Opinion Box 11: When did modern humans first colonize Southeast Asia and Australia?

When modern humans first left Africa and entered Eurasia, they spread eastward, along the rim of the Indian Ocean. Australia lies at the end of this arc of dispersal, and our ancestors needed advanced planning capabilities and watercraft to safely island-hop through Southeast Asia and make landfall in northern Australia. Knowing when Homo sapiens first colonized this island continent has long been viewed, therefore, as providing a minimum date for the emergence of the cognitive skills and behaviors usually associated with our species.