And then... the Belgians came!

[H]

as for first occupation of the british isles:
I read somewhere that during the last ice age sea level was 500 feet lower, I don't know how deep the channel is, but if the isles were not actually connected to the european mainland, then at least it wasn't far, and maybe the remaining gap was frozen over.

Supposedly the ice reached across the north (Scotland), anyway, so whether or not the channel was, itself, crossable is but moot.
______________________

On what frequency do they cross the Channel ?

[myshelf]

true, i just doubt people would go far over ice to satisfy their curiosity. it's much more inviting to see land on the other side.

[Hagar]

The shortest distance from Britain to France now is something like 20 miles. It's possible to see the coast of France clearly from Dover Castle (on top of the famous White Cliffs) in good visiblity. The coastline is constantly changing & part of those cliffs sometimes collapses into the sea, thus making us just a little further apart. There is a 'lost' hamlet near me that is now completely covered by the sea & it's rumoured that you can sometimes still hear the church bell ringing although the bell was recovered some years ago & is actually in a museum. I'm sure it was perfectly possible to walk from France to England or vice versa at one time. This is forgetting that they were once part of a single land mass, or that's what my geography teacher used to tell us. I have no idea when this was or if Man had even appeared on the Earth at that point. I was never too convinced of the theory that all Europeans originated in Africa.

[H]

... I was never too convinced of the theory that all Europeans originated in Africa.

We're not sure they all originated on this planet -- but that's another matter . Actually, DNA comparisons were made on a Greek lady and a member of a southwest tribe of U.S. Native Americans; the common ancestry traced back to Africa. I'm no expert on genetics so I can only relate their stated finding.

[Hagar]

We're not sure they all originated on this planet -- but that's another matter

Indeed but we won't go there.

Actually, DNA comparisons were made on a Greek lady and a member of a southwest tribe of U.S. Native Americans; the common ancestry traced back to Africa. I'm no expert on genetics so I can only relate their stated finding

I know very little about it but I can't see why Man couldn't have developed simultaneously in various places. Why would we all originate from the same small part of the planet & gradually spread to other parts? It doesn't seem logical to me. Of course, my ideas might conflict with the religious concept of evolution. I don't know how much influence this still has on scientific theory but it has proved difficult throughout history to relate the two. Depending on the approach taken in interpreting archeological discoveries (probably the wrong description but I'm no scientist) we could all be completely wrong & I suspect that we shall never know the truth.

[myshelf]

i don't know where the monolit stood that brought intelligence to the apes :p


well, joke aside, i read somewhere that evolution wouldn't work, at least not the way it's proposed to work.

there is a number of permutations in the DNA strain that would have to be run through to get from the first primitive lifeforms to the current state, and it's much too high for every minor change to run through generations of trial and error.
if evolution would work that way there would be no multicell life yet, even after 3 1/2 billion years.

[H]

I know very little about it but I can't see why Man couldn't have developed simultaneously in various places. Why would we all originate from the same small part of the planet & gradually spread to other parts? It doesn't seem logical to me. Of course, my ideas might conflict with the religious concept of evolution. I don't know how much influence this still has on scientific theory but it has proved difficult throughout history to relate the two. Depending on the approach taken in interpreting archeological discoveries (probably the wrong description but I'm no scientist) we could all be completely wrong & I suspect that we shall never know the truth.

We really don't want to get specific about religious concepts of evolution other than that many such groups have no such concept . As to its influence on scientific theory, as usual, that depends upon the individuals involved; properly, it would have none but at one time long ago 'the two' were virtually the same.
DNA and biological tracing are somewhat seperate from, although applicable to, archeology. It has also been found that, the further one gets away from the equator, there is less need for resistance to ultraviolet light throughout the year. This indicates that less melanin would be produced (which causes skin pigmentation); about every 25,000 years there would be a noticeable change in skin color.
I would disagree that like species (equivelent DNA) would logically occur in seperate places although I wouldn't declare it impossible because I've had things happen that I'd thought were impossible. We'll just say it seems extremely improbable.
In the line of archeology, I see no reason why the same technological things can't originate in seperate places; this is in the area of thought and necessity -- I wouldn't even restrict it to a species. After all, some humans aren't so smart and some animals are smarter (than other animals... well, then again... ).

[Hagar]

It might not be advisable to go too deeply into this. I'm neither academic nor scientist but I've seen documentaries about remote islands where life forms exist that are similar to the common species we're familiar with but have certain differences that make them unique. This can be explained by them adapting to their environment over a period of time but my question is: If they can't swim or fly, how did they get there in the first place?

[Woodlouse2002]

Before the landmasses split apart or something. Some academics will tell you they floated in on flotsam. Or maybe many millinia ago some well travelled person decided to have a laugh and distributed certain speicies all over the shop just so he could have a giggle at all those idiots in the future trying to find out where they came from and how.

(If the latter is true then I blame the same chap who I believe also built Stonehenge for a joke.)

[Hagar]

Or maybe many millinia ago some well travelled person decided to have a laugh and distributed certain speicies all over the shop just so he could have a giggle at all those idiots in the future trying to find out where they came from and how.

(If the latter is true then I blame the same chap who I believe also built Stonehenge for a joke.)

Sounds as good a theory as any other to me & better than most. I rather like it. I'll go with that one.

[H]

...Or maybe many millenia ago some well travelled person [decided to have a laugh and] distributed certain species all over the shop...

Actually, if the truth is that our origins are from one area, then that is sort of what happened.