I'm fascinated by prehistory, especially the origins of us. But there are huge gaps in my understanding.

Mesopotamia seems to start around 5000 BCE, and seems to be the cradle of humanity. But there's a 11,000BCE footprint found in North America. And Indigenous Australian peoples date back by a factor of 10 or more! (50,000BCE to 70,000 BCE).

Is there any record of people in this 45-65,000 year gap? There were people, I assume, but what, if anything do we know about them? What was happening on the rest of the planet in this time?

BONUS - any suggested reading would be very deeply appreciated.