I'm re-reading Gavin Menzies' book 1421, where he sets out the evidence for his belief that the Americas were settled by people who arrived by ship rather than by the so-called Alaskan land-bridge across the Bering Strait. He says that the 'bridge' would only have been there during the Ice Ages and primitive people would not have ventured into such a dangerous environment. There's a lot more to his proposition; for example, how did old-world plants and bacteria and animals get to the new world long before the recognised discoverers?
In passing, he mentions Russian efforts to build a road in this remote area of Siberia. Stalin sent thousands of political prisoners into this appalling environment to provide the labour for the enterprise. Most of them died and their bones form the basis for the road. Menzies told of at least one episode where some of the men complained; guards made them strip and hoses were turned on them. In the cold conditions, the water froze and the men all died. It's the reason it is called the Road of Bones. Looking also at what is happening in Ukraine, I am very pleased that I wasn't born Russian.
Menzies is always making the case for his main proposition: that Chinese ships sailed around the world and 'discovered' continents long before people like Columbus and Dirk Hartog. As an example, he points out that the fleas on wild pigs that live on Kangaroo Island off the coast of Western Australia are 'Chinese' fleas, not Dutch.
I know it's all a bit esoteric but sometimes you need a change from the sameness of fiction books.
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