New evidence has prompted a re-evaluation of the routes used.for the first human migration between mainland Southeast Asia and Australia.The re-think has come about following the discovery of a major site of stone artefacts and animal bones inside a deep cave in Timor-Leste. Professor Sue O'Connor explains
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The discovery of thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones in a deep cave in Timor Island has led archaeologists to reassess the route that early humans took to reach Australia. Researchers from The Australian National University, Flinders University, University College London and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage dated and analysed the artefacts and sediment at the Laili rock shelter in central-north Timor-Leste to pinpoint the arrival of the colonists. They detected a human “arrival signature” from about 44,000 years ago, suggesting there were no humans on the island prior to this time. SBS's Sophie Bennett spoke about the discovery to Sue O'Connor,Professor of Archeology at the College of Asia in the Pacific, at the Australia National University and asked her why they started the excavation there and what they expected to find:
