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FWIW, the area around Southeast Asia and Australia may have been extremely densely populated by hunter gatherers. During the last glacial maximum, sea levels we
by toasterlovin 9y ago
FWIW, the area around Southeast Asia and Australia may have been extremely densely populated by hunter gatherers. During the last glacial maximum, sea levels were several hundred feet lower, which created a massive land mass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundaland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundaland
- 80386 9y agoWould there have been a land bridge to Australia?
- toasterlovin 9y agoNo, but look at the map on the Wikipedia page I linked. There would have been tons of islands between Sundaland and an expanded Australia.
- jcranmer 9y agoThere is a tectonic plate boundary in Indonesia such that the ocean depth between Asia and Australia is several km below sea level. In fact, the evidence of sharp biogeographical divide between Asia and Australia (Wallace Line) helped establish support for the idea of plate tectonics. During the minimal sea level, the peninsula of Asia included Sumatra, Borneo, and Java, while Australia included New Guinea, and the sea almost to (but not connected to) Timor. The minor islands of Indonesia (and Sulawesi) remained disconnected from either continent. The resulting gaps, however, would have been smaller: you could have crossed the straits without losing sight of land.