How to get to Australia … more than 50,000 years ago

Ulm, Sean;Cooper, Alan;Bird, Michael;Veth, Peter;Beaman, Robin;Condie, Scott

Abstract

[Extract] Over just the past few years, new archaeological findings have revealed the lives of early Aboriginal Australians in the Northern Territory’s Kakadu potentially as early as 65,000 years ago, from the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia by about 50,000 years ago, and the Flinders Ranges of South Australia by around 49,000 years ago. But how was it even possible for people to get to Australia in the first place? And how many people must have made it to Australia to explain the diversity of Aboriginal people today? In a study published in Quaternary Science Reviews this week, we use new environmental reconstructions, voyage simulations, and genetic population estimates to show for the first time that colonisation of Australia by 50,000 years ago was achieved by a globally significant phase of purposeful and coordinated marine voyaging.

Journal

The Conversation

Publication Name

N/A

Volume

21 May 2018

ISBN/ISSN

N/A

Edition

N/A

Issue

N/A

Pages Count

Location

N/A

Publisher

The Conversation Media Group

Publisher Url

N/A

Publisher Location

N/A

Publish Date

N/A

Url

N/A

Date

N/A

EISSN

N/A

DOI

N/A