New analysis of the world's oldest axe fragment reveals the first Australians were technological innovators.
The axe fragment was initially excavated in the early 1990s and was among a sequence of artefacts from Carpenter's Gap, a large rock shelter in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia known to be one of the first sites occupied by modern humans.
In 2014, as further study was being carried out on the objects dug out of the site, Professor Peter Hiscock and his team from the University of Sydney discovered a small fragment of a polished axe, recovered from the oldest levels of the site.
Professor Hiscock says new studies of this fragment reveal a people with sophisticated knowledge from a period dating back almost 50,000 years.
He spoke to Peggy Giakoumelos about his findings.
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