From Simon Evans, Malvern, Worcestershire, UK
To put Stone Age seafarers into perspective, we should remember that we are looking at a vast timespan. Even individual events that may seem unlikely are likely to have happened many times over hundreds of thousands of years. Also, in our cosseted, long lives, we have become very risk-averse, but the Stone Age human, living with the ever-present threat of violence and starvation, would be less reluctant to sail blindly towards a distant horizon. The vast majority may have failed, but it only took a few to colonise (31 January, p 32).
