Cultural innovation and megafauna interaction in the early settlement of arid Australia

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHamm, Gen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMitchell, Pen_AU
dc.contributor.authorArnold, LJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorPrideaux, GJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorQuestiaux, Den_AU
dc.contributor.authorSpooner, NAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorLevchenko, VAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorFoley, ECen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWorthy, THen_AU
dc.contributor.authorStephenson, Ben_AU
dc.contributor.authorCoulthard, Ven_AU
dc.contributor.authorCoulthard, Cen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWilton, Sen_AU
dc.contributor.authorJohnston, Den_AU
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-26T00:38:18Zen_AU
dc.date.available2017-06-26T00:38:18Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2016-11-02en_AU
dc.date.statistics2017-06-26en_AU
dc.description.abstractElucidating the material culture of early people in arid Australia and the nature of their environmental interactions is essential for understanding the adaptability of populations and the potential causes of megafaunal extinctions 50–40 thousand years ago (ka). Humans colonized the continent by 50 ka1, 2, but an apparent lack of cultural innovations compared to people in Europe and Africa3, 4 has been deemed a barrier to early settlement in the extensive arid zone2, 3. Here we present evidence from Warratyi rock shelter in the southern interior that shows that humans occupied arid Australia by around 49 ka, 10 thousand years (kyr) earlier than previously reported2. The site preserves the only reliably dated, stratified evidence of extinct Australian megafauna5, 6, including the giant marsupial Diprotodon optatum, alongside artefacts more than 46 kyr old. We also report on the earliest-known use of ochre in Australia and Southeast Asia (at or before 49–46 ka), gypsum pigment (40–33 ka), bone tools (40–38 ka), hafted tools (38–35 ka), and backed artefacts (30–24 ka), each up to 10 kyr older than any other known occurrence7, 8. Thus, our evidence shows that people not only settled in the arid interior within a few millennia of entering the continent9, but also developed key technologies much earlier than previously recorded for Australia and Southeast Asia. © 2016, Nature Publishing Group.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationHamm, G., Mitchell, P., Arnold, L., Prideau, G. J., Questiaux, D., Spooner, N.A., Levchenko, V. A., Foley, E. C., Worthy, T. H., Stephenson, B., Coulthard, V., Coulthard, C., Wilton, S., & Johnston, D. (2016). Cultural innovation and megafauna interaction in the early settlement of arid Australia. Nature, 539, 280–283. doi:10.1038/nature20125en_AU
dc.identifier.govdoc8265en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1476-4687en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleNatureen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination280-283en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/nature20125en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/8797en_AU
dc.identifier.volume539en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSpringeren_AU
dc.subjectEvolutionen_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmental impactsen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectArid landsen_AU
dc.subjectMarsupialsen_AU
dc.subjectTechnology utilizationen_AU
dc.titleCultural innovation and megafauna interaction in the early settlement of arid Australiaen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
Files
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles