Neanderthals existed for hundreds of thousands of years in Eurasia. But their range was limited compared to modern humans. In less than 500,000 years humans have explored and spread out to all the continents. Exploration had its most dramatic rise during the Age of Discovery. This is when European explorers sailed and charted much of the rest of the world. Humans have explored geographically even into outer space. They explore ideas, art, even the very nature of life.