ancient Australia

From a European / Western perspective, we're used to thinking of Australia as a new world that has only recently been discovered and settled by our heroic ancestors. Ironically, however, the out of Africa emigration of modern humans that eventually spread around the world appears to have reached Australia a lot earlier than Europe, never mind the Americas.

We still know far too little about the 70,000 years of human history in Australia and the larger landmass of Sahul which also comprised Papua New Guinea and Tasmania. Recent research, however, has yielded insights into likely scenarios how the migration into Sahul may have fitted with the changes of environmental conditions. For the later stages of Australia's hidden history, genetic and linguistic evidence are now coming together to reveal a coherent story. I've rounded up some of these studies in my latest feature which is out now:

Ancient Australia

Current Biology Volume 34, Issue 11, 03 June 2024, Pages R473-R475

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See also my new Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.

Last year's thread is here .

Aboriginal rock art created by the Wunambal People in the caves at Wary Bay, Bigge Island, Kimberley, Western Australia. The painting shows a Wandjina figure representing a cloud and rain spirit. (Photo: John Benwell/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0 Deed).)