges of the world.