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It would be a far better use of skates on a glassy frozen lake not for strategic movement (saving 10% energy) but to use the skates in the hunt to go after large animals of all kinds as they tried to cross the frozen lake patch which these creatures do from time-to-time in dead winter. If you’ve ever seen a moose or deer crossing a smooth, frozen lake, it’s an awkward sight.

I’m surprised they didn’t mention the advantage bone skates would give to the human hunter against an animal trying to cross the slick ice patch. The hunter could remain hidden along the shore until the animal was well out there in the middle of the slippery frozen lake and then skate out to attack it while the frightened animal slipped around. That would make more sense given that frozen lake conditions ideal for skating travel would be rare.

A hunter from 3000 BC could even devise a smooth ice trap in the middle of the lake and along a known animal crossing path on the snow covered lake.