Archaeologists have unearthed beautiful artifacts from one of the most valiant periods of human travel, despite the fact that they haven't (yet) found aliens or ancient civilizations.
For a country that is so frigid, Antarctica undoubtedly is a hub of scientific research, from astronomy and archaeology to geology and meteorology.
I see, archaeology.
That's correct. Even at one of the most remote locations on Earth, archaeologists have studied the ice, but not in the way you might expect.
The Ice's Mysterious Mystery
Here, we must admit that among a subset of pop-culture theorists and conspiracy enthusiasts, it's a common pastime to believe that beneath the Antarctic ice lie the remains of ancient civilizations, which may have been much more advanced than our modern society and may even have had extraterrestrial influences or origins.
The possibility that prehistoric humans could have lived in Antarctica at a time when the continent wasn't covered in ice and instead was a real Garden of Eden is hypothesis that has garnered support in some quarters.
The dark suspicion that some secret cabal of scientists, corporations, or governments (or all three) are keeping these "discoveries" under wraps for a variety of (inadequately explained) reasons is frequently raised whenever any of these outlandish theories are advanced (and you won't have to look far on the internet to find them).
While it is rare for experts to declare something to be impossible, these particular theories concerning Antarctica are so absurd that occasionally respectable science publications will publish an April Fool's joke making fun of them.
This is exactly how it should be, as the impact of genuine scientific research is greatly diminished by pseudoscience and conspiracy theories, which also produce a lot of quasi-intellectual chaff that obscures the work of real archaeologists and other scientists who have spent decades researching humanity's recent past. And make no mistake: The waters and lands of Antarctica are teeming with authentic, historical artifacts left by humans. Although it isn't very old, that doesn't make it any less fascinating or interesting to study.
Intriguing relics from our own civilisation, some of which date as recently as a century ago or perhaps less, have been discovered in Antarctica. With the finest available knowledge and tools at the time, the sailors and explorers of that era probed the depths of a hostile and largely unexplored land.
Whether it was a ship that was crushed by ice, a store of supplies left behind from a failed voyage, or the remains of an abandoned outpost, what they left behind has a lot to teach us and future generations. Here is what research has revealed about the ice's surface and interior.
Has Antarctica Ever Hosted Ancient Humans?
There has never been an indigenous human population in Antarctica, to be clear. If that were the case, that would be fantastic, but it's just not realistic. Without the aid of modern technology, Antarctica was last habitable — that is, had a climate that early humans could have considered remotely temperate or survivable — at least 35 million years ago. This is in addition to the fact that there is no land bridge or other obvious points of transit for prehistoric humans.
Given that, both then and for many millions of years prior, Antarctica was positively balmy, a prehistoric rainforest that would be difficult to imagine on the dry, ice-swept country that we know today. However, it is implausible, to put it mildly, to suggest that any human-like creature could have traveled to, let alone survived, Antarctica in the past, given that Homo sapiens didn't exist until about 350,000 years ago and that Homo erectus, one of our closest ancestors, dates back only to about 2 million years.
In reality, it wasn't until approximately 350 B.C. that humanity even had the idea of a massive landmass at the bottom of the planet. Aristotle was one of the earliest known Western thinkers to propose the existence of Antarctica (or Antarktikos, as they called it). Of course, they had no proof that it existed, and they didn't even try to find it, much less live in it.
According to compelling evidence, the Polynesian people who are said to have accidentally discovered the frozen continent around 600 A.D. is when mankind first saw Antarctica. These conclusions are the result of a comprehensive examination of the oral histories of the Maori and other comparable tribes, which recount interactions with a region to the south that was most likely Antarctica.
When Was Antarctica Found by Contemporary Explorers?
A few hundred years later, the Europeans arrived, and numerous explorers, including the renowned Captain Cook, searched for but were never quite able to locate the true Antarctic mainland. Although even history books cannot agree on who exactly discovered Antarctica first, the "discovery" of the continent is typically dated to approximately 1820.
A daring sea captain by the name of John Davis claimed to have led his crew short ashore to go seal-hunting in 1821, marking the first recorded landing on Antarctica. Ships started to spend the winter on Antarctic ice, frequently unintentionally, by the late 1890s after earlier, better-documented landings had taken place. Since then, there had always been some sort of human presence in the area.
The so-called Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration quickly began, with daring explorers and scientists setting out on arduous and occasionally deadly excursions towards the continent around the beginning of the 20th century. On Laurie Island, one of the earliest bases in the area was founded in 1903, making it the oldest such outpost currently in use. The first long-term mainland bases weren't created until 1944, and in the 1950s more bases for science and increased international scientific collaboration followed.
What have researchers found in Antarctica?
Since then, researchers have found amazing things on and beneath the Antarctic ice, including more than 45,000 meteorites, as well as rocks that originated from the Moon and even Mars, hidden ecosystems teeming with unanticipated animals, astonishingly resilient plant life that can survive beneath the ice with almost no light, and much more.
This covers activities like archeology. In order to research and preserve relics from the Heroic Age that date to the late 19th and 20th centuries, entire volumes have been published about Antarctic archaeology. Such research includes the examination and preservation of early whaling and sealing stations; huts built to aid Robert Falcon Scott's numerous (and ultimately unsuccessful) expeditions to reach the heart of Antarctica; the discovery of the final resting place of the Endurance, the renowned ship lost during Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914–15 expedition; and even the exploration of mid-century "ghost" stations that had been long abandoned by earlier researchers.
It is unfortunate that so much online energy and excitement is focused on the analysis of fantastical concepts and pseudoscientific theories about purported Antarctic civilizations — for which, to be clear, there is not a shred of proof. There is such rich recent history to investigate and preserve.
The recent historical record, on the other hand, tells volumes about the bravery and tenacity of true human heroes and scientists, whose efforts and sacrifices are genuinely deserving of recognition. Let's appreciate them instead of wasting time on unfounded lore and myths.
