Interviewee: Stephen Oppenheimer. Stephen Oppenheimer talks about migrations to Europe and Australia.

Having got out of Africa, the route that was taken by the emigrants was largely predetermined, because if one looks at the Sahara Desert, it actually crosses the Red Sea, and then goes right across the Middle East. And at the time they crossed which, in my model is around 80,000 years ago, it would've been even drier than it is now. So having crossed through the southern route, they could only continue onwards, down into India, and they probably took the coastal route, round the Indian Ocean, and eventually down to Australia and New Guinea. And they would've been prevented from getting up to the North by the Syrian Desert, and by the Saudi Arabian Desert. So that there would've been a delay for the single migration from Africa. If it was the source of Europeans, there would've been a delay for them to get up north, and the colonization of Europe only took place after 50,000 years ago. And it just so happens that there was a climactic ameliorization 50,000 years ago, which resulted in an improvement of weather, and improvement of rainfall, to conditions rather as they are today, which would have opened a corridor, the fertile cresecent of the near east, from the gulf region, up to Anatolia and the Meditteranean. And so Europe on this southern route would've been colonized after Australia, which is in fact the case.

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