>>1563889Who exactly said that humans are supposed to live in just one kind of environment? I think that a species naturally expands its areal if it is able to find sustenance in the new portion of land. In our case, we have the capability to live almost everywhere, so why not?
Mountains are great: there's abundance of wood (at least at low-mid elevations) for building and heating, there's wildlife that can be hunted for food, fish in the rivers and lakes. Sometimes the terrain and the climate allow the growth of crops and there is often plenty of water sources. Water can be used for human and animal consumption, for running mills that can process wheat or other crops. There are meadows for cattle to graze on, even above the tree line. The mountains also provide rock, gravel and sand for construction.
In essence, there's plenty of reasons why our ancestors found the mountains to be a good place for them to live in. Sure, it was a tough life back then, but it was a tough life everywhere else as well.
On another note, mountains are majestic, a place for calm, for monasteries and temples to be built in or for being closer to gods. Mountains are also a recurrent theme in arts for these and other reasons. They are also the context where great explorers and mountaineers lived, made history and died.
Mountains are great.
