Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago
Author(s)
Clarkson, Chris
Jacobs, Zenobia
Marwick, Ben
Fullagar, Richard
Wallis, Lynley
Smith, Mike
Roberts, Richard G
Hayes, Elspeth
Lowe, Kelsey
Carah, Xavier
Florin, S Anna
McNeil, Jessica
Cox, Delyth
Arnold, Lee J
Hua, Quan
Huntley, Jillian
Brand, Helen EA
Manne, Tiina
Fairbairn, Andrew
Shulmeister, James
Lyle, Lindsey
Salinas, Makiah
Page, Mara
Connell, Kate
Park, Gayoung
Norman, Kasih
Murphy, Tessa
Pardoe, Colin
Year published
2017
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical ...
View more >The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
View less >
View more >The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
View less >
Journal Title
Nature
Volume
547
Issue
7663
Subject
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology