True Terra Nullius

[Ideologue]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

People managed to reach Australia because they walked there.

[jimmy olsen]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

People managed to reach Australia because they walked there.

Nope, not true.

[Ideologue]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

People managed to reach Australia because they walked there.

Nope, not true.

No, you're technically right.  They needed boats to cross from the attached Indonesian peninsula to Sahul (the greatly enlarged Australian landmass), if not particularly good ones.  And they only walked from there to modern Australia.

But there's a pretty big difference between the crossings needed to reach Sahul and the one needed to reach Madagascar.

[Slargos]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

Come on. It's gotta be an elaborate hoax.

[Edited for clarity. REALLY, TIMMAY?]

[jimmy olsen]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

People managed to reach Australia because they walked there.

Nope, not true.

No, you're technically right.  They needed boats to cross from the attached Indonesian peninsula to Sahul (the greatly enlarged Australian landmass), if not particularly good ones.  And they only walked from there to modern Australia.

But there's a pretty big difference between the crossings needed to reach Sahul and the one needed to reach Madagascar.

Give me some #s on those distances.

[The Brain]

My understanding has always been that you did indeed only need basic boats to get to Australia back in the day, not ocean going vessels like Madagascar.

[Ideologue]

Although it wasn't in the last thousand years, as asserted above it was about two thousand years ago, which makes it less weird.

Still people managed to reach Australia 50k years ago, and modern humans lived right next store in Africa for over twice that long.

People managed to reach Australia because they walked there.

Nope, not true.

No, you're technically right.  They needed boats to cross from the attached Indonesian peninsula to Sahul (the greatly enlarged Australian landmass), if not particularly good ones.  And they only walked from there to modern Australia.

But there's a pretty big difference between the crossings needed to reach Sahul and the one needed to reach Madagascar.

Give me some #s on those distances.

You like maps more than I do, you do it.

Madagascar, as near as I can tell (from a crappy little map of the Upper Paleolithic that google seems to have cached or whatever the technical term is, but is broken), was at roughly its modern distance from the mainland.

[Norgy]

Do you think bmolsson walked from Sweden to Indonesia during the Ice Age? 

[The Brain]

Do you think bmolsson walked from Sweden to Indonesia during the Ice Age? 

Honestly? No.

[Viking]

Do you think bmolsson walked from Sweden to Indonesia during the Ice Age? 

I think he probably used the in house golf cart moving between gates while in transit at Changi Airport in Singapore. Walk; no.

[Slargos]

Do you think bmolsson walked from Sweden to Indonesia during the Ice Age? 

It is a possibility. After all, you can be a Swede  (requiring only that you have visited however briefly) despite lacking an ethnic connection and a passport. 

[HisMajestyBOB]

Shockingly so, really.  I can't understand the mindset that says, "let's spend half a year in an canoe looking for shit that may or may not exist!"  Although I guess a lot of discoveries were made because they got lost or were tossed off course by accident.

I think some cases may have  been exile - a major political family that loses a power struggle might be told to sail away. I'm pretty sure I read or saw that somewhere, but I can't remember where.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

odd that no one has mentioned antarctica.

iirc, wheren't there people living there permantently? Chileans I believe.

[Slargos]

odd that no one has mentioned antarctica.

iirc, wheren't there people living there permantently? Chileans I believe.

Not that odd. There is no permanence about the settlements on Antarctica so it falls outside of the scope of the question.