how did we populate the globe?

Question

If we are all originally from Africa, how did we get to populate the whole globe, before we were able to make boats?
As I understand it during the ice-age 10000 years ago nomads were able to cross from europe to america across the frozen northern hemisphere.
However how did they get to Autralia and places that would be inaccessible with out the use of a boat? thanks J.

Answer 1

Well, we populated the globe because we're persistent buggers.

Also, a long time ago the globe was different. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea (although we had considerable drift by the time the humans popped up)

And we have been boating and rafting for a loooooong time. And like you said the ice ages helped. For instance, about your Australian question: people are thought to have first crossed into Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago via a land bridge between the island and the rest of mainland Australia during an ice age. When the sea levels rose, the people were left isolated for approximately 10,000 years until European explorations occurred during the early 19th century.

Answer 2

During the ice age the oceans were lower because the ice locked up so much water. The Malay pennisula connected to Austrialia just like Asia connected to the Americas. Small boats and rafts of one kind or another have been around for thousands of years.

Answer 3

Long before boats there were rafts and dug-out canoes. You can travel a long way with these if you know what you are doing. Some decades ago Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific on a raft called the Kon-Tiki to prove that it was possible for people to colonize Pacific Islands without what we would think of as proper boats.

Answer 4

we had a lot of time on our hands, and changes in climate meant that we all eventually resettled in different paces. even now, most of the land masses are connected if you look at the land and not the borders.

the Aborigines of Australia have been there for over 40,000 years, and the land masses were closer, as stated by the people above.

even now, you can go from South Africa and travel up through the middle east and back down to Thailand etc, or up and over to Russia, or back around to France. going towards Thailand will lead to the Indonesian isles and they are not that far if you consider the closeness of years ago.

you could go from chile through mexico and up through to alaska. http://www.libertytravel.com/Maps/global_map1.jpg

Answer 5

Back then continents were closer, and migration was possible throgh the poles, poeple could have even migrated to Australia by getting to America (from Asia) and then south through the Antarctic Pole... that's wouldn't have been impossible.