Aborigines have been living in Australia for at least 65,000 years: study

Aboriginal people have been in Australia for at least 65,000 years, longer than previously thought, roaming the area alongside giant megafauna, scientists said in a finding that sheds fresh light on when modern humans left Africa.

Australian Aborigines are believed to be custodians of the oldest continuous culture on the planet, but when they first arrived has been a contested issue. Previous estimates have ranged from 47,000 to 60,000 years ago.

A key site in the debate is Madjedbebe, a remote rock shelter in Australia’s Kakadu region that is the oldest- known human occupation area in the country.

New evidence uncovered by a team of archaeologists and dating specialists during a dig there, including the oldest ground- edge stone axe technology in the world, has pushed back their presence even further.

The findings, published in the journal Nature this week, set a new minimum age for the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and across south Asia.

“It’s hugely significant in tying down what happened,” the University of Queensland’s Chris Clarkson, the lead author who led the team that excavated the site, most recently in 2015, told AFP.

“It means that we can set the minimum age for modern humans coming out of Africa. We can now say with certainty that they arrived in Australia 65,000 years ago.”

It also indicates that they arrived on the continent before the extinction of Australian megafauna such as giant wombats, kangaroos and lizards.

In addition to showing the deep antiquity of Aboriginal occupation, the dig also revealed evidence of activities and complex lifestyle, including flaked stone tools and grinding stones.

“The site contains the oldest groundedge stone axe technology in the world, the oldest- known seed- grinding tools in Australia and evidence of finely made stone points which may have served as spear tips,” said Clarkson.

“Most striking of all in a region known for its spectacular rock art are the huge quantities of ground ochre and evidence of ochre processing found at the site, from the older layer continuing through to the present.”