39 – First evidence of water craft
65,000 years ago
Since no land connection existed between Asia and Australia, Australia’s people must have arrived by boat. The first human crossing by boats likely occurred across a 55-mile open sea from Indonesia to Australia around 65,000 years ago. These humans, who made and left a variety of stone tools excavated from a rock shelter in northwest Australia date, would have been among the first to leave Africa and migrate across Asia before 65,000 years ago. Read about how cumulative culture allowed humans to evolve technology that would enable them to create boats seaworthy enough to cross from Asia to Australia.
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Epoch
Pleistocene2.58 million to 11,700 years ago
Environmental and Climate Changes
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Earth’s climate remains relatively stable with alternating glacial and interglacial periods
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Glacial/interglacial cycles changed 100,000 to 41,000 years
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Mount Toba eruption—Largest volcanic eruption in two million years creates global winter 74,000 Ya
Changing Species
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Homo sapiens 300,000 Ya to Present
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Homo neanderthalensis 200,000 to 28,000 Ya
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Homo floresiensis 100,000 to 50,000 Ya
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Homo luzonensis ~ 67,000 Ya
