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The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australias megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans., Author(s): Chris Clarkson (corresponding author) [1]; Zenobia Jacobs (corresponding author) [2, 3]; Ben Marwick [3, 4]; Richard Fullagar [3]; Lynley Wallis [5]; Mike Smith [6]; Richard G. Roberts [2, 3]; [...]

Research shows that quartz sand found with at ancient human dwelling sites in the Jinmium rock shelter, Northern Australia, is 22 thousand years old. Multi-grain optical radiocarbon dating methods demonstrate that the quartz sand consists of relatively young grains dated less than ten thousand years old. Evidence suggests that some grains of sand appear to be older because they were not exposed to sunlight prior to their burial.

Author(s): Steven R. Holen [1, 2]; Thomas A. Demr (corresponding author) [1]; Daniel C. Fisher [3, 4]; Richard Fullagar [5]; James B. Paces [6]; George T. Jefferson [7]; Jared M. [...]