MAP ACTIVITY MAP 1.1 Continental Drift Massive geological forces separated North and South America from other continents eons before human beings evolved in Africa 1.5 million years ago. READING THE MAP: Which continents separated from Pangaea earliest? Which ones separated from each other last? Which are still closely connected to each other? CONNECTIONS: How does continental drift explain why human life developed elsewhere on the planet for hundreds of thousands of years before the first person entered the Western Hemisphere 15,000 years ago?