The expansion ofHomo sapiens out of Africa is the result of several episodes. During the wet periods of the "Green Sahara", the now desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula were covered in vegetation. Environmentally and geographically, this area was very close to North Africa and, in a way, part of it. It was the first to welcome our species outside the African continent proper. Fossils discovered in Israel and dated between 100,000 and 170,000 years ago bear witness to this presence. Further south, our presence is attested by lithic industries of the same age, similar to those discovered west of the Red Sea. However, the introgression of mitochondrial DNA of African origin into the Neanderthal genome around 300,000 years ago testifies to even earlier contacts between African and Eurasian populations. In a second phase, Homo sapiens colonized tropical Asia. At Tam Pa Ling in Laos, traces of Homo sapiens can be found as early as 70,000 years BC. From South-East Asia, he penetrated Australia around 60,000 years ago.
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