A study published in April detailed the discovery of more than 4,000 stone artifacts that show Aboriginals lived in now-drowned land tens of thousands of years ago.
A range of different artifacts dating back to between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, the depths of our last Ice Age, were found in an area off the coast of Australia’s mainland, according to the study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews. The researchers wondered whether sea levels fluctuated or if coastlines were stable enough for consistent use by ancient peoples.
Data showed that sea levels were low enough to expose the 4,200-square-mile region within the continent shelf between mainland Australia and Barrow Island. This area is believed to have been an enormous plateau, lead author David Zeanah told Live Science.
Drowned land off Australia was an Aboriginal hotspot in last ice age, 4,000 stone artifacts reveal https://t.co/GMQIGXRVQ9
— Live Science (@LiveScience) April 14, 2024
Slicing, cutting and grinding tools have been found across several sites, showing mixed geological materials of both Barrow Island and Australia’s mainland. “The open sites provide clear links to the mainland geologies, and that infers that people were using the coastal plain that’s underwater now,” Zeanah noted.
Preliminary results suggest these groups were likely engaged in trade with each other, sharing the materials and tools between tribes in a sprawling social network. (RELATED: A 27,000-Year-Old Pyramid Is Causing Much Debate For Big Archaeology)
This supposed migration pattern suggests ancient humans likely lived along coastlines that rapidly disappeared after the last cold snap — the Younger Dryas— which may be why we know so little about humanity before around 12,000 to 13,000 years ago. But what we do know suggests these civilizations may have been far more developed than Big Archaeology will admit.