Out of Africa, into Australia Michael Gross  Current Biology  Volume 26, Issue 21, Pages R1119-R1121 (November 2016) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.033 Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

True colours: Since modern humans expanded into the Australian continent some 40,000 years ago, they developed a rich landscape of cultural and linguistic diversity — until the arrival of the colonialists who failed to appreciate their ancient civilisation. (Photo: © Wayne Quilliam Photography/Yothu Yindu Foundation.) Current Biology 2016 26, R1119-R1121DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.033) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

Music making: Papua New Guinea was connected to Australia at the time when humans arrived, but soon became separated and thus its population went its separate genetic, cultural, and linguistic ways. (Photo: Anselmo Lastra, Flickr.) Current Biology 2016 26, R1119-R1121DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.033) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions

Desert barrier: At the time when they first settled in Australia, humans could spread throughout the continent. At the time of the last glacial maximum, large parts of the interior became deserts, splitting the inhabitants into several regional populations that lost genetic contact with each other. (Photo: outreachr.com, Flickr.) Current Biology 2016 26, R1119-R1121DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.033) Copyright © 2016 Terms and Conditions