Recent findings in Archaeology after 11 years of research suggest that the original Tribal Nations of the lands now known as Australia were occupying the land 120,000 years ago.
The announcement comes after 11 years of research on evidence found of fire, black stones, and scattered shell middens at cliffs in Moyjil (Port Ritchie), Victoria. The findings were published in a recent CSIRO article by a group of well-known academics, including Jim Bowler, known for his famous discovery of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady between 1969 -1974.
Abstract analysis reads:
Thermal luminescence analyses of blackened stones provide ages in the MIS 5e range, 100–130 ka, consistent with independent stratigraphic evidence and contemporaneous with the age of the surface on which they lie. The distribution of fire-darkened stones is inconsistent with wildfire effects. Two hearth-like features closely associated with the disconformity provide further indications of potential human agency. The data are consistent with the suggestion of human presence at Warrnambool during the Last Interglacial
Conclusion
In the absence of any evidence of natural fire, the suggestion of possible hearths points somewhat towards a human agency. For some, an acceptance of human presence in Australia 120,000 years ago as a possibility may now tentatively advance to one of probability
The pendulum in Nature–People controversy has swung in one direction. The mere suggestion of people near 120 ka raises an entirely new set of questions in the exploration of Australia’s human story
Comments